чим / тек што
As Soon as
Both чим and тек што mean that one event happens immediately after another. Use чим for general "as soon as" across past, present, and future. Use тек што primarily in past narratives to emphasize that an action had "barely / scarcely" finished when something else occurred.
How It Works
In Serbian, immediate temporal succession is expressed by subordinate clauses introduced by чим or тек што.
1. чим ("as soon as")
Чим is the neutral, high-frequency conjunction. It indicates that the action in the main clause takes place without delay once the subordinate event is fulfilled.
• Past: Чим је стигао, позвао ме је. (As soon as he arrived, he called me.)
• Present / Habitual: Чим пас чује звук, одмах залаје. (As soon as the dog hears a sound, he barks right away.)
• Future: Јавићу ти се чим завршим посао. (I will get in touch with you as soon as I finish work.)
When referring to future time after чим, Serbian uses either the perfective present (standard in everyday speech) or futur II. Using Futur I (ћу радити) inside the time clause is ungrammatical.
2. тек што ("hardly / scarcely had... when; barely")
Тек што emphasizes that an event has barely or scarcely occurred when another action immediately follows or interrupts it. The conjunction само што often functions as an equivalent synonym.
• Past narratives: Most commonly, it introduces past events with the ordinary past tense (Perfekt) or narrative Aorist: Тек што смо сели, стигла је храна. (Hardly had we sat down when the food arrived.)
• Habitual / gnomic present: It is also regularly used for recurring immediate sequences in the present: Тек што сване, он већ устаје да ради. (Scarcely does dawn break, he is already getting up to work.)
• Future contexts: Unlike чим, тек што is not used to introduce future temporal clauses (*Јавићу ти се тек што стигнем is ungrammatical). To express that a future event will happen only once or immediately after another action finishes, use чим or phrases like тек када / тек пошто.
3. Correlatives in the Main Clause
Main clauses connected to these conjunctions frequently employ reinforcing adverbs or particles:
• Clauses after чим are often reinforced by одмах or сместа (right away, immediately): Чим уђеш, одмах се јави.
• Clauses after тек што are frequently introduced or reinforced by а or већ to highlight sudden interruption or immediacy: Тек што смо изашли, а киша је пљуснула. / Тек што је стигао, већ мора да иде.
4. Idiomatic Particle Construction ('about to')
Distinct from its subordinating conjunction use, тек што can operate as an adverbial/aspectual particle cluster in a main independent clause. When paired with a negated auxiliary (тек што није / нисмо / нису or само што није) and the active past participle (радни глаголски придев) of a perfective verb, it idiomatically conveys that an event is on the immediate verge of happening: Воз тек што није кренуо. (The train is just about to leave.) / Тек што нисмо стигли. (We are about to arrive / we are almost there.) / Тек што није почела киша. (It is just about to start raining.)
5. Word Order and Clitic Placement
Short pronoun and auxiliary clitics follow strict placement rules:
• After чим, clitics latch on immediately in the second syntactic position: Чим се пробудио... (not *Чим пробудио се...).
• Тек што acts as a compound unit; clitics attach immediately after што: Тек што је почео филм, нестало је струје.
6. Punctuation
When the time clause comes first, follow standard punctuation and place a comma between clauses. When the main clause comes first, a comma is normally omitted.
Examples (5)
- Јавићу ти чим стигнем кући.
I will let you know as soon as I arrive home.
Word by Word: I-will-notify to-you as-soon-as I-arrive home.
Notice the use of чим with a perfective present verb (стигнем) to express a future plan.
- Тек што смо сели да ручамо, зазвонио је телефон.
Hardly had we sat down to eat when the telephone rang.
Word by Word: Hardly that we-sat that we-eat, rang is telephone.
Тек што introduces a past action that barely finished before an interruption occurred.
- Чим се пробудио, попио је чашу воде.
As soon as he woke up, he drank a glass of water.
Word by Word: As-soon-as self he-woke, drank is glass of-water.
The reflexive clitic 'се' occupies the mandatory second position directly after чим.
- Тек што је ушао у собу, приметио је неред.
Scarcely had he entered the room when he noticed the mess.
Word by Word: Hardly that is entered into room, noticed is mess.
The auxiliary clitic 'је' attaches right after the compound connector 'тек што'.
- Чим пас чује необичан звук, одмах залаје.
As soon as the dog hears an unusual sound, he barks right away.
Word by Word: As-soon-as dog hears unusual sound, immediately barks.
Чим used for a habitual sequence connecting two bounded events.
Common Mistakes
Using Futur I (ћу + infinitive) inside a temporal clause after чим.
Чим ћу доћи, позваћу те.Чим дођем, позваћу те.Like many languages, Serbian does not allow Futur I inside subordinate time clauses. Use the perfective present (дођем) or Futur II (будем дошао).
Using тек што for future intentions, schedules, or promises.
Јавићу ти се тек што завршим посао.Јавићу ти се чим завршим посао.Unlike чим, тек што cannot be used for prospective future events or commitments. While it is standard in past narratives ("barely/scarcely had") and habitual present contexts, prospective future "as soon as" requires чим.
Using an imperfective verb for an immediate punctual trigger.
Чим је улазио у кућу, пао је.Чим је ушао у кућу, пао је.Immediate succession requires a completed boundary (point of arrival or entry), which demands a perfective verb (ушао) rather than an ongoing imperfective process (улазио).
How It Connects
Learn This First
To use 'чим' and 'тек што' ('as soon as' / 'just as'), learners need a foundational understanding of temporal clauses, narrative past tense (perfekat), and perfective aspect, which is typically required to express actions occurring immediately upon completion.
- кад / када + Time ClauseConnecting Events in Time
Understanding basic temporal clauses with 'када' is essential before learning specialized immediate temporal conjunctions like 'чим' and 'тек што'.
Level 2 - A Single Bounded Result
Immediate temporal conjunctions ('as soon as', 'just as') almost always govern perfective verbs because they signal the completion or immediate onset of a single action.
Level 3
Related Patterns
- пре него што / поштоBefore and After Clauses
Пошто and након што express anteriority ("after"), but unlike чим, they allow for a non-immediate delay before the main event.
Level 3 - докWhile Two Events Happen
Док expresses simultaneous continuing action ("while"), contrasting directly with the tight sequential succession of чим.
Level 3 - Two Forms in Future-Dependent Clauses
Explains the choice between Futur II and the perfective present in future subordinate clauses introduced by conjunctions like чим.
Level 4 - Short Pronouns and Clitic Order
Governs the strict second-position placement of short pronouns and auxiliary forms directly after чим and тек што.
Level 2
Words in This Pattern
Practice чим / тек што in Bubblegum
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