SACE Stage 2 Serbian (continuers) cheat sheet

Identify the text type first: a formal letter uses 'Poštovani' and 'S poštovanjem', while an informal message may use 'Ćao' and 'Ljubim te'.

Skim for the gist by reading the first and last sentences of each paragraph; Serbian tends to place the main idea early in the paragraph.

Distinguish fact from opinion: factive verbs like 'tvrditi' (claim) and 'smatrati' (consider) signal opinion, while 'pokazati' (show) and 'dokazati' (prove) signal evidence.

Watch for aspect pairs when answering questions about completed versus ongoing actions: 'napisati' (perfective, completed) versus 'pisati' (imperfective, ongoing).

Inference questions: connect pronouns to their antecedents; Serbian often omits subject pronouns, so track person and number endings on verbs.

For tone questions, note the use of 'ti' versus 'Vi': 'ti' signals familiarity, 'Vi' signals formality or respect.

When summarizing, preserve the original tense and aspect where possible; changing aspect can change the meaning of an event.

Use the text's own vocabulary in your answer to show comprehension, but paraphrase the structure to avoid copying whole sentences.

Choose the correct register before writing: formal letters use full forms ('Vi', 'Vaš') and no contractions; informal texts may use 'ti' and colloquialisms.

Structure a formal letter: place and date top right, salutation, body paragraphs, closing formula, signature.

Use connectors to link ideas: 'međutim' (however), 'stoga' (therefore), 'pored toga' (in addition), 's jedne strane... s druge strane' (on the one hand... on the other hand).

Case usage in writing: after prepositions like 'u' (in), 'na' (on), 'iz' (from), 'sa' (with), choose the case required by the preposition's meaning.

Verb aspect in narrative: use perfective verbs for completed plot events and imperfective verbs for background description.

Avoid literal translation of English idioms; use Serbian equivalents such as 'biti u toku' (to be up to date) rather than calques.

For persuasive texts, state a thesis in the introduction, support it with two or three arguments, and address a counterargument before concluding.

Punctuation: Serbian uses the decimal comma (3,14) and spaces as thousands separators (1 000 000); quotation marks are „...“.

Choose 'ti' or 'Vi' based on social distance: use 'Vi' with strangers, elders, officials; 'ti' with peers, friends, family.

Greetings by time of day: 'Dobro jutro' (morning), 'Dobar dan' (day), 'Dobro veče' (evening); farewells include 'Doviđenja' (formal) and 'Vidimo se' (see you).

Turn-taking signals: 'Izvinite' (excuse me) to interrupt, 'Dakle' (so) to take the floor, 'Slažem se' (I agree) to align.

Request forms: 'Molim te' (informal) or 'Molim Vas' (formal) plus the imperative; 'Da li biste mogli...' is a polite conditional request.

Respond to thanks: 'Nema na čemu' (you're welcome) or 'Nije problem'; respond to apologies with 'Nema problema' or 'U redu je'.

Use fillers naturally: 'pa', 'znači', 'ovaj' signal hesitation; overusing them in formal speech is marked.

Clarification strategies: 'Kako se kaže...?' (how do you say...?), 'Možete li da ponovite?' (can you repeat?), 'Ne razumem najbolje' (I don't quite understand).

Serbian is written in both Cyrillic and Latin scripts; the official standard favours Cyrillic, but Latin is widely used in everyday and online contexts.

The Serbian Cyrillic alphabet has 30 letters, with one letter per sound (phonemic orthography); the Latin alphabet has 30 letters including digraphs 'lj', 'nj', 'dž'.

Serbian has seven cases: nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, vocative, instrumental, locative; case usage is governed by prepositions, verbs, and sentence role.

Aspect is a core grammatical category: perfective verbs view an action as complete, imperfective as ongoing or repeated; aspect pairs often differ by prefix or suffix.

Register and politeness: 'Vi' is the formal second-person pronoun; its use extends to verb forms and possessive adjectives ('Vaš').

Cultural references: 'slava' is a family patron-saint celebration; 'krsna slava' involves ritual food and guests; understanding such terms aids text comprehension.

Language contact: English loanwords are common in technology and pop culture, often adapted to Serbian phonology and grammar (e.g., 'kompjuter', 'fajl').

Reflect on translation choices: idioms rarely translate word-for-word; compare Serbian and English expressions to identify cultural assumptions.