govoriti → govorim
Speaking a Language
Govoriti follows the i-series: govorim, govoriš, govori, govorimo, govorite, govore. Use it for speaking, including speaking a language.
How It Works
The complete present is govorim, govoriš, govori, govorimo, govorite, govore. The third-person plural ends in -e, as in rade.
Govorim hrvatski. says that the speaker speaks Croatian. It can describe ability or actual current language use, depending on context. Sada govorim hrvatski. makes the current use explicit.
A language expression such as hrvatski functions adverbially here. Do not change it to hrvatska to match a female speaker. A fuller noun phrase such as hrvatski jezik has its own inflection in other constructions, so identify which structure the sentence actually uses.
Examples (4)
- Govorim hrvatski.
I speak Croatian.
Hrvatski names the language of speaking.
- Ana govori engleski.
Ana speaks English.
Engleski does not change to agree with Ana.
- Govorite li njemački?
Do you speak German?
The finite second-person plural form comes before li.
- Oni govore talijanski.
They speak Italian.
Govore is third-person plural.
How It Connects
Learn This First
These useful verbs instantiate the -im present endings.