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Learn Hardcore Serbian: Stanodavac čita ugovor. - The landlord is reading the contract.

Hardcore Serbian
/Renting and repairing a home
/Stanodavac čita ugovor.

Stanodavac čita ugovor.

Stanodavac čita ugovor.

The landlord is reading the contract.

Breakdown of Stanodavac čita ugovor.

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Questions & Answers about Stanodavac čita ugovor.

What part of the sentence is the subject, and what part is the object?

The subject is stanodavac and the object is ugovor.

So the structure is:

stanodavac = the person doing the action
čita = reads / is reading
ugovor = what is being read

This is the normal Serbian word order: subject + verb + object.

What does stanodavac mean exactly?

Stanodavac means landlord.

It is a masculine noun. In everyday Serbian, it refers to a person who rents out an apartment, house, or other property to a tenant.

A learner may also notice that Serbian often builds long nouns like this. You do not need to break it apart to use it, but it is useful to recognize it as a single standard word.

What tense is čita?

Čita is the present tense, third person singular, from the verb čitati.

So:

ja čitam = I read / I am reading
ti čitaš = you read / you are reading
on/ona čita = he/she reads / is reading

In this sentence, čita agrees with stanodavac, which is singular.

Does čita mean reads or is reading?

It can mean either:

reads in a general or habitual sense
is reading right now

Serbian present tense often covers both meanings, and context tells you which one is intended.

So Stanodavac čita ugovor could mean:

The landlord reads the contract
The landlord is reading the contract

Why is there no word for the or a?

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

So stanodavac can mean:

a landlord
the landlord

And ugovor can mean:

a contract
the contract

You understand which one is meant from context.

Why is ugovor in that form? Shouldn't the object change?

Ugovor is in the accusative singular, because it is the direct object of čita.

However, for many masculine inanimate nouns, the accusative singular looks exactly the same as the nominative singular.

So:

nominative: ugovor
accusative: ugovor

That is normal.

By contrast, many masculine animate nouns do change in the accusative. For example:

nominative: student
accusative: studenta

How do I pronounce čita and the letter č?

The letter č is pronounced roughly like ch in church, but with a firmer sound.

So čita is approximately:

CHEE-ta

And ugovor is approximately:

OO-go-vor

A rough pronunciation of the whole sentence is:

Sta-no-DA-vats CHEE-ta OO-go-vor

That said, Serbian stress is not always obvious from spelling, so the rough English-style guide is only an approximation.

Can I change the word order?

Yes. Serbian word order is more flexible than English word order.

The neutral order is:

Stanodavac čita ugovor.

But you can also say:

Ugovor čita stanodavac.
Čita stanodavac ugovor.

These versions are grammatically possible, but they change the emphasis or sound more marked. For a learner, the basic subject + verb + object order is the safest choice.

Why is there no pronoun like on for he?

Because Serbian verb endings usually make the subject clear enough.

Čita already tells you it is third person singular, so Serbian often leaves out the pronoun.

You could say:

On čita ugovor.

But that would usually be used only if you want to emphasize he, contrast him with someone else, or make the subject especially clear.

Is čitati imperfective? Does aspect matter here?

Yes. Čitati is an imperfective verb.

That means it describes the action as ongoing, repeated, or simply viewed as a process. That fits naturally with a sentence like Stanodavac čita ugovor.

The related perfective verb is often pročitati, which suggests reading something through or finishing it.

For example:

Stanodavac čita ugovor. = The landlord is reading the contract.
Stanodavac je pročitao ugovor. = The landlord read / has read the contract through.

For this sentence, using čitati is completely natural.

How would this sentence be written in Cyrillic?

In Cyrillic, it is:

Станодавац чита уговор.

Serbian uses both alphabets:

Latin: Stanodavac čita ugovor.
Cyrillic: Станодавац чита уговор.

Both are standard.

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