што да правам

Asking What to Do

Level 3Sounds Like što da pravam

To ask what should I do? or where should we go?, use a question word, then да, then a present verb: Што да правам? Каде да одиме?

How It Works

The pattern: question word + да + present-tense verb. It asks what should or could be done:

  • Што да правам? (What should I do?)
  • Каде да одиме вечерва? (Where should we go tonight?)
  • Кого да прашам? (Whom should I ask?)
  • Како да стигнам до центарот? (How do I get to the centre?)

Choose the person. Unlike English what to do, the verb shows who acts: Што да правам? (I), Што да правиме? (we), Што да прави? (he or she). The dictionary form, which is the he or she form, only means he or she here.

Yes or no: start with дали: Дали да му се јавам? (Should I call him?)

Inside a sentence: the same clause follows verbs like know or tell: Не знам што да кажам. (I do not know what to say.) Кажи ми што да купам. (Tell me what to buy.) See индиректни прашања со прашален збор.

Aspect: a single, complete action usually takes a perfective verb (кажам, купам), while an ongoing situation takes an imperfective one (правам). See свршен глагол по да; ќе; ако.

Што да се прави? with се means What can one do?, often with a shrug.

Examples (6)

  1. Што да правам?

    What should I do?

    Word by Word: What to I-do?

  2. Каде да одиме вечерва?

    Where should we go tonight?

    Word by Word: Where to we-go tonight?

  3. Не знам што да кажам.

    I do not know what to say.

    Word by Word: Not I-know what to I-say.

  4. Кажи ми што да купам.

    Tell me what to buy.

    Word by Word: Tell me what to I-buy.

    Купам is the I-form, so the speaker is the one who will buy.

  5. Кого да прашам?

    Whom should I ask?

    Word by Word: Whom to I-ask?

  6. Дали да му се јавам?

    Should I call him?

    Word by Word: Whether to to-him self I-call?

Common Mistakes

  • Leaving out да.

    Не знам што кажам.
    Не знам што да кажам.

    The meaning what to do comes from да. Without it, the clause is not complete.

  • Using the dictionary form for yourself.

    Не знам што да прави.
    Не знам што да правам.

    Прави is the he or she form, so the first sentence means I do not know what he should do. For yourself, use the I-form правам.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

што да правамLevel 3Asking What to Do

Learn This First

Asking what to do combines question clauses and да.

Words in This Pattern