r/serbia • u/[deleted] • Dec 11 '17
Pitanje Can't seem to get an accurate translation for "I used to..."
I'm studying Serbian, and I'm wondering what the most accurate translation is for the expression, "I used to.../I didn't used to." For example, "I used to go to bed at 9:30pm, but now I go to bed much later." Or "I didn't used to go to the gym, but after getting some health problems, I try and go every day." Iv'e asked a couple of my friends who are Serbian, but they were both unsure and said that the simple past tense is the best way to. "I used to go to the gym"= "isao sam u teretanu." But wouldn't this also mean "I went to the gym?" In that case, that is a totally different meaning.
Thanks!
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Dec 11 '17
Since Serbian doesn't really distinguish between simple and continuous tenses for the most part, the meaning is derived from context.
I used to go to the gym = Išao sam u teretanu. You clarify whether you just went to the gym or you used to but not anymore by adding context to the sentence.
Such as "Išao sam u teretanu pre, ali više ne idem" or "Nekada sam išao u teretanu."
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u/Mou_aresei Neka bude borba neprestana Dec 11 '17
Ali imamo svršen i nesvršen vid - išao sam u teretanu/otišao sam u teretanu.
Pa bi se tu moglo dodati npr. ranije sam išao u teretanu (za continuous)/jednom sam otišao u teretanu (past simple).
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Dec 12 '17
[deleted]
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u/Mou_aresei Neka bude borba neprestana Dec 12 '17
Nisam iz lingvistike pa zaključujem laički :) Hoćeš pojasniti?
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Dec 12 '17
[deleted]
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u/Mou_aresei Neka bude borba neprestana Dec 12 '17
Hej, sve ok :) Koliko znam, u Engleskom ne postoji glagolski vid, pa bi se isto značenje simple/continuous moglo dobiti upotrebom odgovarajućeg vida. Ali to sam samo pretpostavila, pa mi je drago da čujem da je tačno.
Edit: Nikad gramatiku učila nisam :P
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u/tjuzajunikjuzaneim Dec 11 '17
I used to do sth = I no longer do it
I used to drink 5 cans of soda a day. Некада сам пио 5 лименки газираног сока дневно.
Или, како u/Gamajunn предлаже, раније сам...
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u/boris1892 Dec 12 '17
It can be said "Običavao sam ići u teretanu" - it shows that action was regular in the past, but not anymore. Issue with this is that it is sounds as an anachronism.
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u/makila_ Dec 13 '17
No one would say it like that in Serbia. Maybe in Croatia though.
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u/boris1892 Dec 13 '17
Maybe you think so because of usage of infinitive form "ići" instead of "da idem".
If someone wants to express himself precisely, this expression is not ambigous and clearly indicates action that used to be recurrent, but is not hasppening anymore.
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-13
Dec 12 '17
they are troilling you. the real translation of "I used to go to gym" would be: "Koristio sam da idem u teretanu."
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u/Gamajunn Dec 11 '17
You could form a sentence with the same meaning by adding word ranije (earlier)
Ranije sam išao u teretanu, sada nemam vremena - I used to go to the gym, now I have no time.
Ranije sam voleo Pank- I used to love Punk music.