Имати is the second irregular verb of the course, and like бити it does double duty. As a full verb it means to have, to possess: имам брата, имају кућу. Used impersonally in the third person, it means there is — and its negative нема means there is not:
Има хлеба. — There is bread. Нема никога. — There is nobody.
That impersonal use has already appeared in Lessons 1, 2 and 5; here it is set out fully alongside the ordinary verb of possession.
The negative is again a single fused word: немам, немаш, нема, немамо, немате, немају. And Serbian has no verb "to have" in the perfect tense — the past is formed with бити, as for every other verb: имао сам, not имам био.
Key Takeaways
- Present: имам, имаш, има, имамо, имате, имају - Negative: немам, немаш, нема, немамо, немате, немају — one word - Impersonal има = there is; нема = there is not, and takes the genitive - Past: имао сам / имала сам; future имаћу - Possession can also be expressed with the dative: имам два брата or брат ми је лекар - имати does not form the perfect tense — that is the work of бити - Има also expresses elapsed time: има три године (three years ago / for three years)
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11.1a Имам I-have два two брата brothers-GEN 11.1b Imam (EE-mam) I-have dva (dvah) two brata (BRA-ta) brothers-GEN
11.2a Имаш you-have ли Q времена time-GEN 11.2b Imaš (EE-mash) you-have li (lee) Q vremena (VRE-me-na) time-GEN
11.3a Она she има has лепу beautiful-ACC кућу house-ACC у in селу village-LOC 11.3b Ona (O-na) she ima (EE-ma) has lepu (LE-poo) beautiful-ACC kuću (KOO-choo) house-ACC u (oo) in selu (SE-loo) village-LOC
11.4a Немам I-have-not новца money-GEN 11.4b Nemam (NE-mam) I-have-not novca (NOV-tsa) money-GEN
11.5a Има there-is хлеба bread-GEN у in кухињи kitchen-LOC 11.5b Ima (EE-ma) there-is hleba (HLE-ba) bread-GEN u (oo) in kuhinji (KOO-hee-nyee) kitchen-LOC
11.6a Нема there-is-not никога nobody-GEN код at куће home-GEN 11.6b Nema (NE-ma) there-is-not nikoga (NEE-ko-ga) nobody-GEN kod (kod) at kuće (KOO-che) home-GEN
11.7a Имали had-PL смо we-are добре good-ACC.PL комшије neighbours-ACC.PL 11.7b Imali (EE-ma-lee) had-PL smo (smo) we-are dobre (DOB-re) good-ACC.PL komšije (KOM-shee-ye) neighbours-ACC.PL
11.8a Колико how-many година years-GEN.PL имаш you-have 11.8b Koliko (KO-lee-ko) how-many godina (GO-dee-na) years-GEN.PL imaš (EE-mash) you-have
11.9a Ова this-FEM соба room нема has-not прозор window 11.9b Ova (O-va) this-FEM soba (SO-ba) room nema (NE-ma) has-not prozor (PRO-zor) window
11.10a Имаћемо we-will-have госте guests-ACC у on суботу Saturday-ACC 11.10b Imaćemo (ee-MA-che-mo) we-will-have goste (GOS-te) guests-ACC u (oo) on subotu (SOO-bo-too) Saturday-ACC
11.11a Има it-is три three године years како since живим I-live овде here 11.11b Ima (EE-ma) it-is tri (tree) three godine (GO-dee-ne) years kako (KA-ko) since živim (ZHEE-veem) I-live ovde (OV-de) here
11.12a Брат brother ми to-me је is лекар doctor 11.12b Brat (braht) brother mi (mee) to-me je (yeh) is lekar (LE-kar) doctor
11.13a Немој do-not да to имаш you-have бриге worries-GEN 11.13b Nemoj (NE-moy) do-not da (dah) to imaš (EE-mash) you-have brige (BREE-ge) worries-GEN
11.14a Имају they-have троје three деце children-GEN 11.14b Imaju (EE-ma-yoo) they-have troje (TRO-ye) three dece (DE-tse) children-GEN
11.15a Ко who нема has-not у in глави head-LOC има has у in ногама legs-LOC.PL 11.15b Ko (koh) who nema (NE-ma) has-not u (oo) in glavi (GLA-vee) head-LOC ima (EE-ma) has u (oo) in nogama (NO-ga-ma) legs-LOC.PL
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11.1 Имам два брата. "I have two brothers."
11.2 Имаш ли времена? "Do you have time?"
11.3 Она има лепу кућу у селу. "She has a beautiful house in the village."
11.4 Немам новца. "I have no money."
11.5 Има хлеба у кухињи. "There's bread in the kitchen."
11.6 Нема никога код куће. "There's nobody at home."
11.7 Имали смо добре комшије. "We had good neighbours."
11.8 Колико година имаш? "How old are you?"
11.9 Ова соба нема прозор. "This room has no window."
11.10 Имаћемо госте у суботу. "We'll have guests on Saturday."
11.11 Има три године како живим овде. "I've been living here for three years."
11.12 Брат ми је лекар. "My brother is a doctor."
11.13 Немој да имаш бриге. "Don't worry."
11.14 Имају троје деце. "They have three children."
11.15 Ко нема у глави, има у ногама. "He who has nothing in his head has it in his legs."
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11.1 Имам два брата.
11.2 Имаш ли времена?
11.3 Она има лепу кућу у селу.
11.4 Немам новца.
11.5 Има хлеба у кухињи.
11.6 Нема никога код куће.
11.7 Имали смо добре комшије.
11.8 Колико година имаш?
11.9 Ова соба нема прозор.
11.10 Имаћемо госте у суботу.
11.11 Има три године како живим овде.
11.12 Брат ми је лекар.
11.13 Немој да имаш бриге.
11.14 Имају троје деце.
11.15 Ко нема у глави, има у ногама.
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These are the rules for имати.
1. The paradigms.
Present: имам, имаш, има, имамо, имате, имају Negative: немам, немаш, нема, немамо, немате, немају Past: имао сам / имала сам / имало је; имали смо, имале смо Future: имаћу, имаћеш, имаће, имаћемо, имаћете, имаће Imperative: имај, имајте — rare; the negative немој, немојте is far more common and has been generalised as the negative imperative of every verb (Lesson 9)
2. What case follows? The affirmative takes the accusative: имам кућу, има прозор. The negative takes the genitive when the object is indefinite or a mass: немам новца, немам времена — though немам кућу (a specific house) is also correct. This genitive of negation is a live rule, not a fossil, and it is what makes нема хлеба correct against *нема хлеб.
3. Impersonal има / нема. In the third person singular, with no subject, има means there is / there are and нема there is not. Both govern the genitive, and both are invariable — има људи ("there are people"), not *имају људи.
The past is било је and није било, the future биће and неће бити — that is, the impersonal existential switches to бити outside the present:
Има хлеба. → Било је хлеба. → Биће хлеба. Нема никога. → Није било никога. → Неће бити никога.
4. Age. Serbian counts years with имати: Колико година имаш? — "how many years do you have?" The answer takes the genitive plural above four: имам тридесет година, but имам двадесет две године.
5. Elapsed time. Има plus a period plus како or да expresses duration up to now: има три године како живим овде, има месец дана да га нисам видео.
6. Possession by dative. For inalienable things — family, body parts, close relations — Serbian often prefers the dative to имати: Брат ми је лекар ("my brother is a doctor"), Боли ме глава (Lesson 9). Both имам брата and брат ми је are correct; the dative construction ties the relation more closely to the speaker.
7. There is no perfect with имати. English, French, German and Italian all build a past tense with have; Serbian does not. Имао сам means only "I possessed." The perfect is built with бити, as Lesson 2 established.
Common Mistakes
Writing the negative as two words: *не имам. Say немам.
Using the accusative after negation with mass nouns: *немам новац. Say немам новца.
Making the impersonal agree: *имају проблеми. Say има проблема.
Saying Ја сам тридесет for age. Say имам тридесет година.
Building a perfect with имати on the English model: *имам видео. Say видео сам.
Confusing нема the impersonal with нема the third-person negative of possession. Нема хлеба can mean either "there is no bread" or "he/she has no bread"; only context tells.
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Нема is one of the most characteristic words in the language, and it stretches far beyond its dictionary meaning. Нема проблема ("no problem") is the standard reassurance. Нема шансе ("no chance") is the standard refusal. Нема везе ("it doesn't matter," literally "there's no connection") is what a Serb says to wave away an apology, an error or a misfortune, and it is probably the phrase a visitor hears most often. Нема на чему ("you're welcome") answers thanks.
The impersonal има does equivalent work: Има да… expresses determination — има да урадиш то ("you will do that") — and in the south of Serbia it substitutes for the future tense entirely.
Family questions arrive early in any Serbian conversation, and they are asked with имати: Имаш ли браће и сестара?, Имате ли деце? These are not intrusive; they are how a stranger is placed. The collective numerals of 11.14 — двоје, троје, четворо — are used for mixed-sex groups and for children specifically, and using the ordinary numeral (три деце) sounds wrong to a native ear.
Ко нема у глави, има у ногама — recorded in Vuk's Српске народне пословице (1836) — is still in everyday use, said to anyone who has to walk back for something they forgot. Vuk's collection remains the single richest source of the spoken language of its period, and dozens of its entries are unchanged in modern speech.
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From Српске народне пословице, collected by Вук Стефановић Караџић and first published in 1836. Vuk gathered proverbs alongside the folk poetry, and regarded them, in his own phrase, as a great wisdom and science for human life. Two of them turn on имати and its negative.
F-A: Interlinear Construed Text
F.1a Ко who нема has-not у in глави head-LOC има has у in ногама legs-LOC.PL F.1b Ko (koh) who nema (NE-ma) has-not u (oo) in glavi (GLA-vee) head-LOC ima (EE-ma) has u (oo) in nogama (NO-ga-ma) legs-LOC.PL
F.2a Ко who нема has-not памћења memory-GEN нема has-not ни either памети wit-GEN F.2b Ko (koh) who nema (NE-ma) has-not pamćenja (PAM-che-nya) memory-GEN nema (NE-ma) has-not ni (nee) either pameti (PA-me-tee) wit-GEN
F.3a Лаж lie нема has-not ноге legs-ACC.PL F.3b Laž (lazh) lie nema (NE-ma) has-not noge (NO-ge) legs-ACC.PL
F-B: Natural Text with Translation
Ко нема у глави, има у ногама. Ко нема памћења, нема ни памети. Лаж нема ноге.
"He who has nothing in his head has it in his legs. He who has no memory has no sense either. A lie has no legs."
F-C: Original Only
Ко нема у глави, има у ногама. Ко нема памћења, нема ни памети. Лаж нема ноге.
F-D: Grammar and Vocabulary Notes
All three proverbs are built on нема, and each uses it differently. In the first it is possession with the object gapped entirely — has nothing in his head, where Serbian omits the object and lets у глави carry the sense. In the second it governs the genitive of an abstract noun, памћења and памети. In the third it takes a plain accusative plural, ноге, because the object is a definite countable thing.
That distribution is the rule of Section D in miniature: genitive for the indefinite and abstract, accusative for the concrete and countable.
Ко here is not the question word "who?" but the relative-conditional "whoever, he who," standard in proverbs: Ко рано рани, две среће граби. The main clause needs no resumptive pronoun.
ни in the second proverb is the additive negative of Lesson 3 — "not … either" — reinforcing an already negative verb.
памет is an i-stem feminine, genitive памети; it means wit, sense, intelligence. Памћење is the neuter verbal noun from памтити, "to remember," and means the faculty of memory. The proverb turns on their shared root.
Лаж нема ноге has an exact English counterpart in "a lie has no legs," and Vuk's collection contains many such parallels — evidence, as scholars of the collection have long noted, of a common European proverb stock reaching Serbian through Byzantine, Ottoman and biblical channels alike.
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Part A — Intralinear Construed Text
11.16a Добро good јутро morning имате you-have ли Q свежих fresh-GEN.PL јабука apples-GEN.PL 11.16b Dobro (DO-bro) good jutro (YOO-tro) morning imate (EE-ma-te) you-have li (lee) Q svežih (SVE-zheeh) fresh-GEN.PL jabuka (YA-boo-ka) apples-GEN.PL
11.17a Имамо we-have јутрос this-morning су they-are стигле arrived-FEM.PL из from Шумадије Šumadija-GEN 11.17b Imamo (EE-ma-mo) we-have — jutros (YOO-tros) this-morning su (soo) they-are stigle (STEEG-le) arrived-FEM.PL iz (eez) from Šumadije (shoo-MA-dee-ye) Šumadija-GEN
11.18a Колико how-much имају have-3PL килограм kilogram 11.18b Koliko (KO-lee-ko) how-much imaju (EE-ma-yoo) have-3PL kilogram (KEE-lo-gram) kilogram
11.19a Сто hundred двадесет twenty динара dinars-GEN.PL јефтиније cheaper него than прошле last-GEN недеље week-GEN 11.19b Sto (stoh) hundred dvadeset (DVA-de-set) twenty dinara (DEE-na-ra) dinars-GEN.PL — jeftinije (yef-TEE-nee-ye) cheaper nego (NE-go) than prošle (PROSH-le) last-GEN nedelje (NE-de-lye) week-GEN
11.20a Дајте give-IMP.PL ми to-me два two килограма kilograms-GEN 11.20b Dajte (DIE-te) give-IMP.PL mi (mee) to-me dva (dvah) two kilograma (kee-lo-GRA-ma) kilograms-GEN
11.21a Имате you-have ли Q и also шљива plums-GEN.PL 11.21b Imate (EE-ma-te) you-have li (lee) Q i (ee) also šljiva (SHLYEE-va) plums-GEN.PL
11.22a Данас today нема there-is-not шљива plums-GEN.PL биће there-will-be сутра tomorrow 11.22b Danas (DA-nas) today nema (NE-ma) there-is-not šljiva (SHLYEE-va) plums-GEN.PL — biće (BEE-che) there-will-be sutra (SOO-tra) tomorrow
11.23a Штета pity имам I-have госте guests-ACC у on суботу Saturday-ACC 11.23b Šteta (SHTE-ta) pity — imam (EE-mam) I-have goste (GOS-te) guests-ACC u (oo) on subotu (SOO-bo-too) Saturday-ACC
11.24a Онда then имате you-have времена time-GEN дођите come-IMP.PL у on петак Friday-ACC 11.24b Onda (ON-da) then imate (EE-ma-te) you-have vremena (VRE-me-na) time-GEN — dođite (DO-dyee-te) come-IMP.PL u (oo) on petak (PE-tak) Friday-ACC
11.25a Имате you-have ли Q ситно small-change 11.25b Imate (EE-ma-te) you-have li (lee) Q sitno (SEET-no) small-change
11.26a Немам I-have-not само only хиљадарку thousand-note-ACC 11.26b Nemam (NE-mam) I-have-not — samo (SA-mo) only hiljadarku (hee-lya-DAR-koo) thousand-note-ACC
11.27a Нема there-is-not везе connection-GEN имам I-have да to вратим I-return 11.27b Nema (NE-ma) there-is-not veze (VE-ze) connection-GEN — imam (EE-mam) I-have da (dah) to vratim (VRA-teem) I-return
11.28a Имају they-have ли Q ваше your-PL јабуке apples семе seed 11.28b Imaju (EE-ma-yoo) they-have li (lee) Q vaše (VA-she) your-PL jabuke (YA-boo-ke) apples seme (SE-me) seed
11.29a Имају they-have све everything што what треба is-needed ништа nothing прскано sprayed 11.29b Imaju (EE-ma-yoo) they-have sve (sveh) everything što (shto) what treba (TRE-ba) is-needed — ništa (NEESH-ta) nothing prskano (PRS-ka-no) sprayed
11.30a Хвала thanks имаћу I-will-have шта what да to понудим I-offer 11.30b Hvala (HVA-la) thanks — imaću (ee-MA-choo) I-will-have šta (shta) what da (dah) to ponudim (po-NOO-deem) I-offer
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Part B — Natural Sentences
11.16 Добро јутро, имате ли свежих јабука? "Good morning, do you have any fresh apples?"
11.17 Имамо, јутрос су стигле из Шумадије. "We do — they arrived this morning from Šumadija."
11.18 Колико имају килограм? "How much are they a kilo?"
11.19 Сто двадесет динара, јефтиније него прошле недеље. "A hundred and twenty dinars, cheaper than last week."
11.20 Дајте ми два килограма. "Give me two kilos."
11.21 Имате ли и шљива? "Do you have plums as well?"
11.22 Данас нема шљива, биће сутра. "There are no plums today — there will be tomorrow."
11.23 Штета, имам госте у суботу. "A pity, I have guests on Saturday."
11.24 Онда имате времена, дођите у петак. "Then you have time — come on Friday."
11.25 Имате ли ситно? "Do you have change?"
11.26 Немам, само хиљадарку. "I don't, only a thousand-dinar note."
11.27 Нема везе, имам да вратим. "Never mind, I have change to give you."
11.28 Имају ли ваше јабуке семе? "Do your apples have seed?"
11.29 Имају све што треба, ништа прскано. "They have everything they should — nothing sprayed."
11.30 Хвала, имаћу шта да понудим. "Thank you, I'll have something to offer."
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Part C — Target Language Only
11.16 Добро јутро, имате ли свежих јабука?
11.17 Имамо, јутрос су стигле из Шумадије.
11.18 Колико имају килограм?
11.19 Сто двадесет динара, јефтиније него прошле недеље.
11.20 Дајте ми два килограма.
11.21 Имате ли и шљива?
11.22 Данас нема шљива, биће сутра.
11.23 Штета, имам госте у суботу.
11.24 Онда имате времена, дођите у петак.
11.25 Имате ли ситно?
11.26 Немам, само хиљадарку.
11.27 Нема везе, имам да вратим.
11.28 Имају ли ваше јабуке семе?
11.29 Имају све што треба, ништа прскано.
11.30 Хвала, имаћу шта да понудим.
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Part D — Grammar Notes for the Dialogue
имате ли свежих јабука (11.16), имате ли и шљива (11.21) — the partitive genitive plural after an affirmative имати. Asking for some of a thing puts it in the genitive even without negation; asking about a specific quantity would use the accusative.
Имамо (11.17) — the echo answer of Lesson 2, repeating the verb instead of saying да.
Колико имају килограм (11.18) — an idiom: literally "how much do they have a kilo," meaning "what do they cost per kilo." Пошто су? is the other common form.
јефтиније него прошле недеље (11.19) — comparative with него, the alternative to од plus genitive from Lesson 8. After него the compared item keeps its own case, here the adverbial genitive of time.
два килограма (11.20) — the dual after два, identical to the genitive singular.
нема шљива, биће сутра (11.22) — the existential switching stems: нема in the present, биће in the future, exactly as Section D sets out.
имам да вратим (11.27) — имати plus да plus present, expressing availability or obligation: "I have something to give back." The same construction in имаћу шта да понудим (11.30) — "I'll have something to offer."
Нема везе (11.27) — the universal Serbian dismissal. Literally "there is no connection."
ситно (11.25) — a neuter adjective used as a noun, "small change." Serbian nominalises adjectives freely: мало (a little), добро (the good), прскано (sprayed goods) in 11.29.
Имају ли ваше јабуке семе (11.28) — here имати is a full transitive verb with an inanimate subject and an accusative object, the plainest use in the dialogue.
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имам (imam): EE-mam. Stress on the first syllable throughout the paradigm, including имају (EE-ma-yoo).
немам (nemam): NE-mam. The fused negative keeps first-syllable stress. Do not pause between не and мам — it is one word.
нема (nema): NE-ma. In rapid speech the vowel of the second syllable is barely audible, and нема везе collapses towards NE-ma-VE-ze with a single main stress.
шљива (šljiva): SHLYEE-va. From Lesson 5 — and шљивовица (shlyee-VO-vee-tsa), the plum brandy, is Serbia's national drink and its most exported word.
Шумадија (Šumadija): shoo-MA-dee-ya. The wooded heartland of central Serbia, from шума (forest).
хиљадарку (hiljadarku): hee-lya-DAR-koo. Five syllables. љ as a single palatal sound.
памћења (pamćenja): PAM-che-nya. Two clusters English does not have: мћ and ња.
Numeral stress: два килограма shifts nothing, but сто двадесет is spoken as one unit with the stress on сто and два-. Prices are rattled off at speed; the useful skill is recognising the round numbers сто, двеста, триста, пет стотина, хиљаду.
✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾ ✾ ❦ ✾ ❦ ✾
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