SERBIAN VERBS WITH PREFIXES

IZ-, PRE-, AND RAZAND THEIR ENGLISH EQUIVALENTS,

KLAJN, I. (2002)

Author:
Aleksandra Ili

CONTENTS
1. Abstract.3
2. The significance of verbs in Serbian language...................................4
3. Verb prefixation...4
4. Verbal prefixes in Serbian...5
5. Prefix frequency...................................6
6. Prefix meanings....8
7. Meanings of the prefix iz-9
8. Meanings of the prefix pre-12
9. Meanings of the prefix raz-14
10. Prefixes iz-, pre-, and raz- in the context of aspect and aktionsart.15
11. Prefix iz- and aspect and aktionsart......16
12. Prefix raz- and aspect and aktionsart...16
13. Prefix pre- and aspect and aktionsart...17
14. Verbs with prefixes iz-, pre-, and raz- and their English equivalents....17
15. Prefix iz-...17
16. Prefix pre-18
17. Prefix raz-18
18. Conclusion...18
19. References...20

Abstract
According to Babi (1986), verbal prefixation is one of the most productive verbal
derivation processes. The abundance of meanings and nuances in meaning added through this
process makes devising a comprehensive classification of prefix meanings a highly
demanding and complex, perhaps even impossible task. The present paper will look at the
classification given by Klajn (2002) and remark on the classifications of both this author and
several others. It will also give a brief overview of the relationship between verbal prefixation
and verbal aspect and situation type, in accordance with the reports of several authors, but
primarily Novakov (2005). Finally, it will look at the patterns observed in forms of English
equivalents of Serbian verbs with prefixes iz-, pre-, and raz-, as well as consider general
trends in this matter.
Thus, the aim of this paper will be to offer a concise overview of different aspects of
verbal prefixation in Serbian and the ways the meanings thus obtained are transferred into
English, with the addition of occasional comments given by the author which will reflect her
own views of certain problems in this matter.
Key words: verbs, prefixation, meaning, aspect, aktionsart, English equivalents

1. The significance of verbs in Serbian language

In languages around the world, verbs constitute a highly significant word class, especially
from the information aspect. Placed in a context, they provide information about the event in
question and appear in different forms, depending on the speakers choice of features such as
tense, aspect, mood, voice. In Serbian, their informative value increases due to the wealth of
affixation possibilities and the elements of meaning attached to the aforementioned affixes.
For illustration purposes, let us look at a sentence in Serbian and discuss all the pieces of
information we can extract by looking at the verb alone:
(1) Priala mu je o svom danu.
Focusing on the verb only, we can make several conclusions. We know that the subject is
female, singular, that the event in question happened in the past, that it lasted for an indefinite
amount of time, without an ending implied, that the subject had an active role in the process.
Thus, the verb in itself contains an abundance of key information, greatly due to the attached
suffix.
In the given sentence, the lexical verb does not have a prefix attached. However, this
verb, just like many other verbs in Serbian, can be combined with a number of prefixes (with
consequential changes in meaning), e.g. prepriati, napriati, propriati, raspriati se, and
ispriati (se). It is perhaps interesting to note that the verb priati has the same meaning in
both Serbian and Croatian (once considered to be one language: Serbo-Croatian), but
ispriati se has completely different meanings in the two languages (Serbian to have a
detailed, relatively long talk; Croatian to apologize).
2. Verb prefixation
As seen in the previous section, prefixes are widely used in combination with Serbian
verbs. This is not the case in Serbian only; in numerous Indo-European languages, verbs are
the word class most readily and diversely combined with prefixes, and that might be the
reason why in early works, verb prefixation is the only kind of prefixation mentioned (Klajn,
2002).

2.1.

Verbal prefixes in Serbian

Several authors have strived to create a finite list of verbal prefixes in Serbian. This list is
mostly agreed upon, with possible additions, but no significant alterations. For the purpose of
this paper, the author has chosen to focus on Klajns (2002) overview of lists of Serbian
verbal prefixes offered by several significant authors, and briefly comment on certain features
of the authors approach.

The list offered by Mareti (1899:382); note that the author did not use hyphens,
which indicates that he views the elements of his list as prepositions, not prefixes:
do, iz, na, nad, o(b), od, po, pod, pre, pri, pro, raz, s(a), u, uz, and za.
In addition to this list, Mareti also mentiones the prefix mimo, emphasizing the
limitation of its use to verbs mimoii and mimoilaziti; and the prefix pred, asserting
that it is not found in colloquial language, but only used by literary authors (e.g.
predvidjeti), after German and Latin forms (voraussehen, praevidere). However, the
prefix pred- is nowadays commonly used as a verbal prefix in everyday speech. What
the author of this paper finds interesting about this prefix (as well as numerous other
prefixes) are the instances of its use in which it is hard to separate the prefix from the
verbal base, since the base itself is not used independently, but the nuance in meaning
added by the prefix is readily observable. For instance, in cases of verbs such as
preduprediti and preduhitriti, one could argue that the variant of prefix in question is
predu-, but that does not solve the problem of the lack of independence of the base.
Neither hitriti (although similar to hitati and having the same root as the adjective
hitro) nor prediti are (perhaps, no longer) legitimate Serbian verbs, and they occur
only within verbs preduhitriti and preduprediti respectively, and yet, the meanings of
the latter verbs indubitably contain the nuances in meaning added by the prefix pred-.

This kind of verbs is commonly referred to in linguistics as having bound bases.

The list offered by Leskin (1914:480) can be viewed as a slight extension of Maretis
list, since it includes all prefixes given by Mareti, with the addition of forms derived
by adding the vowel a in cases of a/zero vowel alteration (e.g. iza-, oba-, etc.). Leskin
also distinguishes between the prefix u derived from Old Slavic v hinein and the

prefix u derived from Old Slavic ou ab, njeg, treating them as two separate prefixes.
The list offered by Beli (1949:295296) is identical to the one offered by Mareti.
The list offered by Stevanovi (1964:452468) differs from the two aforementioned
lists (Mareti (1899) and Beli (1949)) in the fact that it does not mention prefixes
pred- and mimo-.
5

The list offered by Nikoli (1972:276283) is identical to the one offered by

Stevanovi.
The list offered by Bari et al. (1979:297-303) includes the sixteen prefixes agreed
upon by all of the aforementioned authors, as well as prefixes pred- and mimo-. The
innovation in this list is featured in treating su- and s- as two separate prefixes, while

o- and ob- are still regarded as variants of one and the same suffix.
The list offered by Babi (1986) is significantly extended (27 prefixes instead of only
16 prefixes generally agreed upon), but not revolutionarily different from the
previously mentioned lists. Namely, apart from including the 19 prefixes found in the
list offered by Bari (1979), Babi goes one step further and treats o- and ob- as two
separate prefixes, adds prefixes pa-, naj-, protu-, and suprot- (however, the use of
each of the four of these prefixes is limited to two verbs at most), and foreign prefixes
de-, dis-, and re-. The remark made by the author of this paper, that this list is not
revolutionary different, is based on the fact that, although aptly detected, the four
Serbian prefixes adjoined to the common list (pa-, naj-, protu-, and suprot-) can be
combined with an extremely limited group of verbs (less than ten in total), while the
three foreign prefixes included in the list are most commonly combined with foreign
words used in Serbian, which makes their relevance to the given list arguable. It is
perhaps interesting to note that Klajn (2002) comments on the choice of examples
used in Babis work noting that it is rather superficial, and that the authors
interpretation of numerous verbs can easily be contested.
2.2.

Prefix frequency

Novakov (2005:63), in accordance with Babi (1987:477) notes that verbal prefixation is
one of the most productive processes in verbal derivation, with verbs with prefixes
constituting more than a half of the verbs derived from other verbs. Hence, it would perhaps
be interesting to examine how frequently verbal prefixes occur in texts in Serbian language. A
study conducted by Vasilijevi (2012) sheds some light on this matter, by including an
analysis of the number of occurrences of verbal prefixes in literary texts. Vasilijevi (2012)
chose to analyze a small corpus made up of Goran Petrovis short stories taken from the
collection Everything I Know About Time published in 2003. The table that follows is
taken from the aforementioned work for the purpose of illustration.

Prefixes in Serbian language

Prefix

Number of occurrences

Distribution

Pre-

25

8.33%

Pri-

2.33%

Pro-

20

6.66%

Po-

44

14.66%

Uz-

1.33%

Iz-

25

8.33%

Na-

17

5.66%

S-

23

7.66%

O-

27

9%

Od-

16

5.33%

Ob-

0.33%

Za-

36

12%

Su-

0.33%

Pod-

0.66%

Do.

17

5.66%

Raz-

19

6.33%

U-

16

5.33%

Mimo-

0.33%

Table 1 Frequency and distribution of verbal prefixes in a small corpus of Serbian literary
texts,
Vasilijevi (2012)

As can be seen in Table 1, the most frequent verbal prefixes in this corpus were
prefixes po- (44) and za- (36). However, the author of the present paper will in further text be
focusing on prefixes iz-, pre-, and raz- and is thus more interested in the frequency of these
three prefixes. It can be deduced that in terms of the number of occurrences, the three
prefixes are found in the upper half, with pre- and iz- having identically high frequencies (25,
that is 8.33%), being more frequent than as many as 14 out of 18 prefixes found in the
corpus, while prefix raz- is slightly less frequent, with 19 occurrences, making up 6.33
percent of the total and being more frequent than more than a half (10 out of 18) of the
prefixes in the list.
7

2.3. Prefix meanings

As noted in Klajn (2002), out of sixteen verbal prefixes generally agreed upon, thirteen
belong to the word class of prepositions. Similarly to English and other Indo-European
languages, in Serbian, prepositions are highly polysemous. For example, the preposition na
has approximately 50 different meanings, which does not make it unique, but rather similar to
the other prepositions in Serbian in terms of the wealth of meanings. Furthermore, when used
as prefixes in combination with verbs, they develop numerous other, non-prepositional
meanings, which further complicates the task of placing them all within a satisfyingly
comprehensive classification. This is the reason why different authors offer classifications
which inevitably differ in terms of interpretation of instances of use, naming and forming
classes and subclasses, as well as defining the meanings. What also sets certain papers on the
subject apart from the others is the approach applied. On one hand, there is the inevitably
concise and somewhat generalized approach of the authors of grammar books listing only the
most frequent and the most typical meanings, and on the other, one can find a more detailed
and specified approach of certain authors. An instance of the latter is the work of Grickat
(1966), which includes a finer differentiation, as well as a detailed account of the
development and interconnectedness of different meanings. Another related, but
methodologically different paper is the one by Klikovac (1998), referred to as the first indepth analysis of a verbal prefix in Serbian. The aim of the paper was to determine the
general meaning mechanisms operating in our language through the application of cognitive
linguistic, using the example of verbal prefix raz-. The similarity between the two papers lies
in the application of the model of the linguistic tree or (semantic) network, essentially far
more delicate than a simple division in the form of a list. However, this approach has
significant downsides. Although admirably detailed, the results of the application of such
models are too complex for the purposes of grammatical description. As Klajn (2002) points
out, such extensively nuanced and detailed analysis of a prefix as found in the work of
Klikovac (1998), when applied to all prefixes, would lead to the conclusion that all prefixes
can have all meanings, which would make the entire process of classifying futile.
The author of this paper will thus focus on Klajns (2002) classification which adopts the
same taxonomic approach used by grammarians, but with the final results improved due to
the increased number of examples, introducing a separate category for verbs whose meaning
cannot be regarded as described by any of the definitions offered, as well as combining the
8

results of the research done so far in order to provide a larger and more accurate picture of the
actual state in language.
The prefixes whose meanings will be further discussed in the following sections are iz-,
pre-, and raz-.
3. Meanings of the prefix izPrefix iz- is one of the most frequently found prefixes in dictionaries of Serbian, as well
as being always productive, especially as means for perfectivization. Apart from its basic
form, this prefix has five alomorphs, which are as follows:

is- when the prefix is followed by verbs beginning with voiceless consonants
(ispevati)

i- when the prefix is followed by verbs beginning with (iekiati) or (ierati)

i- only in rare verbs such as idikljati or iik(lj)ati

i- when the prefix is followed by verbs beginning with s, z, , (isuiti, izraiti,

iibati, iiveti)

iza- when followed by a verb beginning with a consonant cluster in infinitive

(izatkati) or present tense (izaspem)

1) The basic spatial meaning of the preposition iz is preserved in numerous transitive verbs,
such as: izbaciti, izn(ij)eti, izgurati, ist(j)erati, isturiti, istisnuti, izvaliti, izvui, istresti,
ispustiti, and more.
The same is the case in transitive verbs with more specific meanings: istovariti, iskopati,
izlei, isc(ij)editi, izluiti, iskaljati, ispregnuti, iakati, izmamiti and others.
This spatial meaning is also preserved in some intransitive verbs, such as: izii/izai, iskoiti,
istrati, ispasti, izjahati, isplivati, isploviti, izroniti, izmileti/-ljeti, istei, iscuriti, ispariti,
iskrvariti, etc.
These verbs are commonly followed by the same preposition (izai iz, izbaciti iz, izmileti
iz...).
1a) One of the subgroups of these verbs is constituted by those verbs which are
characterized by the metaforical notion of movement from (iz) the mouth or chest:
izdahnuti, izrei, iskazati, izustiti, izgovoriti, izbrbljati (se), izjaviti, and others.
The subgroup also includes verbs denoting actions originating from (iz) the head:
izmisliti, iznai, izmozgati, isp(j)evati, etc.

1b) Another subgroup comprises verbs denoting movement or spreading from (iz) one
point in vertical or horizonal direction: izdii (se), ispraviti (se), ispruiti (se),
istegnuti (se), etc.
2) Similar to verbs of movement are verbs such as: izostaviti, izuzeti, izdvojiti, iskljuiti,
izoptiti, which are also commonly followed by iz + genitive. Possibly the only intransitive
verb belonging to this category is the verb izostati. Since these verbs denote exlusion from a
larger group of beings or objects, Klajn (2002) argues that the category can also include the
verbs izabrati, izglasati, izjasniti se. However, the author of this paper finds the verb izjasniti
se to be a less typical representative of the category, with the notion of exclusion from the
group not as transparently present as in the other verbs.
3) As noted by Stevanovi (1964:456), numerous transitive verbs with prefix iz- are derived
from adjectives and their meaning is characterized by attributing features denoted by the
adjective from which they are derived. Such is the case of: izotriti, istupiti, izduiti, istanjiti,
ispuniti, isprazniti, iskriviti, ispraviti, izravnati, izgladiti, izjednaiti, istr(ij)ezniti, etc.
The number of such intransitive and reflexive verbs is significantly smaller, and these are
verbs such as: izbl(ij)ed(j)eti, izjaloviti se, izbezobraziti se.
4) The meaning of attaining a goal by virtue of persistent performing of the activity denoted
by the base verb is present in verbs such as: izmoliti, iskamiti, iskukati, isplakati, isprositi,
isprosjaiti, izboriti, izvojevati, isposlovati
Similar meaning has the verb iznuditi; however, there is a clear semantic distinction between
the original verb and the verb with the given prefix (cf. prinuditi; Skok, P (1971-74) nuditi
originally siliti).
5) Another group of verbs with prefix iz- is constituted by sative verbs verbs denoting
actions done to a sufficient extent. In accordance with the features of the sative meaning,
these verbs can be divided into at least two groups:
a) activity lasts until needs or causing emotions are satisfied: reflexive verbs such as:
ispavati se, isplakati se, izvikati se, izbesneti/izbjesnjeti se, izduvati se, iiv(j)eti se
(more frequent form of the verb iiv(j)eti se is the imperfective form iivljavati se, but
with a rather significant change in meaning.
b) activity lasts until the end, as long as possible: : ispisati, iarati, iskititi, izgraditi,
izreati, izbrojati, ispriati, izljubiti, izuiti, istraiti, iskuvati, ispucati (polisemous),
istrajati (difference in meaning in comparison to trajati), ispresavijati, izukrtati, etc.
Many verbs from this group denote hostile, aggressive activities, such as ispsovati,
izgrditi, izudarati, izmlatiti, istui, isprebijati, ispreskakati, izgaziti etc.
10

These verbs are not solely perfective, which is easily observable in comparison of e.g.
izljubiti and poljubiti, izudarati and udariti, izuiti and nauiti. In many verbs, this
distinction is not as straightforward, especially in those cases where the original verb
already carries the meaning of completeness: ispuniti, iscrpsti, istr(ij)ebiti.
c) Similar to sative meaning is what some authors label as distributive meaning,
reflected in:
- activities done by multiple subjects, usually in succesion: izginuti, izumreti;
- activities done on multiple objects: izroditi, ieniti.
These verbs usually include two or three prefixes: izopijati se, isposvaati se,
ispreturati, izujedati, ispodvlaiti, ispolagati, isporazbol(ij)evati se, etc.
6) The prefix iz- has a purely perfective function in combination with various transitive verbs
with different semantic meanings: izraditi, izvriti, iskoristiti, izgubiti, izraunati, isc(ij)epati,
iskidati, iskvariti, isprljati, izm(j)eriti, izm(ij)eniti, ispriati, izl(ij)eiti, izdubiti, izgristi,
ispei, and more.
There are fewer instances of solely perfective function of this prefix in intransitive
and reflexive verbs: izrasti, izgor(j)eti, istrunuti, izlud(j)eti, as well as reflexive izrugati se.
The author of this paper would like to briefly note that the verb izlud(j)eti is often used as a
transitive verb, so it should perhaps rather be classified as being both transitive and
intransitive.
It should be noted that it is often hard to differentiate between verbs in 6) and those in
5b) (sative), especially in the cases of activities rarely left undone and thus not needing a
sative form (izraunati, izgoreti).
Iz- is the prefix most commonly used in prefixation of foreign origin verbs ending in
-irati, -isati, and -ovati: izdiktirati, izdresirati, isplanirati, isprovocirati, iskonstruisati
Base verbs with these prefixes can usually be considered both as perfective and
imperfective, which is why a perfective prefix was often considered redundant by the
conservative grammarians (Stevanovi 1952).
However, now its addition is common practice in creation of various neologisms:
iziritirati, izdizajnirati, istestirati, isprogramirati, isfinansirati, izmanipulisati, izmistifikovati,
izrotirati se, isparodirati, izmaltretirati, iskalkulisati, iskristalisati/-zirati/-zovati, as well as in
domestic neologism ispotovati, whose use is becoming increasingly popular.
Verbs which do not fall into any of the aforementioned categories and lack clear semantic
relation between the base verb and the verb with the given prefix are as follows: izgledati,
11

izviati, izokrenuti, izvrnuti, iekivati, ismejati, izigrati, izvisiti, izgutati, izvikati, izgustirati,
and more.
4. Meanings of the prefix pre-

1) Most of the verbs with this prefix preserve, either directly or indirectly, the spatial meaning
denoted by the preposition preko. Movement from one point to the other, across or above a
surface is denoted by verbs such as: pren(ij)eti, prevui, prevesti (-ezem), prevesti (-edem),
prebaciti, prem(j)estiti, preseliti, presaditi, preskoiti, prekoraiti, pregaziti, preplivati,
preploviti, prebroditi, premostiti, preliti, pretoiti, presuti/-sipati.
There are only few few verbs in this category which could be both transitive and
intransitive: prei, preleteti, pretrati.
Most of the aforementioned verbs, but not all, can be followed by preko ega.
1a) Another subgroup is constituted by verbs denoting circular movement in one
direction: prevrnuti, preturiti, preokrenuti, prevaliti (se). However, the author of this
paper would argue that the verb prevaliti (without reflexive se) does not necessarily
denote circular movement, like in the case of one of its most frequent uses: prevaliti
dug put. Here, the meaning, although spacial and involving movement, does not
include the circular component. Hence, classifying this verb into the given category
might not be completely justified.
2) The meaning of an obstacle, which was derived from the meaning of transverse movement
is found in verbs such as: prepreiti, pregraditi, presresti.
The more frequently found meaning of interruption, again derived from the meaning of
transverse movement is present in verbs such as: prekinuti, prelomiti, prepoloviti, pres(j)ei,
prerezati, prestrugati, pretesteri(sa)ti, pregristi, prekratiti, prepuce
3) One group of verbs with this prefix includes verbs denoting activities done from one to the
other end of the object, or spreading across the entire object. Such verbs are: preorati,
prekopati, prebrati, prem(j)eriti, premazati, prekriti, preplaviti, premlatiti, preznojiti se, etc.,
as well as, in somewhat broader sense: prebrojati, presluati, preistiti...
There are only few intransitive verbs in this group: prebledeti, presuiti, pregladneti...
3a) Analogous meaning with a temporal component (execute or endure for as long as
it takes) is found in verbs such as: preiv(j)eti, pres(j)ed(j)eti, preleati, pretrp(j)eti,
pregrm(j)eti, prepatiti, preboleti/-ljeti, prealiti, prebrinuti.
Similar are the verbs denoting endurance in a passive condition: preutati, prespavati;
as well as, to a certain extent, prehraniti (feed for as long as its needed).
12

3b) An addition to this group of verbs are intransitive verbs derived from nouns such
as: prezimiti, prenoiti, predaniti
The meaning of these verbs is straightforward, as they denote spending the indicated
amount of time.
Similar to these verbs are: precvetati, preboleti, prebrinuti.
Probably derived from the previously mentioned meaning (3) is that denoting an
activity which is repeated, but done differently, or denoting change in general. Such
verbs are: preurediti, preobui, preporoditi (se)
Verbs that denote reproduction can also be included in this group, such as: prepisati,
precrtati, preslikati, prekucati, pretampati, prepriati, prep(j)evati.
Prefixation with pre- has recently become a very productive semantic model, which is
reflected in verbs such as: prevrednovati, preoc(ij)eniti (possibly calques of revalorizovati),
prerasporediti, preregistrovati, preparkirati, premontirati, prestrukturirati, and more.

5) Similarly to adjectives, verbs with the prefix pre- often denote excessiveness: prepuniti,
pretrpati, pretovariti, presoliti
There are few intransitive verbs in this group: preterati, prepiti, prestariti
Reflexive verbs are slightly more frequent than intransitive: premoriti se, prehladiti se (slight
shift in meaning), prezaduiti se.
5a) Verbs that denote crossing certain limit constitute one subgroup of verbs with this
meaning: prestupiti, premaiti, pretei
6) There is a rather limited set of verbs in which the prefix pre- serves only as means of
perfectivisation: prevariti, prestraiti, presuditi, and a few more.
Verbs which do not fall into any of the given categories are: prevideti, preuti, preuzeti,
preoteti, predati, prepustiti, prepoznati, presaviti, prepasti, preporuiti, prestati, preostati,
pregovarati, premiljati (se)...

5. Meanings of the prefix razJudging by the number of verbs with which it is combined, as well as the number of
allomorphs and the abundance of meanings, the prefix raz- can be considered to be one of the
most productive prefixes in Serbian language.
13

Similarly to the prefix iz-, the prefix raz-, apart from its basic form, has five
allomorphs, which are as follows:

ras- when the prefix is followed by a verb beginning with a voiceless consonant.

ra- is found in verbs such as raeljati, raupati, raeretati se.

ra- is found only in several rare verbs, such as raipati se, radarati, radilitati
se.

ra- is a frequently found allomorph, such as in the case of raseliti, rasei, rairiti.

raza- is found when the prefix is followed by a verb beginning with a consonant
cluster: razaznati, razaslati, razabrati.
The meaning of the prefix raz- has a rather centralized meaning, that is, it is in close

relation to the prototypical meaning defined by Klikovac (1998) as moving from center to
the periphery. However, the semantics in question are rather complex, with numerous
variations and alterations of the basic meaning, with a significant influence of metaphorical
meanings.
1) The first group of verbs with this prefix denotes dividing or breaking apart an object or a
group, and it includes transitive verbs such as: razbiti, razlomiti, raskinuti, raskomadati,
razmai, razneti, razderati, ralaniti, razliti, rasuti, razbacati, raseliti, razjuriti, razvesti
1a) A subgroup of these verbs denotes movement in various directions, often without
violent breaking apart of a whole: rasprodati, raspustiti, raspremiti
This meaning can also be realized figuratively: razglasiti, rastrubiti, razmnoavati
Reflexive verbs with this meaning are: raspasti se, razleteti se, razmileti se
A more abstract variation of the meaning is found in the verb rauti se.
1b) Another subgroup includes verbs with metaphorical application of the prefix:
razabrati, razaznati, raspoznati, razlikovati, razumeti, razmiljati, rasuivati,
raspraviti, razvrstati
2) Verbs with prefix raz- can also denote an increase in circumference or area, as a result of
movement in two or three dimensions: razviti, razmotati, razapeti
3) Another meaning is that of a change in firmness or physical state, as in verbs: rasklimati,
razvezati, razreiti, raeljati, rastopiti, raskraviti, rastvoriti, raskvasiti, razmutiti,
raskuvati, razrediti, razblaiti
4) Verbs with this prefix can often denote the diminshment or the opposite of building,
binding, compactness, as well as other activities: razgraditi, raskovati, razlepiti, rasplesti,
razmrsiti, raspetljati, razviti, razmotati, razoarati, razduiti, razuzdati, and more.

14

5) An interesting group of these verbs possesses ingressive and factitive meaning, i.e. denote
causing a mood in someone: razveseliti, rastuiti, raalostiti, razljutiti, razneiti, razbesneti,
razdraiti
5a) These verbs can express not only the beginning, but also the further phases of a
condition (intensive meaning): rashladiti, razvedriti, razmaziti, as well as reflexive:
razbuktati se, rasplamteti se, razmahati se, and can further denote imposing
behaviour: raspriati se, razvikati se, raskokodakati se
6) There are no definite examples of exclusive perfectivisation with this prefix.
Verbs which do not fall into any of the aforementioned categories are: razoriti,
razbucati, ratrkati, razgaliti, razdrljiti...
6. Prefixes iz-, pre-, and raz- in the context of aspect and aktionsart

Building on the results of the study by Novakov (2005), conducted on a sample of

Serbian verbs and using Vendlers tests in order to determine the relationship between
prefixation and the features of verbal aspect and situation type, several conclusions can be
made.
As noted by Novakov (2005) after Babi (1986), as well as by Milivojevi (2005),
verbs with prefixes are normally perfective by nature. If a verb with a prefix is imperfective,
the cause of this divergence from the rule can be found in the reverse course of events. Babi
asserts that the verb in question was not derived by prefixation, but rather by
imperfectivization of a perfective verb. This is primarily achieved by the use of an infix.
Thus, one can expect, unless in the cases of imperfectivization, that verbs with
prefixes will in general be perfective, regardless of the aspect of the base verb, and this
assumption was confirmed in Novakovs study, as we will later see on the examples of the
three selected prefixes.
Before we proceed to the brief analysis of the results regarding the three prefixes, it is
necessary to note that, as pointed out by Milivojevi (2005), no definitive conclusions can be
drawn by observing verbs in isolation, since the situation significantly changes once the verb
is observed in full linguistic context. However, a more detailed analysis of verbs in full
context would require a more extensive sample and a broader discussion, which would

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surpass the scope of this paper. Thus, we will focus on the more generalized results offered in
Novakov (2005), aware of the limitations imposed by such approach.

6.1.

Prefix iz- and aspect and aktionsart

According to the sample used in the study by Novakov (2005), verbs combined with
this prefix are most commonly activities (around 90%), and rarely achievements and states.
Once verbs denoting activities are combined with this prefix, the situation type changes from
activity to either accomplishment or achievement. Similarly to activities, combination of a
state with the prefix iz causes the situation type to change from state to achievement. In the
cases of prefixation of achievements, the situation type remains unchanged.
The primary conclusion to be drawn from these results is that the shift of the feature
goal from to +, or the preservation of the latter, indicate perfectiveness of the verb. As all
verbs with the given prefix are either accomplishments or achievements, possessing the
feature +goal, this conclusion can be generalized to virtually all non-imperfectivized verbs
with this prefix.

6.2.

Prefix raz- and aspect and aktionsart

Similarly to verbs with prefix iz-, verbs combined with the prefix raz- are most
commonly activities, and less often states and achievements. The shift of the situation types
after the perfectivization follows the pattern observed in the case of the prefix iz-. Once
again, the verbs with the given prefix are either accomplishments or achievements, regardless
of the situation type of the original verb, with the distinction being that in the case of
achievements, there is no change in situation type, in the case of states, the shift is primarily
towards achievements, while activities can become either accomplishments of achievements.
Disregarding the possibility of imperfectivization, the verbs with prefix raz- are normally
perfective.

6.3.

Prefix pre- and aspect and aktionsart

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As noted by Novakov (2005), verbs combined with this prefix are most commonly
activities (87%), with a limited number of achievements (11%), and only several states.
Activities and states in combination with this prefixes become either accomplishments or
achievements, while achievements suffer no change in situation type. Again, verbs derived by
combination with this prefix are perfective.
It is difficult to oversee the recurring pattern in the situation type shifts and aspect of
the verbs combined with prefixes. This pattern speaks in favor of the aforementioned premise
that prefixation equals perfectivization, while in terms of situation type, verbs with prefixes
tend to be accomplishments or achievements, that is, tend to possess the feature +goal.
Apart from the stated change in the feature of goal, which is the most prominent, it
should also be noted that the features affected in the process of prefixation are also stativity
and duration.
However, it should once again be noted that different patterns could be observed in
broader contexts, and that these contexts can steer the meaning and grammatical behavior of
verbs is different and often unpredictable directions.

7. Verbs with prefixes iz-, pre-, and raz- and their English equivalents
In this section, the author will offer a short list of English equivalents of verbs
combined with prefixes iz-, pre-, and raz- and briefly comment on the observable patterns.
a) Prefix iz

izvui pull out

izgledati look (a certain way)

isprljati sully, make dirty, less direct equivalent: stain

izmlatiti beat up

izduvati se let (blow) off steam, deflate

b) Prefix pre-

prepisati copy
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precrtati trace, cross out

preskoiti jump over, skip

prejesti se overeat

pretampati reprint
c) Prefix raz-

razgledati look around, browse

raspakovati unpack

razjasniti make clear

razvedriti brighten up, clear up

razvesti - divorce
The given examples confirm the premise stated in Novakov (2005), that English

equivalents of verbs with prefixes rarely include prefixes, with the most common prefixes
re- and over- usually occurring as the equivalents of verbs with prefix pre-. Another
relatively frequent prefix is un-, which most commonly occurs in equivalents of verbs with
prefix od-, but appears in our list as well as within the equivalent of the verb raspakovati.
There are also instances of lexical verbs which, in themselves, contain the meaning denoted
by the Serbian verb with a prefix (divorce, trace, browse, copy). Another option is the use of
catenative constructions as English equivalents. In general, some of the most frequent
English equivalents of these verbs are phrasal verbs, while the detailed argumentation of this
hypothesis is offered in the study by Milivojevi (2005).
8. Conclusion
As noted in the section 2.2, verbal prefixation is one of the most productive processes
of verbal derivation. The nuances in meaning arising from this process are numerous and
make the process of creating a comprehensive classification of prefix meanings exceedingly
difficult. Despite the differences in approaches of various authors arising from this problem,
the list of prefixes in Serbian is generally agreed upon, and the classifications of meanings
offered by grammarians overlap significantly. This paper has not focused on more detailed

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classifications of certain prefix meanings which were the result of the application of tree or
network models, due to their complexity, primarily in terms of interpretation.
Regarding the relationship between prefixation and aspect and aktionsart, the readily
observable patterns speak in favor of the conclusion that prefixation equals perfectivization
and presence of the +goal feature, however, these conclusions are not generalizable due to the
lack of in-depth analysis in full linguistic context.
The sample of the English equivalents offered in this paper was too small for
generalizations, which is why the author has resorted to the analysis of the results of more
detailed studies.

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