Questions & Answers about Šta mogu da učinim?
What does Šta mogu da učinim? literally mean, word by word?
A very close breakdown is:
- Šta = what
- mogu = I can
- da učinim = to do / to make happen
So the literal sense is What can I do?
In natural English, the best translation is usually simply What can I do?
Why is mogu translated as I can?
Mogu is the 1st person singular present tense of moći, which means can / to be able to.
So:
- ja mogu = I can
- ti možeš = you can
- on/ona/ono može = he/she/it can
In this sentence, the subject ja is not stated, because Serbian often leaves subject pronouns out when they are already clear from the verb ending.
Why is there no word for I in the sentence?
Because Serbian often omits subject pronouns when the verb already shows who the subject is.
Here, mogu already means I can, so ja is unnecessary.
You could say:
- Šta ja mogu da učinim?
but that usually adds emphasis, something like: