The Perfect Tense
Short form of biti + past participle = the past.
How It Works
The perfect is the past tense of speech and writing. It needs two parts.
| Person | Helper | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ja | sam | radio sam, radila sam |
| ti | si | radio si |
| on, ona | je | radio je, radila je |
| mi | smo | radili smo |
| vi | ste | radili ste |
| oni | su | radili su |
The participle changes for gender and number. The helper changes for person and number (sam, si, je, smo, ste, su), but not for gender. You can drop ja, ti and the other subject pronouns, because the helper already shows who is acting.
The short helper forms stay in second position, so they are not the first word of a plain statement. That is a separate entry.
The aorist and imperfect exist as well, but you will mostly meet them in stories and fixed phrases.
Examples (5)
- Radio sam u Zenici.
I worked in Zenica. (a man speaking)
Radio is masculine, and sam is the helper.
- Lejla je kupila kafu.
Lejla bought coffee.
Kupila is feminine because Lejla is a woman.
- Jučer smo gledali film.
Yesterday we watched a film.
Gledali is plural.
- Jučer sam pisala Amiru.
Yesterday I wrote to Amir. (a woman speaking)
Pisala is feminine, so the speaker is a woman.
- Selma i Ajla su radile jučer.
Selma and Ajla worked yesterday.
Two women: su and the feminine plural radile.
Common Mistakes
Using the wrong gender for the subject.
Lejla je kupio kafu.Lejla je kupila kafu.The participle matches the doer.
How It Connects
Learn This First
The perfect combines biti and a participle.
Related Patterns
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Words in This Pattern
Practice The Perfect Tense in Bubblegum
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