Stress and short words in a sentence
Ten minutes of the rule that decides where a short word like ми, га or ли can stand: never first, always leaning on the stressed word before it. Build three sentences that put an enclitic in its place, hear two of the grammar lesson's own examples said aloud, and catch the mistake every beginner makes with ли.
The part of the grammar page this lesson drills — read it here, then use it.
Rule 2 - enclitics carry no stress of their own
A closed set of short words - the enclitics - are never stressed. They lean on the stressed word before them and, just like the short form of бити covered earlier, can never begin a sentence or stand alone.
The full list is in the table below: the short forms of бити, the short personal pronouns, the reflexive се, and the question particle ли. When two enclitics land next to each other, they cluster in a fixed order right after the first stressed word.
| Kind | Words |
|---|---|
| Kratki oblici „biti“ | sam, si, je, smo, ste, su |
| Kratke lične zamenice | me, te, ga, je, ju, nas, vas, ih, mi, ti, mu, joj, nam, vam, im |
| Rečca i povratna zamenica | li, se |