Breakdown of Pažljivo pređi ulicu kod semafora.
ulica
street
kod
at
pažljivo
carefully
semafor
traffic light
Questions & Answers about Pažljivo pređi ulicu kod semafora.
What exactly is pređi here?
Pređi is the imperative form of the verb preći, meaning to cross.
In this sentence, it is:
- 2nd person singular
- used for one person
- in an informal command
So pređi means something like cross!
Related forms:
- pređi = cross! (to one person, informal)
- pređite = cross! (to several people, or to one person formally)
Because Serbian often uses the imperative without a subject pronoun, the you is understood.
Why is it pređi and not prelazi?
This is mainly about verb aspect, which is very important in Serbian.
Serbian often has two related verbs:
- prelaziti = imperfective, ongoing/repeated crossing
- preći = perfective, a completed crossing
Here, pređi comes from preći and suggests:
- one complete action
- cross the street successfully / all the way across
That makes it very natural in a command like this.
Compare:
- Pažljivo pređi ulicu. = Carefully cross the street.
→ focus on completing the act - Pažljivo prelazi ulicu. = Cross the street carefully / Be crossing the street carefully.
→ can sound more general, habitual, or process-focused
In short: pređi is used because the speaker wants one complete action.
Why is it ulicu and not ulica?