Perfective and Imperfective Verbs
An imperfective verb describes an action as ongoing or repeated, and a perfective verb describes it as completed.
How It Works
English uses one verb for both ideas: "I write" and "I wrote the letter". Bosnian often uses two verbs.
| Imperfective (going on, repeated) | Perfective (finished) |
|---|---|
| pisati | napisati |
| čitati | pročitati |
| kupovati | kupiti |
| davati | dati |
Poppy will show you the pairs one by one. Many perfective verbs add a prefix (na-, pro-, is-), and many imperfective verbs add -va- or -ova-.
Not every verb has a partner. Biti (to be) is imperfective only, while stići (to arrive) is perfective, and its partner stizati is much rarer. Some pairs also change the stem a little, and a few verbs can work as both. The pattern is a strong guide, but you will meet exceptions.
Later entries show how aspect works in the past, in the future and in commands.
Examples (4)
- Svako jutro čitam novine.
Every morning I read the newspaper.
Čitam is imperfective: a habit that repeats.
- Jučer sam pročitala cijelu knjigu.
Yesterday I read the whole book.
Pročitala is perfective: the reading was finished.
- Amir svaki dan kupuje hljeb.
Amir buys bread every day.
Kupuje is imperfective and shows a daily routine.
- Emina je kupila hljeb i sir.
Emina bought bread and cheese.
Kupila is perfective: one finished purchase.
How It Connects
Related Patterns
Words in This Pattern
Practice Perfective and Imperfective Verbs in Bubblegum
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