Summer is the perfect time to practise conditionals in Serbian - and what better way to do it than by flicking through a travel magazine and imagining all the places you could go? This lesson takes a light, summery approach to one of Serbian grammar's most satisfying structures: the conditional mood. By the end you will be able to say exactly which destination you would choose, and why.
The conditional in Serbian is wonderfully expressive. Once you have it, you can talk about wishes, hypotheticals, polite requests, and everything in between. It is worth every minute you invest in it.
The first task
Find a copy of the World Traveller magazine (or any travel magazine in Serbian - any issue will do), flick through the pages, and pick the destinations that catch your eye. Then say out loud - or write down - which places you would visit this summer and why, using this pattern:
"Kad bih mogao/mogla da biram, posetio/posetila bih Egipat, zato što želim da vidim piramide."
("If I could choose, I would visit Egypt, because I want to see the pyramids.")
Notice the two forms: mogao is used by male speakers, mogla by female speakers. Similarly, posetio is masculine and posetila is feminine. This gender agreement in the past participle is a feature of Serbian that takes some practice but quickly becomes instinctive.
Try the sentence with at least three different destinations. Pick places that genuinely interest you - your motivation to find the right words will be much higher, and the vocabulary you reach for will stick much longer.
The second task
This task asks you to dig a little deeper into the magazine. Find a specific piece of practical information about a destination and then frame it as a conditional question. The original example from the lesson goes like this:
"Kad bi otišli na letovanje u Španiju, kada bi mogli da kupite markice za razglednice u pošti?"
("If you went on holiday to Spain, when would you be able to buy stamps for postcards at the post office?")
This is a wonderfully practical drill. It forces you to read for specific information (kada radi pošta - when is the post office open), then reframe that information using the conditional. Try writing two or three similar questions based on what you find in your magazine. It does not matter if the grammar is imperfect at first - what matters is that you are thinking in Serbian structures.
The conditional pattern
Here is the full conditional paradigm you need for both tasks. The conditional in Serbian is formed with the conditional auxiliary bi (which changes form for some persons) plus the past participle of the main verb. Study the table, then go back to the tasks above and check that your sentences match.
| Person | Serbian | English equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| 1st singular | ja bih | I would |
| 2nd singular | ti bi | you would (informal) |
| 3rd singular | on / ona bi | he / she would |
| 1st plural | mi bismo | we would |
| 2nd plural | vi biste | you would (formal / plural) |
| 3rd plural | oni bi | they would |
A note worth making: in spoken Serbian you will also hear the short clitic form bih reduced further in fast speech, and bismo / biste are sometimes replaced informally by bi for all persons. For writing and formal speech, use the full forms in the table above.
The image from the lesson
Why conditionals matter
The conditional is one of those grammatical structures that instantly lifts your Serbian from sounding like a phrase-book to sounding like a person with genuine opinions and preferences - being able to say not just what you do, but what you would do under different circumstances is a mark of real communicative competence, and Serbian speakers notice and appreciate it.
Beyond travel and wishes, the conditional is essential for polite requests (Da li biste mogli...? - "Would you be able to...?"), hypothetical discussions, and storytelling. Invest in it now and you will use it every single day.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between "bih" and "bi" in the conditional?
Bih is the first-person singular form: ja bih (I would). Bi is used for the second and third person singular (ti bi, on/ona bi) and for the third person plural (oni bi). In colloquial speech bi sometimes appears for all persons, but in careful writing the distinctions in the table above are maintained.
How does gender agreement work in the Serbian conditional?
The conditional auxiliary bi itself does not change for gender. However, the past participle - the second part of the construction - does agree with the gender of the subject. So a man says posetio bih and a woman says posetila bih. The past participle behaves like an adjective in this respect.
What does "letovanje" mean?
Letovanje means a summer holiday - specifically the kind where you go somewhere warm and rest. It comes from leto (summer). The equivalent for a winter holiday is zimovanje. Both are useful words for July conversations.
Can I use the conditional for polite requests?
Absolutely - and you should. Da li biste mogli da mi pomognete? ("Would you be able to help me?") is much more polite than the bare imperative. Using vi biste with the conditional is the standard polite register for requests addressed to strangers or people you wish to be respectful towards.
Is "Španija" really the Serbian word for Spain?
Yes - Španija is the Serbian name for Spain. Country names are often adapted to Serbian phonology and grammar: they take Serbian case endings just like any other noun, so "to Spain" is u Španiju (accusative), "from Spain" is iz Španije (genitive), and so on.
The conditional is one of my favourite structures to teach because students always light up when they realise they can suddenly express wishes, plans, and hypotheticals in Serbian. Once you have worked through both tasks above, treat yourself to a real travel magazine in Serbian - or find one online - and spend half an hour simply dreaming in your target language. It is time very well spent.
- Marina Petrovic
Want to practise more Serbian verb forms? Head over to More verb practice.