Recognizing the Imperfect
Imperfekt forms such as bijaše, pisah and čekahu present past states or ongoing activities. They are mainly encountered in literary or deliberately stylized language.
How It Works
Common ending families include -ah/-aše/-ahu, -jah/-jaše/-jahu and -ijah/-ijaše/-ijahu, with stem changes where required. Imperfect forms are built from imperfective verbs.
Bijaše and bješe are recognizable imperfect forms of biti. In a narrative they may set the scene or describe a continuing state. They can also act as auxiliaries in a literary pluperfect.
Ordinary contemporary narration generally uses the perfect with an imperfective verb for this function: pisao je, čekali su. Do not assume that an imperfect is required whenever English uses “was doing.” Learn it first as a reading skill.
Examples (3)
- U dolini bijaše tiho.
It was quiet in the valley.
- Starac pisaše pismo kraj prozora.
The old man was writing a letter by the window.
- Putnici čekahu pred zatvorenim vratima.
The travellers were waiting outside the closed door.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Marked simple past tenses are recognized in contrast to ordinary perfect narration and aspect.
Related Patterns
Practice Recognizing the Imperfect in Bubblegum
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