радити се о + Locative

Saying What Something Concerns

Level 4Sounds Like raditi se o + lokativ

Use the fixed expression ради се о + локатив to state what something is about, what is at stake, or what an issue concerns. It is strictly impersonal (3rd person singular) and never takes a nominative subject.

How It Works

The pattern ради се о is one of the most widespread topic-introducing expressions in modern Serbian across all registers, from everyday conversation to broadcast journalism and prose.

Key Grammatical Rules:

  • Strictly Impersonal: The verb is locked in the 3rd person singular and never agrees with any plural noun in the sentence. In tenses and moods formed with the active past participle (such as the perfect or conditional), it always takes the neuter singular ending -ло: радило се о... (past) or радило би се о... (conditional), whereas Future I is formed impersonally as радиће се о....
  • Preposition and Case Government: It strictly governs the preposition о followed by the локатив case. Unlike synonyms such as у питању је or посреди је (which require the nominative), ради се must take о + locative.
  • Common Question Form and Clitic Order: A ubiquitous interrogative formula in daily life is О чему се ради? ('What is it about?' / 'What's going on?' / 'What's the issue?'). Following standard clitic order, the reflexive clitic се immediately occupies the second slot after the first phonological constituent: О чему се ради? or Овде се ради о..., but Ради се о... when starting directly with the verb.
  • Introducing Clauses: When followed by a subordinate clause introduced by да, шта, or како, it requires the cataphoric locative demonstrative pronoun томе: Ради се о томе да... ('The point is that...'). Never attach да directly to the verb without о томе.
  • Stylistic Nuance and Register: Although older purist style manuals criticized this pattern as a calque from German (es handelt sich um), contemporary normative linguistics (including Ivan Klajn) confirms it is fully established and natural in standard Serbian. However, while universally accepted in everyday and journalistic usage, conservative editors and stylists still frequently prefer реч је о (+ locative) or посреди је (+ nominative) in high-register formal or academic prose.

Examples (4)

  1. Не ради се о новцу, већ о принципу.

    It is not about money, but about principle.

    Word by Word: Not works itself about money, but about principle.

    Shows the pattern in negation with two contrasted locative nouns (новцу and принципу).

  2. Полиција сумња да се ради о организованом криминалу.

    The police suspect that it is a matter of organized crime.

    Word by Word: Police suspects that itself works about organized crime.

    Here 'се ради о' is used in an embedded clause to define the identity of an offense.

  3. Ради се о томе да тренутно немамо довољно података.

    The issue is that we currently do not have enough data.

    Word by Word: Works itself about that that currently not-we-have enough data.

    Illustrates the construction with 'о томе да' introducing an explanatory complement clause.

  4. У овом роману радило се о судбини једне породице.

    In this novel, it was about the fate of one family.

    Word by Word: In this novel worked itself about fate of-one family.

    Demonstrates the past tense using the neuter singular active participle 'радило се'.

Common Mistakes

  • Making the verb agree in plural with a plural topic noun.

    Они се раде о великим проблемима.
    Ради се о великим проблемима.

    The construction is strictly impersonal and subjectless. The verb must always remain in the 3rd person singular neuter ('ради се', never 'раде се' or 'они се раде').

  • Omitting 'о томе' before a 'да' complement clause.

    Ради се да немамо времена.
    Ради се о томе да немамо времена.

    You cannot connect 'ради се' directly to 'да'. It requires the prepositional phrase 'о томе' to introduce the clause.

  • Using the preposition 'о' with nominative-governing synonyms like 'у питању је'.

    У питању је о великом споразуму.
    Ради се о великом споразуму.

    Do not mix patterns: 'ради се' takes 'о + locative', whereas 'у питању је' or 'посреди је' take the nominative case ('У питању је велики споразум').

How It Connects

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

радити се о + LocativeLevel 4Saying What Something Concerns

Learn This First

To understand 'радити се о + локатив' (meaning 'it is about / it concerns'), learners need to grasp impersonal reflexive constructions with 'се' (since 'ради се' does not mean someone is literally working) and know how the preposition 'о' governs the locative case to mark a topic.

Words in This Pattern

радитио