Present Tense of Verbs in -а

Present Tense of A-Verbs

Level 1Sounds Like segašno vreme na a-glagoli

чита (read): читам, читаш, чита, читаме, читате, читаат

How It Works

1. The endings (model: чита, read)

  • јас читам – I read
  • ти читаш – you read
  • тој / таа чита – he / she reads
  • ние читаме – we read
  • вие читате – you (all) read
  • тие читаат – they read

2. The they form has two а's
-аат is a full ending, not a spelling slip: читаат, сакаат, имаат, зборуваат.

3. Common а-verbs
има (have), сака (like, want), гледа (watch), чека (wait), слуша (listen), разбира (understand), зборува (speak), купува (buy).

4. One form, two meanings
The present covers both I read and I am reading: Читам книга fits both.

Examples (6)

  1. Читам книга.

    I'm reading a book.

    Word by Word: I-read book.

  2. Што гледаш?

    What are you watching?

    Word by Word: What you-watch?

  3. Ана зборува англиски.

    Ana speaks English.

    Word by Word: Ana speaks English.

  4. Ние чекаме автобус.

    We're waiting for a bus.

    Word by Word: We wait bus.

  5. Дали имате чај?

    Do you have tea?

    Word by Word: Whether you-have tea?

    The -ате ending fits polite Вие.

  6. Тие сакаат пица.

    They like pizza.

    Word by Word: They like pizza.

    The they form ends in -аат.

Common Mistakes

  • Using a single а in the they form.

    Тие читат.
    Тие читаат.

    For а-verbs the they ending is -аат, with two а's. A single а copies the е- and и-verb ending, as in јадат and одат.

  • Using the he or she form for they.

    Тие сака пица.
    Тие сакаат пица.

    Сака is only for one person. For they, add the ending: сакаат.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Present Tense of Verbs in -аLevel 1Present Tense of A-Verbs

Learn This First

The а-verb present starts from the dictionary form.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.

Words in This Pattern

чита