сум

Present Forms of Be

Level 1Sounds Like sum vo segašno vreme

Јас сум студент. (I am a student.) · Таа е дома. (She is at home.) · Тие се тука. (They are here.)

How It Works

1. The forms

  • јас сум – I am
  • ти си – you are (one friend)
  • тој / таа / тоа е – he / she / it is
  • ние сме – we are
  • вие сте – you are (several people, or polite Вие)
  • тие се – they are

2. What it is used for

  • Who someone is: Јас сум Ана.
  • A job: Тој е доктор. No word for a is needed.
  • Where someone is: Таа е дома.
  • Where someone is from: Ние сме од Охрид.

3. The negative
Не goes right before the form: не сум, не си, не е, не сме, не сте, не се.

4. Without the pronoun
The form already shows the person, so you can drop јас. Then another word usually comes first: Дома сум. (I am at home.)

5. Two words spelled се
Тие се тука uses се as they are. The same spelling is also the short word in Се викам Ана. The rest of the sentence tells you which one it is.

Examples (6)

  1. Јас сум студент.

    I am a student.

    Word by Word: I am student.

    A job needs no word for a.

  2. Ти си Марко?

    Are you Marko?

    Word by Word: You are Marko?

    Rising intonation turns the statement into a question.

  3. Таа е дома.

    She is at home.

    Word by Word: She is at-home.

  4. Ние сме од Охрид.

    We are from Ohrid.

    Word by Word: We are from Ohrid.

  5. Тие се тука.

    They are here.

    Word by Word: They are here.

  6. Не сум уморен.

    I'm not tired.

    Word by Word: Not I-am tired.

    Не goes before сум. A woman says уморна.

Common Mistakes

  • Leaving out е, as in Russian.

    Таа дома.
    Таа е дома.

    Macedonian needs a form of сум in the present, including е for he, she and it.

  • Using the Serbian form је.

    Тој је дома.
    Тој е дома.

    The Macedonian form is е. Је is Serbian.

  • Using е with a plural subject.

    Тие е тука.
    Тие се тука.

    The form must match the subject. For they, use се.

How It Connects

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сумLevel 1Present Forms of Be

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