Aspect Pairs With Suffixes

In Serbian aspectology, derivation involves both prefixes and suffixes. While prefixes predominantly derive perfective verbs from baseline imperfective roots, suffixes serve two major aspectual roles: most commonly deriving imperfectives from perfective stems (imperfectivization), but also occasionally forming single-action perfectives (such as the semelfactive suffix -нути: махати [ipfv.] → махнути [pfv.]).

How Imperfectivization Works:
Imperfectivizing suffixes derive ongoing or repeated counterpart verbs from two kinds of perfective bases:

• Simplex perfective roots: A small group of core verbs are inherently perfective without any prefix, notably купити ('to buy') and дати ('to give'). Suffixes derive their imperfective partners directly: куповати and давати.
• Prefixed perfective verbs: Adding a prefix creates a perfective verb, often introducing a new lexical nuance (e.g., писати 'to write' → потписати 'to sign'). To express this specific new meaning in an ongoing, progressive, or habitual frame, you attach an imperfectivizing suffix to the prefixed base: потпис-ивати.

Key Imperfectivizing Suffix Patterns:
1. -ити → -ати with consonant mutation (јотовање): One of the most widespread patterns. The suffix -ати replaces -ити and softens preceding consonants:
• платити → плаћати ('to pay', т → ћ)
• вратити → враћати ('to return', т → ћ)
• пустити → пуштати ('to let go / release', ст → шт)
• родити → рађати ('to give birth / bear', д → ђ alongside root vowel lengthening о → а)
(Note: In verbs like бацити → бацати 'to throw', substitution of -ати occurs without consonant change).

2. -ивати (present tense in -ујем): Highly productive with prefixed verbs. It triggers jotovanje across dental stops (т → ћ, д → ђ), sonorants (н → њ, л → љ), and labials (п, б, в, м + љ):
• Labials and dentals: откупити → откупљивати ('to buy out / redeem', п → пљ), преградити → преграђивати ('to partition', д → ђ)
• Sonorants: изменити → измењивати ('to exchange / alter', н → њ), доделити → додељивати ('to award / assign', л → љ)
• Stems ending in dental fricatives (с, з) or already palatalized consonants do not mutate before -ивати: потписати → потписивати ('to sign'), преписати → преписивати ('to copy'), доказати → доказивати ('to prove'), избацити → избацивати ('to throw out'), одлучити → одлучивати ('to decide')

3. -авати / -јавати / -евати (present tense in -авам / -евам): Often used with mutations such as с → ш, з → ж or sonorants:
• обећати → обећавати ('to promise')
• испунити → испуњавати ('to fulfill', н → њ)
• доселити → досељавати ('to move in / resettle', л → љ)
• решити → решавати ('to solve')
• удесити → удешавати ('to adjust / arrange', с → ш)
• изразити → изражавати ('to express', з → ж)
• успети → успевати ('to succeed')

4. -овати (present tense in -ујем):
• купити → куповати ('to buy')
• даровати ('to bestow / gift', from дар)

5. -ати with stem vowel shift (ablaut): Internal root о often lengthens to а:
• отворити → отварати ('to open')
• створити → стварати ('to create')
• изрећи → изрицати ('to utter')

6. -вати after root vowels (present tense in -јем):
• дати → давати ('to give', present: дајем)
• познати → познавати ('to know / be acquainted with', present: познајем)

7. Suppletive motion verbs with -лазити: For verbs of motion based on -ићи, the imperfective partner is built using the stem -лазити:
• доћи → долазити ('to come / arrive')
• отићи → одлазити ('to leave / depart')
• ући → улазити ('to enter')

Remember that changing the suffix shifts the verb into a new present-tense conjugation class, so you must conjugate the derived verb using its new stem (e.g., купити → ја купим [pfv.], but куповати → ја купујем [ipfv.]).