ићи

Going Somewhere

Level 1Sounds Like ići u prezentu

The verb ићи (to go) has an irregular present-tense stem (ид-): идем, идеш, иде, идемо, идете, иду. Because it denotes dynamic motion toward a place, destinations usually take prepositions like у or на with the accusative case.

How It Works

The verb ићи is one of the most fundamental motion verbs in Serbian.

1. Meanings and Functions
The present tense covers three main functions:

  • Ongoing action: Идем на посао. (I am going to work right now.)
  • Habitual action: Сваког дана деца иду у школу. (Every day the children go to school.)
  • Scheduled near future: Сутра идемо у позориште. (Tomorrow we are going to the theatre.)

Unlike English, which distinguishes habitual "I go" from continuous "I am going", Serbian expresses both using the simple present form идем.

2. Mode of Transport
Do not confuse ићи with English "walk". The verb ходати highlights the physical manner of locomotion on foot (contrasting with driving, riding, or running), whereas ићи focuses on purposeful movement toward a destination, regardless of the conveyance: on foot (ићи пешке), by car (ићи колима), or by bus (ићи аутобусом).

3. Directional Government
Because ићи indicates dynamic motion toward a goal, destinations require directional markers rather than static locations:

  • у + акузатив for enclosed spaces, buildings, towns, and countries (e.g., у град, у Србију, у биоскоп).
  • на + акузатив for open surfaces, mountains, events, or activities (e.g., на планину, на концерт, на посао, на море).
  • код + генитив for going to a person or their establishment (e.g., код лекара, код Марије).
  • кући (adverbial dative form) for "home" (e.g., Идем кући).

4. Negation
To negate the verb, simply place the separate negative particle не before the conjugated form: не идем, не идеш, не иде.

Examples (4)

  1. Деца сваког јутра иду у школу.

    The children go to school every morning.

    Word by Word: Children every morning go into school.

    Shows the 3rd person plural form 'иду' used for a recurring habitual routine with 'у' + accusative.

  2. Да ли вечерас идеш на концерт?

    Are you going to the concert tonight?

    Word by Word: Whether tonight you-go onto concert?

    Demonstrates the 2nd person singular 'идеш' with 'на' + accusative for an event.

  3. Сада идем код лекара.

    I am going to the doctor's now.

    Word by Word: Now I-go at doctor.

    Uses the 1st person singular 'идем' with 'код' + genitive, the required construction for going to a person.

  4. Уморни смо и идемо кући.

    We are tired and we are going home.

    Word by Word: Tired we-are and we-go homeward.

    Shows the 1st person plural 'идемо' paired with the directional adverb 'кући' (home).

Common Mistakes

  • Using the locative case instead of the accusative for destinations.

    Идем у школи.
    Идем у школу.

    Static location uses the locative ('у школи' = in school), but movement toward a goal with 'ићи' requires the accusative ('у школу' = to school).

  • Using the preposition 'у' for people instead of 'код' + genitive.

    Идем у доктора.
    Идем код доктора.

    When visiting or going to a person or professional, Serbian requires 'код' followed by the genitive case, not 'у'.

  • Translating 'going home' literally as 'у кућу'.

    После посла идем у кућу.
    После посла идем кући.

    'У кућу' means physically stepping into the building structure. The natural idiom for going home is the adverbial form 'кући'.

How It Connects

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ићиLevel 1Going Somewhere

Learn This First

To conjugate the verb 'ићи' (to go) in the present tense, you need a basic understanding of subject pronouns and how present tense verb endings function for different grammatical persons.

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ићи