Uključi lampu, molim te, jer bez nje ne mogu da čitam.

Uključi is the imperative form of the verb uključiti, which means to turn on / switch on.

In this sentence, it is telling one person informally to do something:

• uključi = turn on! / switch on!

This is the singular informal command form, used with ti.

Related forms:

• uključiti = to switch on
• uključi! = switch on! (to one person, informal)
• uključite! = switch on! (to several people, or one person formally)

Because the sentence is asking for one completed action, Serbian naturally uses the perfective verb uključiti here.

It is informal singular.

Serbian distinguishes between:

• ti = informal you (one person)
• vi = formal you (one person) or plural you (more than one person)

So:

• Uključi lampu = Turn on the lamp. (to one person, informal)
• Uključite lampu = Turn on the lamp. (formal or plural)

The phrase molim te also shows that the speaker is talking to someone with ti.

Because lampu is the accusative case of lampa.

The verb uključiti takes a direct object: you turn on something. In Serbian, a direct object often goes into the accusative.

So:

• lampa = lamp (dictionary form, nominative)
• lampu = lamp (accusative, used as the object)

For many feminine nouns ending in -a, the accusative singular ends in -u:

• knjiga → knjigu
• soba → sobu
• lampa → lampu

Molim te is a very common way to say please when speaking informally to one person.

Literally, it comes from:

• moliti = to ask / beg / plead
• molim = I ask / I beg
• te = you (object form of ti)

So historically it is something like I ask you, but in normal usage it simply means please.

You can think of:

• molim te = please (informal singular)
• molim vas = please (formal or plural)

In this sentence, it softens the command:

• Uključi lampu. = Turn on the lamp.
• Uključi lampu, molim te. = Turn on the lamp, please.

Yes, it could go somewhere else. Serbian word order is fairly flexible.

This sentence has:

• Uključi lampu, molim te, jer...

That sounds very natural, but you could also say:

• Molim te, uključi lampu...
• Uključi, molim te, lampu...

The version in your sentence is especially common because molim te works like a polite parenthetical expression inserted into the request.

The commas show that molim te is set off as a separate polite phrase.

Jer is a very common Serbian word meaning because.

So:

• jer bez nje ne mogu da čitam = because without it I can’t read

It introduces a reason or explanation.

You may also see:

• zato što = because

Both can often translate as because, but jer is short, everyday, and very common in sentences like this.

For example:

• Ostao sam kod kuće jer sam umoran. = I stayed home because I’m tired.
• Uključi lampu jer je mračno. = Turn on the lamp because it’s dark.

Because the preposition bez requires the genitive case, and the genitive form of ona here is nje.

So:

• ona = she / it
• nje = of her / of it / without her / without it, after certain prepositions

The important grammar point is:

• bez
  • genitive

Examples:

• bez vode = without water
• bez mene = without me
• bez nje = without her / without it

You cannot use the clitic je after a preposition. After prepositions, Serbian uses the full stressed pronoun form, so bez nje is correct.

Here nje refers back to lampu. In English we say without it, but in Serbian the pronoun agrees with the noun’s gender, so the form is the same as her.

Because lampa is a feminine noun in Serbian.

In English, objects are usually it, but in Serbian nouns have grammatical gender:

• masculine
• feminine
• neuter

Since lampa is feminine, the pronoun referring to it also takes feminine forms.

So:

• lampa = feminine noun
• bez nje = literally without her, but in natural English it means without it

This is very normal in Serbian. Grammatical gender does not mean the object is actually female; it only means the noun belongs to the feminine class.

In Serbian, after modal verbs like moći (can / be able to), it is very common to use:

• da
  • present tense

So:

• ne mogu da čitam = I can’t read

This is one of the most natural patterns in modern Serbian.

You may also encounter the infinitive:

• ne mogu čitati

That is understandable, and in some varieties it is more common, but in standard everyday Serbian, especially in speech, da + present is extremely frequent.

So for learners, ne mogu da čitam is a very useful and natural pattern to remember.

Because čitati is the imperfective verb, and it fits the meaning here.

• čitati = to read, to be reading, to read in general
• pročitati = to read through / finish reading something

In the sentence:

• bez nje ne mogu da čitam = without it I can’t read

The speaker means they are unable to do the activity of reading at all, not that they cannot finish one specific text. That is why čitam is the natural choice.

If you said ne mogu da pročitam, it would sound more like:

• I can’t manage to read it through
• I can’t finish reading it

So the imperfective čitam is the right one here.

Yes, very often you can.

For a lamp or light, upali lampu is extremely natural and common in Serbian.

Compare:

• uključiti = to switch on, turn on
• upaliti = to turn on, light, ignite

With electrical devices, both can be used in many situations, but the nuance is slightly different:

• uključiti sounds like switch on
• upaliti often sounds like turn on the light

So:

• Uključi lampu = Switch on the lamp.
• Upali lampu = Turn on the lamp.

Both are good Serbian.

The commas are there for two reasons.

First, molim te is inserted as a separate polite expression:

• Uključi lampu, molim te, ...

Second, the sentence continues with a clause introduced by jer:

• ..., jer bez nje ne mogu da čitam.

So the structure is:

• Uključi lampu = main command
• molim te = polite parenthetical phrase
• jer bez nje ne mogu da čitam = reason clause

The commas help show that structure clearly in writing.

A rough English guide:

• nje sounds approximately like nyeh
• čitam sounds approximately like CHEE-tam

A few details:

• nj is a single Serbian sound, like the ny in canyon or onion
• č is like ch in church, but a bit firmer
• i is always like ee in see
• a is like a in father

So:

• bez nje ≈ bez nyeh
• čitam ≈ CHEE-tam

Not a perfect match, but good enough to get started.