Language/Serbian/Grammar/How-to-Use-Be
Hello Serbian learners!
In today's lesson you will learn The Verb "to be" (Glagol biti) in Serbian.
Please, feel free to edit this page if you think it can be improved.
Enjoy your language learning journey! :)
Present Tense (Sadašnje vreme)
Now we will learn how to conjugate the verb biti ("to be") in the present tense.
| Serbian | English | Odrični oblik | Negative form |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ja sam | I am | Ja nisam | I am not |
| Ti si | you are ( singular) | Ti nisi | you are not ( singular) |
| On je | he is | On nije | he is not |
| Ona je | she is | Ona nije | she is not |
| Ono je | it is | Ono nije | it is not |
| Mi smo | we are | Mi nismo | we are not |
| Vi ste | you are (plural) | Vi niste | you are not (plural) |
| Oni su | they are (plural of he) | Oni nisu | they are not (plural of he) |
| One su | they are (plural of she) | One nisu | they are not ( plural of she) |
| Ona su | they are (plural of it) | Ona nisu | they are not ( plural of it) |
** notes: " Ti" is informal. Don't say " ti " to older people, or people who you don't know. For this purpose we use " Vi " ( the plural form of you) So, politely said: " Who are you" ? would be: Ko ste Vi? For building the negative form, just add the prefix "ni-" to the present form.
Phrases
- Ona je prelepa. - She is beautiful.
- On je brz . - He is fast.
- Da li su oni stari? Ne oni nisu stari. - Are they old? No they are not old.
- Da li smo mi mladi? Da ,mi smo mladi. - Are we young? Yes we are young
- Nisam kod kuće. - I am not at home?
- Oni su veoma fini. - They are really nice.
- Mi nismo gladni. - We are not hungry.
- Ona ne kasni. - She is not late.
Interrogative - Upitne rečenice
How to ask questions using the verb to be:
- Da li sam ja? - Am I?
- Da li si ti? - Are you?
- Da li je on? - Is he?
- Da li je ona? - Is she?
- Da li je ono? - Is it?
- Da li smo mi? - Are we?
- Da li ste Vi?- Are you?
- Da li su oni, one, ono? - Are they?
Past Tense (Prošlo vreme)
Here is the conjugation in the past:
| Serbian | English | Odrični oblik | Negative |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ja sam bio / bila | I was | Ja nisam bio / bila | I was not |
| Ti si bio / bila | you were | Ti nisi bio / bila | you were not |
| On je bio | he was | On nije bio | he was not |
| Ona je bila | she was | Ona nije bila | she was not |
| Ono je bilo | it was | Ono nije bilo | it was not |
| Mi smo bili / bile | we were | Mi nismo bili / bile | we were not |
| Vi ste bili / bile | you were | Vi niste bili / bile | you were not |
| Oni su bili | they were | Oni nisu bili | they were not |
| One su bile | they were | One nisu bile | they were not |
| Ona su bila | they were | Ona nisu bila | they were not |
** note 1: For building the negative form, just add the preffix "ni-" to the past form.
** note 2: For 1st and 2nd plural of person, "bili" is using when there is at least one male person, if only females are subject, than use "bile".
Phrases
Here are some phrases:
Rođena sam 1981. - I was born in 1981.
On je bio na odmor prošle godine - He was on vacation last year.
Ona je bila nervozna - She was nervous.
Oni su bili dobri - They were nice.
Nisi bio kod kuće - You were not at home.
Mi nismo bili spremni - We were not ready.
Interrogative - Upitne rečenice
Da li sam ja bio / bila? - Was I?
Da li si ti bio / bila? - Were you?
Da li je on bio? - Was he?
Da li je ona bila? - Was she?
Da li je ono bilo? - Was it?
Da li smo mi bili? - Were we?
Da li ste vi bili? - Were you?
Da li si oni bili? - Were they?
FuturE Tense (Buduće vreme)
| Serbian | Short form | English | Odrični oblik | Negative |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ja ću biti | biću | I will | Ja neću biti | I will not |
| Ti ćeš biti | bićeš | you will | Ti nećeš biti | you will not |
| On će biti | biće | he will | On neće biti | he will not |
| Ona će biti | biće | she will | Ona neće biti | she will not |
| Ono će biti | biće | it will | Ono neće biti | it will not |
| Mi ćemo biti | bićemo | we will | Mi nećemo biti | we will not |
| Vi ćete biti | bićete | you will | Vi nećete biti | you will not |
| Oni će biti | biće | they will | Oni neće biti | they will not |
| One će biti | biće | they will | One neće biti | they will not |
| Ona će biti | biće | they will | Ona neće biti | they will not |
** note: For building the negative form, just add the prefix "ne-" to the futur form
Phrases
Here are some phrases:
- Ja ću biti spremna. - I will be ready.
- Oni će biti kući - They will be at home.
- Mi nećemo ići - We will not go
- Ti ćeš biti poznat - You will be famous
- Verujem da će to biti dobra zabava - I believe it will be a very nice party
- U koje vreme će on stići? - What time will he arrive?