Imperfect Forms and Register

Level 6Sounds Like imperfekat: oblici i registar

The imperfect (имперфекат) is an uncompleted past tense used exclusively with imperfective verbs. In standard modern Serbian, it belongs to higher literary registers and folklore, while everyday speech replaces it with the ordinary perfect tense. In spoken Serbian, its main surviving trace is the memorial marker 'беше'.

How It Works

The imperfect (имперфекат) is a simple past tense (прост глаголски облик) in Serbian that signifies ongoing, background, or iterative events contemporary with a past reference point.

1. Aspectual Restriction
In standard contemporary Serbian, the imperfect is formed strictly and exclusively from imperfective verbs (несвршени глаголи). Unlike the aorist, which typically requires perfective verbs, imperfective aspect is an absolute requirement for standard imperfect formation.

2. Morphological Formation and Endings
Across all classes, notice that the 2nd and 3rd person singular forms share identical endings (-аше, -јаше, -ијаше). Morphologically, the imperfect is formed through three main structural patterns:

  • Group I (Infinitive stems ending in -a-): Takes endings -ах, -аше, -аше, -асмо, -асте, -аху attached directly to the stem vowel, which results in long ā through contraction: читати → stem чита- + -ах → читāх, читāше; певати → певāх, певāше.
  • Group II (Endings -јах, -јаше...):
    • When attaching to the truncated present stem (окрњена презентска основа) of consonant-final present bases (such as -и- verbs), the initial -j- triggers јотовање: носити (present stem нос-) + -јах → ношах; градити (stem град-) → грађах; видети (stem вид-) → виђах; живети (stem жив-) → живљах.
    • When attaching to vocalic roots or stems (such as verbs with infinitive stems ending in -у-, -и-, or -е- where no consonant precedes the suffix), the ending -јах is added without jotovanje, where -j- serves as an intervocalic glide: чути → чујах; пити → пијах; умети → умејах.
  • Group III (Consonant stems, e.g. verbs in -сти, -ћи): Takes endings -ијах, -ијаше, -ијаше, -ијасмо, -ијасте, -ијаху attached to the infinitive consonant stem. For dental and non-velar stems, the ending is added directly (e.g., трести → stem трес- → тресијах). Velar consonant stems undergo сибиларизација before /i/: пећи (stem пек-) → пецијах; вући (stem вук-) → вуцијах.
  • Auxiliaries: Бити has both full and contracted forms across standard Ekavian and Ijekavian norms: full forms бејах / бијах, бејаше / бијаше... and contracted forms бех / бјех, беше / бјеше.... In literary and narrative registers, беше / бјеше, беху / бјеху frequently serve as the auxiliary forming the плусквамперфекат (e.g., беше дошао). The auxiliary хтети forms an irregular imperfect stem: хоћах, хоћаше, хоћаше, хоћасмо, хоћасте, хоћаху.

3. Register and Stylistic Use
The imperfect is not part of standard everyday spoken Serbian. In conversation, ongoing past actions are expressed through the ordinary imperfective perfect (шетао сам rather than шетах). However, the imperfect is preserved in:

  • Historical fiction, classic literature, and epic narrative prose as a backgrounding, evocative tense.
  • Everyday conversational relics of recollection, particularly the 3rd person singular forms of бити (беше / бјеше) and reflexive naming verbs (зваше се), used when attempting to recall a forgotten fact: Како беше његово име? ('What was his name again?').
  • Southeastern spoken dialects (such as Torlak), where it remains productive in regional colloquial speech.

Examples (4)

  1. Док ветар дуваше кроз оголеле крошње, старац ћутке сеђаше крај огњишта.

    While the wind was blowing through the bare treetops, the old man sat silently by the hearth.

    Word by Word: While wind was-blowing through bare treetops old-man silently was-sitting by hearth

    Demonstrates the classic narrative function of the imperfect: setting the background atmospheric scene using imperfective verbs (дувати → дуваше, седети → сеђаше with jotovanje).

  2. Са свих страна стизаху уморни путници тражећи преноћиште.

    Weary travelers were arriving from all directions seeking lodging.

    Word by Word: From all sides were-arriving tired travelers seeking lodging

    Shows the 3rd person plural ending -аху (стизати → стизаху) expressing an ongoing, repeated arrival in narrative prose.

  3. Како беше оно њено име? Потпуно сам заборавио.

    What was her name again? I completely forgot.

    Word by Word: How was that her name completely I-am forgotten

    Illustrates the surviving colloquial epistemic relic of the auxiliary imperfect (беше) used to prompt recollection of a forgotten fact.

  4. У то доба живљах у малом стану близу реке.

    In those days I was living in a small apartment near the river.

    Word by Word: In that time I-was-living in small apartment near river

    Demonstrates the 1st person singular ending with labial jotovanje (живети → жив- + -јах → живљах).

Common Mistakes

  • Using the imperfect instead of the perfect in casual spoken conversation.

    Јуче шетах парком два сата.
    Јуче сам шетао парком два сата.

    Unlike Romance languages (French, Spanish, Italian), Serbian does not use the imperfect as the default spoken continuous past. Using 'шетах' in an everyday conversation sounds artificially theatrical or archaic; use the ordinary perfect of an imperfective verb ('сам шетао') instead.

  • Omitting iotation (jotovanje) when forming Group II imperfects.

    Цео дан носијах тешке пакете.
    Цео дан ношах тешке пакете.

    Verbs with stems in -i- append -јах, not -ијах. The initial /j/ fuses with the stem-final consonant (s + j → š), yielding 'ношах', not 'носијах'.

  • Attempting to derive the imperfect from a perfective verb.

    Он написаше писмо целу ноћ.
    Он писаше писмо целу ноћ.

    In standard Serbian, the imperfect can only be formed from imperfective verbs. 'Написати' is perfective, so its imperfect cannot be formed; the imperfective stem 'писати' yields 'писаше'.

How It Connects

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Imperfect Forms and RegisterLevel 6

Learn This First

To understand the forms and stylistic register of the imperfect tense, learners need a solid grasp of the standard past tense (perfekat) as a baseline comparison, along with verbal aspect, since the imperfect is fundamentally tied to imperfective verbs.