I need help with formatting of a phrase please!

Can someone properly format the phrase (From the song Suze):

i noćas gledam u zvezde pitam se šta je sudbina?

Meaning with quotation marks and commas and whatnot? I don't know the exact rules for formatting dialogue.

Thank you!!

Would I be able to write it like this?:

i noćas gledam u zvezde, pitam se, "šta je sudbina?"

(Of course that's without capitalization)

I think it's right

Originally Posted by tedinkyyy

I think it's right

Thanks!

I just want to make sure it's 100% right. I can't imagine that the formatting is any different, but I just want to make sure. I guess I'll read some "pobjeda" articles to see if it's any different haha.

Originally Posted by Acrylic

Can someone properly format the phrase (From the song Suze):
i noćas gledam u zvezde pitam se šta je sudbina?

I noćas gledam u zvezde, pitam se šta je sudbina.
(there is no question mark in the end of the sentence since the whole sentence is not a question)
or
I noćas gledam u zvezde, pitam se:,, Šta je sudbina?"
(direct question)

but maybe it could be put

I noćas gledam u zvezde, pitam se - šta je sudbina? (indirect question, inner dialogue)
I noćas gledam u zvezde, pitam se: šta je sudbina?

I believe it's like that.

Originally Posted by ina

I noćas gledam u zvezde, pitam se šta je sudbina.
(there is no question mark in the end of the sentence since the whole sentence is not a question)
or
I noćas gledam u zvezde, pitam se:,, Šta je sudbina?"
(direct question)

but maybe it could be put

I noćas gledam u zvezde, pitam se - šta je sudbina? (indirect question, inner dialogue)
I noćas gledam u zvezde, pitam se: šta je sudbina?

I believe it's like that.

Thank you! So if I put:

I noćas gledam u zvezde, pitam se - šta je sudbina?

I wouldn't need the quotations?

Also, the first quotations are on the bottom as opposed to both being on the top, like in English?

Also, a question I have is why it can't be written like:

I noćas gledam u zvezde, pitam se, "šta je sudbina?" (with the first quotation on the bottom)

With the , as opposed to : or -

Hi!
Well, I think it's not complicated. I am not an expert (I'm an architect ), but I'll try to explain what I think it's correct.

1. The best and absolutely correct is:
I noćas gledam u zvezde, pitam se šta je sudbina. (like in indirect speech)

2. You'll put the quotations when you want to make a question, like in direct speech, when you pose a question, usually to someone else, aloud.

example:
Noćas gledam u zvezde i pitam ga: ,,Šta je sudbina?"

If you say:
Pitam se šta je ,,sudbina" , it would sound like you are retailing the words of some other person what he/she think is destiny, what someone else has said about the destiny. If you say: Pitam se ,, šta je sudbina'', it means you are repeating (ironically) the question someone else has said.

3. If you want to stress the question and not the first part of the sentence, you can do it by putting a hyphen, like a little pause in speech:

I noćas gledam u zvezde, pitam se - šta je sudbina?
you separated it, so I think you must put the question mark.

So it is 1. or 3. in your case.

I so on the net people writing "....", but if you open any book in Serbian, you'll never see that, only ,,....".
(I don't have even the down quotation on my keyboard, I would have to write it "... " like in English!)

Tedinkyyy, thanks for your help, it's very nice you work with us!

Originally Posted by ina

Hi!
Well, I think it's not complicated. I am not an expert (I'm an architect ), but I'll try to explain what I think it's correct.

1. The best and absolutely correct is:
I noćas gledam u zvezde, pitam se šta je sudbina. (like in indirect speech)

2. You'll put the quotations when you want to make a question, like in direct speech, when you pose a question, usually to someone else, aloud.

example:
Noćas gledam u zvezde i pitam ga: ,,Šta je sudbina?"

If you say:
Pitam se šta je ,,sudbina" , it would sound like you are retailing the words of some other person what he/she think is destiny, what someone else has said about the destiny. If you say: Pitam se ,, šta je sudbina'', it means you are repeating (ironically) the question someone else has said.

3. If you want to stress the question and not the first part of the sentence, you can do it by putting a hyphen, like a little pause in speech:

I noćas gledam u zvezde, pitam se - šta je sudbina?
you separated it, so I think you must put the question mark.

So it is 1. or 3. in your case.

I so on the net people writing "....", but if you open any book in Serbian, you'll never see that, only ,,....".
(I don't have even the down quotation on my keyboard, I would have to write it "... " like in English!)

I can't thank you enough for explaining that for me.

Really, I appreciate you taking the time to explain the rules of grammar

I hope I've helped you.
Cheers!