Ako ne možete da dišete, pregled je hitan.

Because this sentence is addressing either:

• more than one person, or
• one person formally/politely

In Serbian, vi is used both for plural you and formal singular you, and the verb matches that:

• možeš / dišeš = informal singular
• možete / dišete = plural or formal singular

So this sentence sounds like something a doctor, nurse, or medical text might say politely to a patient.

Serbian very often uses da + present tense where English uses an infinitive.

So after moći (can / be able to), Serbian commonly says:

• možete da dišete

rather than relying only on an infinitive.

A form with the infinitive may also be possible in some contexts, but da + present is extremely common and very natural in Serbian. For learners, it is best to get used to this pattern early.

Literally, ne možete means you are not able.

So:

• možete = you can / you are able
• ne možete = you cannot / you are not able

In English, we usually just say you can't, but Serbian often expresses this with the verb moći plus negation.

Also note that ne is written separately from the verb here:

• ne možete

Pregled means examination, check-up, or medical examination.

In this sentence it is clearly medical, so it means something like:

• a medical examination
• an urgent check-up
• being seen by a doctor immediately

It does not mean an exam in the school sense. For a school exam, Serbian would usually use ispit or test.

Because hitan is an adjective agreeing with the noun pregled.

• pregled is masculine singular
• so the adjective must also be masculine singular:
  • hitan

So:

• pregled je hitan = the examination is urgent

By contrast, hitno is usually used adverbially or in impersonal expressions:

• Hitno je. = It is urgent.
• Morate hitno do lekara. = You must go to the doctor urgently/immediately.

So with a specific noun like pregled, hitan is the correct form.

They are in the nominative singular masculine.

Why?

• pregled is the subject of the sentence
• hitan is a predicate adjective describing that subject

So Serbian keeps both in nominative here:

• pregled je hitan

This is similar to English the examination is urgent, where urgent describes the subject.

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

So pregled can mean:

• an examination
• the examination
• sometimes just examination

The exact meaning depends on context.

That is very normal in Serbian, and learners need to get used to understanding definiteness from the situation rather than from an article.

Not completely. Serbian word order is fairly flexible.

The given sentence:

• Ako ne možete da dišete, pregled je hitan.

is very natural, especially because it starts with the condition if you cannot breathe.

You could also say:

• Pregled je hitan ako ne možete da dišete.

That still makes sense, but the focus is slightly different. The original version foregrounds the condition first.

Also, the comma is normal because ako ne možete da dišete is a subordinate clause placed before the main clause.

You would use the singular informal forms:

• Ako ne možeš da dišeš, pregled je hitan.

Compare:

• možete / dišete = formal singular or plural
• možeš / dišeš = informal singular

This is one of the most important distinctions in Serbian verb forms.

This sentence is understandable and correct, but Serbian speakers might also say similar things in other ways depending on context.

For example:

• Ako ne možete da dišete, potreban je hitan pregled.
• Ako ne možete da dišete, morate hitno kod lekara.
• Ako ne možete da dišete, to je hitno stanje.

So the exact wording can vary, but the grammar patterns in your sentence are very useful:

• ako
  • clause for if
• ne možete da... for you cannot...
• noun + je
  • adjective for X is urgent