The Everyday Past Tense
The past tense combines present biti with an l-participle.
How It Works
The past tense combines present biti with an l-participle. The auxiliary marks person and number; the participle agrees with the subject's gender and number.
Build the past in two parts: sem + bral for a male speaker and sem + brala for a female speaker. Changing the subject to Ana changes the auxiliary to je. In Včeraj sem bral, the unstressed auxiliary follows the opening time expression.
Examples (3)
- Včeraj sem bral.
I was reading yesterday.
- Ana je prišla.
Ana came.
- Otroci so spali.
The children slept.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Use present biti as an auxiliary with an agreeing past participle.
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
- bom / boš / bo + ParticipleThe Future TenseLevel 2
- bi + ParticipleThe ConditionalLevel 3
- Past-Tense Dual AgreementLevel 3
- Negative Past StatementsLevel 3
- daReporting Thoughts and StatementsLevel 4
- Completed Events and Ongoing ActionsLevel 4
- The Position of Unstressed WordsLevel 5
- preden / potem koBefore and After ClausesLevel 5
And 4 more in the full list.
Words in This Pattern
Practice The Everyday Past Tense in Bubblegum
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