осим што / поред тога што

Exceptions and Additional Facts

Level 5Sounds Like osim što; pored toga što

Both осим што and поред тога што introduce finite subordinate clauses that qualify a main clause. Осим што can express either an exception ('except that') or an addition ('besides / in addition to the fact that'), depending on semantic context (such as negative or universal statements) and focal particles like и. In contrast, поред тога што expresses purely additive facts ('in addition to the fact that...'). While осим што directly links with што (alongside the variant осим тога што), поред strictly demands the genitive pronoun тога.

How It Works

In Serbian complex sentences, subordinate clauses introduced by осим што and поред тога што allow speakers to contextualize background facts as restrictions or additions.

1. Осим што (Exceptive vs. Additive Meaning)
• Ексцептивно значење (значење изузимања / exceptive meaning): Subtracts a specific fact or condition from a broad generalization or negative proposition (expressed by quantifiers like све, сви, ништа, нико). While it frequently follows the main clause (Кућа је одлична, осим што је кров стар), it can also appear at the start of the sentence: Осим што студира, ништа друго не ради ('Except for studying, he does nothing else'). Standard synonyms with identical exceptive function include сем што and изузев што.
• Адитивно значење (additive meaning): Adds a supplementary fact ('besides the fact that...'). The additive reading is signaled primarily by focal markers such as и ('also') or correlatives like не само ... него и. While it often appears preposed (Осим што пише песме, он и компонује), it can also be postposed: Он студира медицину, осим што и ради. In additive contexts, the fuller variant осим тога што is also standard and frequent.

2. Поред тога што (Additive & Cumulative)
• Expresses that two facts hold true concurrently: Поред тога што путује, он пише књигу ('In addition to traveling, he writes a book').
• Obligatory pronoun тога: Unlike осим што (which permits the complementizer што directly after the preposition осим), prepositional поред cannot fuse directly with што. The genitive demonstrative pronoun тога is strictly required (*поред што is completely ungrammatical).
• Concessive nuance: If the intention is to convey concession ('despite the fact that') rather than mere addition, Serbian adds the scalar particle и (и поред тога што...) or uses full clausal concessive frames like упркос томе што... (built with упркос and dative томе).

3. Punctuation and Structure
• Subordinate clauses preposed before the main clause are routinely set off by a comma.
• In postposition, exceptive clauses introduced by осим што, сем што, or изузев што take a preceding comma because they delimit and restrict the preceding assertion.

Examples (5)

  1. Кућа је у одличном стању, осим што кров мора да се поправи.

    The house is in excellent condition, except that the roof needs to be repaired.

    Word by Word: House is in excellent condition, except that roof must that self repairs.

    Here 'осим што' follows the main clause, functioning as an exceptive connector that qualifies a broad statement.

  2. Поред тога што течно говори енглески, она одлично зна и француски.

    In addition to speaking English fluently, she also knows French very well.

    Word by Word: Beside that what fluently speaks English, she excellently knows and French.

    'Поред тога што' opens the sentence to add a secondary fact. Notice the focal particle 'и' in the main clause.

  3. Осим што је веома талентован, он је и изузетно вредан.

    Besides being very talented, he is also exceptionally hardworking.

    Word by Word: Except what is very talented, he is and exceptionally hardworking.

    When preposed, 'осим што' functions additively ('not only is he talented, but he is also hardworking').

  4. Сви су испити били лаки, осим што је тест из хемије био дуг.

    All the exams were easy, except that the chemistry test was long.

    Word by Word: All are exams been easy, except that is test from chemistry been long.

    An exceptive clause restricting a universal statement ('all exams').

  5. Поред тога што редовно вежба, он пази и на исхрану.

    In addition to exercising regularly, he also pays attention to his diet.

    Word by Word: Beside that what regularly exercises, he watches and on nutrition.

    Shows two concurrent healthy habits joined additively with 'поред тога што'.

Common Mistakes

  • Omitting the pronoun 'тога' with 'поред'.

    Поред што ради, он студира.
    Поред тога што ради, он студира.

    Prepositional conjunction locutions based on 'поред' syntactically require the genitive demonstrative pronoun 'тога'. Leaving it out (*поред што) is ungrammatical.

  • Always adding 'и' after 'поред тога што'.

    Different MeaningПоред тога што учи, он ради.
    Поред тога што учи, он и ради.

    'Поред тога што учи, он ради' is correct and natural. Adding 'и' (or 'такође') in the main clause, as in 'он и ради', only stresses the extra fact.

  • Using 'осим што' before a simple noun phrase without a verb.

    Сви су дошли осим што Марко.
    Сви су дошли осим Марка.

    'Осим што' connects full finite clauses with verbs. When excluding a single noun, use the preposition 'осим' followed by the genitive case.

How It Connects

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

осим што / поред тога штоLevel 5Exceptions and Additional Facts

Learn This First

To use 'осим што' (except that) and 'поред тога што' (besides/in addition to that), learners need to understand how prepositions combine with demonstratives and 'што' to introduce clausal exceptions and additions, building directly on the meanings of 'осим' and 'поред'.

Words in This Pattern

осимпоредшто