Language/Bosnian/Grammar/Past-Tense

Bosnian → Grammar → 0 to A1 Course → Past Tense

Introduction

Welcome to the "Complete 0 to A1 Bosnian Course". In this lesson, we will focus on the past tense in Bosnian. By the end of this lesson, you will understand how to conjugate verbs in the past tense and form sentences. You will practice using different verbs and subjects to describe past events and actions.

Before we start, please note that in Bosnian, the past tense has two forms: perfective and imperfective. The perfective form describes actions as completed, while the imperfective form describes actions as in progress or repeated. In this lesson, we will cover the perfective form.

Verb Conjugation in the Past Tense

Like in the present tense, verb conjugation in the past tense takes into account the gender and number of the subject. For regular verbs, the past tense is formed by adding the corresponding suffix to the stem. The suffixes vary depending on the gender and number of the subject. Here are the most common past tense suffixes:

Bosnian	Pronunciation	English Translation
-ao/-la/-lo	-aʊ/-la/-lo	he/she/it did
-ali/-le/-la	-aːli/-lɛ/-la	they did
-ao/-la/-lo/-li/-le/-la	-aʊ/-la/-lo/-li/-lɛ/-la	you (plural) did

Here are some examples of regular verbs in the past tense:

Bosnian	Pronunciation	English Translation
živjeti	ʒiːv-jɛ-ti	to live
ja sam živjela	jɑ sɑm ʒiː-vjɛ-la	I lived
ti si živio/la/lo	ti si ʒiː-vi-o/la/lo	you (singular) lived
on/ona/ono je živio/la/lo	ɔn/ɔnɑ/ɔnɔ jɛ ʒiː-vi-o/la/lo	he/she/it lived
mi smo živjeli	mi smo ʒiː-vjɛ-li	we lived
vi ste živjeli/e	vi stɛ ʒiː-vjɛ-li/ɛ	you (plural) lived
oni/one su živjeli/e	ɔni/ɔnɛ su ʒiː-vjɛ-li/ɛ	they lived

Irregular verbs have specific conjugations in the past tense that do not follow a pattern. Here are some examples of irregular verbs in the past tense:

Bosnian	Pronunciation	English Translation
biti	bi-ti	to be
ja sam bila/bio/bilo	jɑ sɑm bi-lɑ/bi-o/bi-lo	I was
ti si bio/bila/bilo	ti si bi-o/bi-la/bi-lo	you (singular) were
on/ona/ono je bio/bila/bilo	ɔn/ɔnɑ/ɔnɔ jɛ bi-o/bi-la/bi-lo	he/she/it was
mi smo bili/bile/bila	mi smo bi-li/bi-lɛ/bi-la	we were
vi ste bili/bile/bila	vi stɛ bi-li/bi-lɛ/bi-la	you (plural) were
oni/one su bili/bile/bila	ɔni/ɔnɛ su bi-li/bi-lɛ/bi-la	they were

Forming Sentences in the Past Tense

To form a sentence in the past tense, you need to conjugate the verb according to the subject, add the past tense suffix, and place it at the end of the sentence. Here are some examples:

• Ja sam gledala film sinoć. (I watched a movie last night.)
• Ti si čitala knjigu jučer. (You read a book yesterday.)
• On je vozio auto cijeli dan. (He drove a car all day.)
• Mi smo pjevali na zabavi prošle noći. (We sang at the party last night.)
• Vi ste igrali fudbal u parku prošle sedmice. (You played soccer in the park last week.)
• Oni su radili cijeli dan. (They worked all day.)

In Bosnian, it's also common to use time expressions with the past tense to indicate when the action happened. Here are some examples:

• Sinoć sam gledala film. (I watched a movie last night.)
• Jučer si čitala knjigu. (You read a book yesterday.)
• Cijeli dan je vozio auto. (He drove a car all day.)
• Prošle noći smo pjevali na zabavi. (We sang at the party last night.)
• Prošle sedmice ste igrali fudbal u parku. (You played soccer in the park last week.)
• Cijeli dan su radili. (They worked all day.)

Practice

Now that you understand how to conjugate verbs in the past tense and form sentences, let's practice. In the following exercises, you will need to fill in the blanks with the correct form of the verb in the past tense. The suggested verbs are all regular, but feel free to use any other verbs you know.

1. Ja ____________ (gledati) film sinoć.
2. Ti ____________ (čitati) knjigu jučer.
3. On/ona/ono ____________ (slušati) muziku cijeli dan.
4. Mi ____________ (putovati) u Sarajevo prije mjesec dana.
5. Vi ____________ (voziti) auto kroz grad prošli vikend.
6. Oni/one ____________ (igrati) tenis jučer popodne.

Conclusion

Congratulations, you have completed the "Bosnian Grammar → Past Tense" lesson. In this lesson, you have learned how to conjugate verbs in the past tense and form sentences. You have practiced using different verbs and subjects to describe past events and actions. Keep practicing and using this knowledge in real conversations and you'll be able to master the Bosnian language in no time

Table of Contents - Bosnian Course - 0 to A1

• Course Presentation

  ---

Introduction to Bosnian Alphabet

• Bosnian Alphabet and Pronunciation
• Special Characters and Sounds

  ---

Basic Bosnian Sentence Structure

• Subject-Verb-Object
• Questions and Negations

  ---

Greetings and Introductions

• Common Greetings
• Introducing Yourself

  ---

Nouns and Pronouns

• Noun Gender and Plurals
• Personal Pronouns

  ---

Verbs and Tenses

• Present Tense
• Past Tense

  ---

Numbers and Time

• Numbers 1-100
• Telling Time

  ---

Food and Drink

• Common Foods
• Ordering at a Restaurant

  ---

Travel and Transportation

• Modes of Transportation
• Asking for Directions

  ---

Bosnian Customs and Traditions

• Holidays and Celebrations
• Traditional Music and Dance

  ---

Adjectives and Adverbs

• Adjective Agreement
• Comparatives and Superlatives

  ---

Family and Relationships

• Family Members
• Describing Relationships

  ---

Hobbies and Leisure Activities

• Common Hobbies
• Sports and Fitness

  ---

Bosnian Literature and Cinema

• Famous Writers and Works
• Bosnian Cinema

Related Lessons

• Negation
• Adjectives
• How to Use Have
• Noun Gender and Plurals
• Prepositions and Cases
• Questions and Negations
• How to Use Be
• Adjectives and Adverbs
• Plurals
• Personal Pronouns