мислити да / мислити о

Saying What You Think

Level 2Sounds Like misliti da; misliti o

Use мислити да followed by a full clause to state what you think is true ("I think that..."). Use мислити о with a noun in the Locative case to ask for or express an opinion about a topic or person ("What do you think about...?").

How It Works

In Serbian, expressing thoughts involves choosing between a subordinate clause and a prepositional phrase:

1. Stating beliefs with мислити да
The complementizer да introduces a factual claim or personal assertion. Unlike some languages, Serbian does not use a special subjunctive mood here; the clause simply takes standard indicative verb tenses (present, past, or future).

  • Clitic placement: Subordinate clause enclitics (such as auxiliary verbs or short pronouns) adhere to standard rules and typically follow да immediately: Мислим да је дошао.
  • Everyday usage: Мислим да... is frequently used as a polite conversational hedge (equivalent to "I think..." or "In my opinion...").

2. Expressing opinions on a topic with мислити о
When asking for someone's stance or expressing an opinion about a person or subject, pair мислити with the preposition о governing the locative case (answering о коме? or о чему?):

  • Шта мислиш о њеном новом послу? (What do you think about her new job?)
  • Сви добро мисле о њему. (Everyone thinks well of him.)

3. Essential Distinctions: 'о' vs. 'на' vs. 'размишљати'

  • мислити о + Locative vs. мислити на + Accusative: Use о for an opinion, stance, or evaluation. Use на (+ Accusative) when actively holding someone or something in your heart, memory, or immediate focus (e.g., Мислим на тебе = "I'm thinking of you / you are on my mind").
  • мислити vs. размишљати: While мислити о expresses what judgment or stance you have, the active, durative cognitive process of deliberating or pondering over something requires размишљати о (e.g., Размишљам о томе већ сатима = "I've been thinking/deliberating about that for hours").

Examples (5)

  1. Мислим да је овај предлог веома добар.

    I think that this proposal is very good.

    Word by Word: I-think that is this proposal very good.

    Demonstrates 'мислити да' introducing a proposition with the present tense copula clitic 'је' following 'да'.

  2. Шта мислиш о његовом новом стану?

    What do you think about his new apartment?

    Word by Word: What you-think about his new apartment?

    'Мислити о' followed by the masculine locative singular 'његовом новом стану' to solicit an evaluation.

  3. Они мисле да ми немамо довољно времена.

    They think that we don't have enough time.

    Word by Word: They think that we don't-have enough time.

    'Мислити да' in the third-person plural ('мисле') introducing a negative clause.

  4. Често мислим о том проблему.

    I often think about that problem.

    Word by Word: Often I-think about that problem.

    Using 'мислити о' with the demonstrative and noun in the locative case ('том проблему').

  5. Мислим да ће сутра падати киша.

    I think that it will rain tomorrow.

    Word by Word: I-think that will tomorrow fall rain.

    'Мислити да' paired with a future tense clause, showing the future clitic 'ће' placed after 'да'.

Common Mistakes

  • 'Мислим о теби' is correct, but it means thinking about you, not keeping you in mind.

    Different MeaningМислим о теби сваки дан.
    Мислим на тебе сваки дан.

    'Мислити о' (+ locative) means to think about someone or something, as in considering or judging. To say you carry someone in your thoughts and miss them, use 'мислити на' (+ accusative): 'Мислим на тебе сваки дан'.

  • Using the nominative or accusative pronoun after 'о' instead of the locative.

    Шта мислиш о то?
    Шта мислиш о томе?

    The preposition 'о' strictly requires the locative case. The locative of the demonstrative pronoun 'то' is 'томе'.

How It Connects

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мислити да / мислити оLevel 2Saying What You Think

Learn This First

To use 'мислити да' and 'мислити о', learners must be able to conjugate 'мислити' in the present tense and apply the locative case after the preposition 'о'.

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Words in This Pattern

мислитидадао