свиђати се + Dative

Liking Through an Experiencer

Level 3Sounds Like sviđati se + dativ

In Serbian, instead of saying 'I like the book', you say 'To me, the book appeals' (Свиђа ми се књига). The experiencer is in the dative case (ми, ти, му...), the item liked is the grammatical subject in the nominative, and the verb agrees with that item.

How It Works

The construction свиђати се + датив functions identically to Italian piacere, Spanish gustar, or German gefallen. The syntax is inverted compared to English.

1. Case and Agreement Structure
Because the thing or person being liked is the grammatical subject, the verb agrees with it: in the present tense, the verb matches the subject in person and number, while in compound past forms, the participle matches it in gender and number:

  • Свиђа ми се овај филм. (The movie is singular → 3rd person singular verb)
  • Свиђају ми се ови филмови. (The movies are plural → 3rd person plural verb)
  • Свиђаш ми се. (You are the stimulus → 2nd person singular verb: 'I like you / I am attracted to you')

2. Experiencer Pronouns and Clitic Placement
Normally, speakers use the unstressed dative clitics: ми, ти, му, јој, нам, вам, им.

  • These clitics cannot stand at the very beginning of a sentence. Therefore, you say Свиђа ми се... or you must use a stressed tonic pronoun if placing the person first: singular мени, теби, њему, њој or plural нама, вама, њима (e.g., Мени се свиђа... or Нама се свиђа...).
  • The ordering in the clitic group strictly requires the dative pronoun before reflexive се: [Dative] + се (e.g., ти се, нам се).

3. Past Tense and Aspect
The imperfective verb свиђати се (participles свиђао / свиђала) pairs with the perfective verb свидети се (participles свидео / свидела). When evaluating a completed event or impression (e.g., after watching a film or reading a book), Serbian speakers standardly choose the perfective partner свидети се.

In the compound past tense (reflexive perfect) with a 3rd person singular subject, the auxiliary је is obligatorily omitted after се. However, with plural subjects, the 3rd person plural auxiliary су must be retained:

  • Филм ми се свидео. (Singular: auxiliary је dropped — never: *Филм ми се је свидео)
  • Књига ми се свидела. (The participle agrees in gender and number with feminine subject књига)
  • Филмови су ми се свидели. (Plural: the auxiliary су is retained!)
  • Свиђао ми се град док сам живео тамо. (Imperfective: used for a continuous, ongoing state of liking in the past)

4. Meaning: Свиђати се vs. Волети

  • Волети + акузатив denotes love, deep affection, or general habitual preferences (e.g., Волим пицу = 'I like pizza in general').
  • Свиђати се expresses aesthetic appeal, immediate sensory impression, or romantic/physical attraction (e.g., Свиђа ми се ова пица = 'I like this specific pizza I am tasting').

Examples (4)

  1. Свиђа ми се овај нови стан.

    I like this new apartment.

    Word by Word: Is-pleasing to-me self this new apartment.

    The apartment (стан) is singular nominative, so the verb is in the 3rd person singular (свиђа се). The experiencer is the dative clitic 'ми'.

  2. Како ти се свиђају ове ципеле?

    How do you like these shoes?

    Word by Word: How to-you self are-pleasing these shoes?

    The shoes (ципеле) are plural nominative, so the verb takes the 3rd person plural ending (свиђају се).

  3. Мени се одмах свидела њена идеја.

    I liked her idea right away.

    Word by Word: To-me self immediately pleased her idea.

    The tonic pronoun 'мени' is placed first for emphasis. In the past tense, 'њена идеја' is feminine singular, so the active participle is 'свидела', with the auxiliary 'је' dropped after 'се'.

  4. Много му се свиђаш.

    He likes you a lot.

    Word by Word: Much to-him self you-are-pleasing.

    When applied to people, 'свиђати се' signals romantic attraction. The verb conjugates in the 2nd person (свиђаш се) because 'you' are the subject.

Common Mistakes

  • Treating the experiencer as the subject with an accusative object (English literal transfer).

    Ја свиђам ову књигу.
    Свиђа ми се ова књига.

    In Serbian, 'свиђати се' cannot take a nominative experiencer and accusative object. The person must be in the dative (ми) and the item in the nominative (ова књига).

  • Failing to pluralize the verb when the liked items are plural.

    Свиђа ми се ови градови.
    Свиђају ми се ови градови.

    'Свиђа ми се' is not an invariant phrase. Since 'ови градови' is plural nominative, the verb must agree and become 'свиђају'.

  • Placing the short clitic pronoun at the start of a sentence or reversing 'ми' and 'се'.

    Ми се свиђа ова песма.
    Свиђа ми се ова песма.

    Unstressed clitics like 'ми' cannot initiate a sentence. Put the verb first (Свиђа ми се...) or use the stressed form (Мени се свиђа...). Additionally, the dative clitic must always precede 'се'.

How It Connects

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свиђати се + DativeLevel 3Liking Through an Experiencer

Learn This First

Understanding 'свиђати се + датив' requires knowing how short dative pronouns function to mark the experiencer, how clitic pronouns cluster with 'се', and recognizing that the liked item is actually the grammatical subject in the nominative case controlling verb agreement.

Words in This Pattern

свиђати