Pacijent kašlje, ali može da diše.

The patient is coughing, but can breathe.

Breakdown of Pacijent kašlje, ali može da diše.

• ali: but
• moći: can
• da: that
• pacijent: patient

Questions & Answers about Pacijent kašlje, ali može da diše.

Why is there no word for the or a before pacijent?

Serbian does not have articles like English the and a/an.

So pacijent can mean:

• the patient
• a patient

Which one is meant depends on context. In a medical situation, Pacijent kašlje... will often be understood as The patient is coughing...

What case is pacijent in here?

Pacijent is in the nominative singular, because it is the subject of the sentence.

The basic dictionary form is also pacijent.

Here it is the person doing the actions:

• kašlje = is coughing / coughs
• može da diše = can breathe

So pacijent stays in the nominative.

What does kašlje mean exactly, and what is its base form?

Kašlje comes from the verb kašljati, which means to cough.

In this sentence, kašlje is:

• 3rd person singular
• present tense

So it means:

• he/she coughs
• he/she is coughing

Because the subject is , English usually translates it naturally as .