сум + Intransitive Verbal Adjective
The Be-Perfect in Speech
With verbs such as дојде (come) and замине (leave), сум + verbal adjective works like a perfect: Тој е дојден. means "He has arrived, and he is here now."
How It Works
Same shape, different job. With verbs that take an object, сум + verbal adjective describes a state or a passive: Вратата е затворена (the door is closed), see states with сум. With verbs that take no object, the same shape tells you that something happened and its result is still true now. It is used mainly with verbs of motion (see coming and going) and in a few everyday expressions.
- Тој е дојден. He has arrived (and he is here).
- Таа е замината за Скопје. She has left for Skopje (and she is away).
- Ќерка ми е веќе порасната. My daughter is already grown up.
- Децата се заспани. The children are asleep.
Forms. The verbal adjective agrees with the subject like any adjective: дојден, дојдена, дојдено, дојдени. Only сум changes for person and time: дојден сум, беше дојден, ќе биде дојден.
In relaxed speech it also appears with a few verbs that normally take an object but are used without one: Веќе сум јаден, благодарам. (I have already eaten, thank you.) This one sounds colloquial.
Choosing a form. For neutral writing, prefer the aorist (Тој дојде вчера.) or, in the first and second person, the perfect with the l-form (Јас сум дошол, see the perfect with сум). In speech, especially from western Macedonia, you will also hear има дојдено (compare the have-perfect). Be careful with a bare third-person l-form: without context, Тој дошол can sound reported ("he came, I hear"), while Тој е дојден states the result as something you know.
Examples (6)
- Тој е дојден, чека во ходникот.
He has arrived; he is waiting in the hall.
Word by Word: He is come, waits in hall-the.
- Таа е замината за Скопје.
She has left for Skopje.
Word by Word: She is left for Skopje.
The feminine form замината agrees with таа.
- Ќерка ми е веќе порасната.
My daughter is already grown up.
Word by Word: Daughter my is already grown.
Порасне (grow up) takes no object, so this is a perfect, not a passive.
- Децата се заспани.
The children are asleep.
Word by Word: Children-the are fallen-asleep.
- Гостите се веќе дојдени.
The guests have already arrived.
Word by Word: Guests-the are already come.
- Веќе сум јаден, благодарам.
I have already eaten, thank you.
Word by Word: Already I-am eaten, I-thank.
A colloquial use with a verb that usually takes an object.
Common Mistakes
Using сум + verbal adjective with an object to mean "I have done it".
Јас сум прочитан книгата.Јас ја прочитав книгата.With verbs that take an object, сум + verbal adjective is passive: Книгата е прочитана (The book has been read). To say what you did, use the aorist or ја имам прочитано.
Forgetting to make the verbal adjective agree.
Таа е дојден.Таа е дојдена.The verbal adjective behaves like an adjective, so it takes -а for a feminine subject and -и in the plural.
How It Connects
Learn This First
The be-perfect in speech builds on states with сум and the have-perfect.
Related Patterns
- The Verbal Adjective
Shows how to build the verbal adjective.
Level 3 - оди / дојде / замине / се вратиComing and Going
The motion verbs that use this perfect most often.
Level 3 - сум + L-FormThe Perfect with Сум
The perfect with the l-form, preferred in careful writing.
Level 3 - сум + Verbal Adjective + одThe Passive with Од
The passive that the same shape forms with object-taking verbs.
Level 4
Words in This Pattern
Practice сум + Intransitive Verbal Adjective in Bubblegum
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