сум + L-Form
The Perfect with Сум
The perfect with сум joins сум, си, сме, сте with the l-form: Сум бил во Охрид (I have been to Ohrid), Дали си јадел ајвар? (Have you eaten ajvar?).
How It Works
Form. Put the present of the verb сум before the l-form of the main verb. The l-form shows gender and number, so a man says сум бил and a woman says сум била.
јас сум бил / била, ти си бил / била, тој бил, таа била, тоа било, ние сме биле, вие сте биле, тие биле. The third person forms, singular and plural, never take е or се.
Meaning. This perfect talks about a past event without tying it to one moment the speaker watched. It is the usual way to ask and talk about experience: Дали си бил во Скопје? (Have you been to Skopje?), Никогаш не сум видела море (I have never seen the sea). Compare the aorist, which reports one finished event the speaker vouches for: Вчера отидов во Охрид (Yesterday I went to Ohrid).
He, she and they. Because the third person has no сум, Тој бил во Охрид can mean “He has been to Ohrid”, but it very often means “He was in Ohrid, I hear” or “apparently”. For a plain statement about someone else, the past of be or the have-perfect is clearer: Тој беше во Охрид, Тој има одено во Охрид. The reporting use is taught fully in reported forms and seen or heard about.
Word order. Не goes first, then сум, then short pronouns, then the l-form: Не сум го видел филмот (I have not seen the film). Without не, сум can open the sentence: Сум го видел.
Examples (6)
- Сум бил во Охрид два пати.
I have been to Ohrid twice.
Word by Word: Am been in Ohrid two times.
A man speaking uses бил; a woman would say била.
- Дали си јадел ајвар?
Have you ever eaten ajvar?
The perfect asks about experience, not about one fixed moment.
- Никогаш не сум видела море.
I have never seen the sea.
A woman is speaking, so the l-form is видела. Не comes before сум.
- Многу сме слушале за вас.
We have heard a lot about you.
With ние the auxiliary is сме and the l-form ends in -ле.
- Дали сте биле некогаш во Скопје?
Have you ever been to Skopje?
Вие takes сте and the plural l-form биле.
- Тој бил во Охрид.
He was in Ohrid, apparently.
The he form has no сум, so the sentence usually signals that the speaker heard it from someone else.
Common Mistakes
Adding е in the he, she or they form.
Тој е бил во Охрид.Тој бил во Охрид.The third person of this perfect has no auxiliary at all. To state it as a fact you saw, say Тој беше во Охрид.
Using the singular l-form with a plural subject.
Ние сме бил во Струга.Ние сме биле во Струга.The l-form agrees with the subject. After сме, сте and with тие it always ends in -ле.
How It Connects
Learn This First
The perfect with сум needs the l-form.
Related Patterns
- имам / немам + -но / -тоThe Have-Perfect
The other perfect, often preferred for he, she and they as a plain statement.
Level 3 - The Aorist Past
The aorist reports a finished event the speaker vouches for.
Level 2 - бев / бешеPast Forms of Be
Беше is the plain past of be that replaces тој бил in a statement of fact.
Level 2 - Reported Forms
The he, she and they forms without сум grow into the reported forms.
Level 4 - Seen or Heard About
Compares a witnessed aorist with a reported l-form in detail.
Level 4
Words in This Pattern
Practice сум + L-Form in Bubblegum
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