The bare imperative (Dođi! “Come!”, from the lesson “The imperative”) is a direct tool, sometimes too direct. It is not rude in itself: with molim te or molim vas “please” it is an ordinary polite request. But in everyday speech an order is often softened or replaced: people invite you to do something together, ask instead of telling, or give the order about a third person (“let him come in”). Serbian has a whole kit of constructions for this, and knowing them is what makes you sound like a well-mannered adult rather than a drill sergeant.
Together these constructions make a ladder of politeness, from an instruction to someone close up to a courteous question instead of an order (Možeš li…?, Hoćeš li…?).
da + present: an instruction to someone close
Take the da + present construction from the lesson “Basic da-clauses” and drop the main verb. Hoću da mi doneseš vode “I want you to bring me some water” becomes Da mi doneseš vode. What remains is an instruction or an errand: “(I want) you to…”, even though hoću “I want” is never said. English has no single equivalent; think of “Be a dear and bring me some water” or “Mind you don’t forget”.
This is how you talk to family and children about everyday things. The tone comes from the intonation and the words around it: with molim te “please” it is a friendly request, with odmah “right now” it is a stern instruction. With “I” the same construction offers to do something yourself, like English “Shall I…?”: Da otvorim prozor? “Shall I open the window?”. Be careful with a look-alike construction, da + the past tense (the lesson “The perfect (perfekat)”): Da si mi odmah došao! is no longer a request but a stern order, almost a threat (more on this in the warning below).
hajde: come on, let’s
For inviting someone to do something together, or for urging them on, Serbian has the word hajde “come on, let’s, go on”. Most often it is followed by da and a verb in the “we” form: Hajde da idemo. “Let’s go.” Hajde works for one person and for a whole group: Deco, hajde da spremimo sto “Kids, let’s lay the table”. It also has person forms: hajdemo “let’s go” (us) and hajdete “come on” (to several people).
In speech you will constantly hear the clipped forms ajde, ajmo, ‘ajde, but in writing the forms with h are better: hajde, hajdemo, hajdete (or the shorter hajte). This is not an ordinary verb: hajde has no past, no future and no “I” form, only these forms for urging people on. After it comes da + the present, or a plain command (Hajde, požuri malo), never the infinitive: Hajde da idemo, not “Hajde ići”.
neka: an order about a third person
The plain imperative has forms only for “you” (one person or several) and for “we” (“let’s”), as the lesson “The imperative” showed. So how do you give an order about someone else, someone who is not here (“let him come in”, “let them do what they like”)? For that Serbian uses the particle neka (short form nek) plus the verb in the present tense, in the “he / she / they” form. English let him… / let them… is the exact match.
Cheat sheet
The cheat sheet — everything essential from the lesson on one page. In the app it opens at any time.