Бити is the most irregular and most necessary verb in Serbian. Its present tense exists in three parallel sets: the enclitic forms (сам, си, је, смо, сте, су), which carry no stress and cannot begin a sentence; the stressed forms (јесам, јеси, јесте, јесмо, јесте, јесу), used for emphasis, for one-word answers, and at the head of a clause; and the negative forms (нисам, ниси, није, нисмо, нисте, нису), which are single words, not verb-plus-particle.
Alongside these stands a fourth stem, буде, the perfective present, which never means "is" but always "may be, shall be, let it be" — it lives in subordinate clauses after да, кад and ако, in the optative with нека, and in the imperative буди / будите.
The enclitics obey a rule with no English parallel: they occupy second position in the clause, after the first stressed word or phrase. Master this and Serbian word order stops sounding foreign.
Key Takeaways
- Enclitic present: сам, си, је, смо, сте, су — unstressed, never first in a sentence - Stressed present: јесам, јеси, јесте, јесмо, јесте, јесу — emphasis and one-word answers - Negative present: нисам, ниси, није, нисмо, нисте, нису — one word, not не + сам - Past: l-participle + enclitic, agreeing in gender and number: био сам, била сам, било је - Future: бићу or ја ћу бити; conditional: бих био - Perfective буде: after да, кад, ако, нека; imperative буди / будите - Existence uses има / нема, not бити: Има хлеба, Нема никога
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2.1a Ја I сам am студент student 2.1b Ja (yah) I sam (sahm) am student (STOO-dent) student
2.2a Ти you си are добар good пријатељ friend 2.2b Ti (tee) you si (see) are dobar (DO-bar) good prijatelj (pri-YA-tely) friend
2.3a Он he је is сада now у in школи school-LOC 2.3b On (on) he je (yeh) is sada (SA-da) now u (oo) in školi (SHKO-lee) school-LOC
2.4a Ми we смо are код at куће house-GEN 2.4b Mi (mee) we smo (smo) are kod (kod) at kuće (KOO-che) house-GEN
2.5a Ви you-PL сте are уморни tired-PL 2.5b Vi (vee) you-PL ste (steh) are umorni (oo-MOR-nee) tired-PL
2.6a Они they су are у in башти garden-LOC 2.6b Oni (O-nee) they su (soo) are u (oo) in bašti (BASH-tee) garden-LOC
2.7a Јеси are-EMPH ли Q ти you Србин Serb Јесам I-am-EMPH 2.7b Jesi (YE-see) are-EMPH li (lee) Q ti (tee) you Srbin (SR-bin) Serb — Jesam (YE-sam) I-am-EMPH
2.8a Нисам I-am-not гладан hungry-MASC 2.8b Nisam (NEE-sam) I-am-not gladan (GLA-dan) hungry-MASC
2.9a То that није is-not истина truth 2.9b To (toh) that nije (NEE-yeh) is-not istina (EES-tee-na) truth
2.10a Био been-MASC сам I-am у in Београду Belgrade-LOC прошле last-GEN године year-GEN 2.10b Bio (BEE-o) been-MASC sam (sahm) I-am u (oo) in Beogradu (be-O-gra-doo) Belgrade-LOC prošle (PROSH-le) last-GEN godine (GO-dee-ne) year-GEN
2.11a Она she је is била been-FEM лекар doctor 2.11b Ona (O-na) she je (yeh) is bila (BEE-la) been-FEM lekar (LE-kar) doctor
2.12a Сутра tomorrow ћемо we-will бити be-INF на at мору sea-LOC 2.12b Sutra (SOO-tra) tomorrow ćemo (CHE-mo) we-will biti (BEE-tee) be-INF na (nah) at moru (MO-roo) sea-LOC
2.13a Где where си you-are био been-MASC јуче yesterday 2.13b Gde (g'deh) where si (see) you-are bio (BEE-o) been-MASC juče (YOO-cheh) yesterday
2.14a Хоћу I-want да that будем I-be-PERF лекар doctor 2.14b Hoću (HO-choo) I-want da (dah) that budem (BOO-dem) I-be-PERF lekar (LE-kar) doctor
2.15a Овде here је is било been-NEUT хладно cold 2.15b Ovde (OV-deh) here je (yeh) is bilo (BEE-lo) been-NEUT hladno (HLAD-no) cold
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2.1 Ја сам студент. "I am a student."
2.2 Ти си добар пријатељ. "You are a good friend."
2.3 Он је сада у школи. "He is at school now."
2.4 Ми смо код куће. "We are at home."
2.5 Ви сте уморни. "You are tired."
2.6 Они су у башти. "They are in the garden."
2.7 Јеси ли ти Србин? — Јесам. "Are you a Serb?" — "I am."
2.8 Нисам гладан. "I am not hungry."
2.9 То није истина. "That is not true."
2.10 Био сам у Београду прошле године. "I was in Belgrade last year."
2.11 Она је била лекар. "She was a doctor."
2.12 Сутра ћемо бити на мору. "Tomorrow we will be at the seaside."
2.13 Где си био јуче? "Where were you yesterday?"
2.14 Хоћу да будем лекар. "I want to be a doctor."
2.15 Овде је било хладно. "It was cold here."
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2.1 Ја сам студент.
2.2 Ти си добар пријатељ.
2.3 Он је сада у школи.
2.4 Ми смо код куће.
2.5 Ви сте уморни.
2.6 Они су у башти.
2.7 Јеси ли ти Србин? — Јесам.
2.8 Нисам гладан.
2.9 То није истина.
2.10 Био сам у Београду прошле године.
2.11 Она је била лекар.
2.12 Сутра ћемо бити на мору.
2.13 Где си био јуче?
2.14 Хоћу да будем лекар.
2.15 Овде је било хладно.
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These are the rules for бити.
1. Three present tenses, not one.
Enclitic (unstressed, the everyday form): ја сам, ти си, он/она/оно је, ми смо, ви сте, они/оне/она су
Stressed (emphatic, sentence-initial, one-word answers): ја јесам, ти јеси, он јесте, ми јесмо, ви јесте, они јесу
Negative (a single word): ја нисам, ти ниси, он није, ми нисмо, ви нисте, они нису
The negative is historically не + јесам fused into one form. There is no *не сам.
2. Second position — the clitic rule. The enclitics cannot stand first in a clause. They attach after the first stressed word or phrase:
Ја сам студент. / Студент сам. (never *Сам студент.) Он је у школи. / У школи је.
When the subject pronoun is dropped — which is normal, since the verb ending already tells you the person — some other word must come first to host the clitic. This is why Гладан сам and not *Сам гладан.
3. Clitic order. When several clitics cluster, they follow a fixed sequence: ли, then conditional бих/би, then future ћу/ћеш, then auxiliary сам/си/смо/сте/су, then dative pronoun, then accusative pronoun, then се, and finally је — which alone among the auxiliaries goes last:
Ја сам му га дао. — "I gave it to him." Он ми га је дао. — "He gave it to me."
4. The past (perfect). Formed with the l-participle plus the present enclitic. The participle agrees with the subject in gender and number:
био сам, била сам, било је били смо, биле смо (feminine plural), била су (neuter plural)
Negative: нисам био, није била.
5. The future. Two written forms, identical in meaning:
бићу, бићеш, биће, бићемо, бићете, биће ја ћу бити, ти ћеш бити, он ће бити …
When the clitic ћу follows the verb it fuses with it in writing (бићу); when it precedes, the two words stay separate (ћу бити).
6. буде — the perfective present. This stem never states a present fact. It appears:
after да: Хоћу да будем лекар. — "I want to be a doctor." after кад or ако with future reference: Кад будем велики… — "When I am grown…" in the optative with нека: Нека буде светлост. — "Let there be light." as the imperative: Буди добар! Будите наши гости!
7. Existence is not бити. To say something exists, Serbian uses има (there is) and нема (there is not), both governing the genitive:
Има хлеба. — There is bread. Нема никога. — There is nobody.
8. The conditional. The aorist clitics бих, би, би, бисмо, бисте, би plus the participle: био бих (I would be), то би било лепо (that would be nice).
Common Mistakes
Beginning a sentence with an enclitic: *Сам уморан. Say Уморан сам or Ја сам уморан.
Writing the negative as two words: не сам, не је. Say нисам, није.
Using the stressed form where the enclitic belongs. Ја јесам студент is not wrong, but it means "I am a student (whatever you may think)."
Failing to make the past participle agree: a woman says била сам, never *био сам.
Using није for non-existence. Он није овде = "he is not here" (he exists, but elsewhere); Нема га = "he isn't there / he's gone."
Placing је anywhere but last in a clitic cluster: *Он ми је га дао. Say Он ми га је дао.
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Because the enclitic is unstressed and the pronoun is usually dropped, ordinary Serbian conversation is built out of very short predicates: Уморан сам. Гладна сам. Ту смо. The pronoun appears only when it carries contrast — Ја сам добро, а ти? — which is why a beginner who says Ја сам before every verb sounds emphatic to the point of belligerence.
The stressed form јесте has a life of its own as an affirmative particle. Answering a yes-no question with a bare да is possible but flat; the idiomatic answer repeats the verb: Јеси ли уморан? — Јесам. This echo-answer pattern runs through the whole language and is worth imitating early, since it is the single clearest marker of natural speech.
Је ли? ("is it?") contracts in speech to јел', which has become an all-purpose question opener regardless of the actual verb: Јел' идеш? ("Are you going?"). It is universal in informal Belgrade speech and absent from formal writing.
Serbian distinguishes the familiar ти from the polite plural ви as French does tu and vous. The polite form takes plural agreement — Ви сте били — and is capitalised in letters (Ви) as a courtesy. Serbs move to ти quickly among peers and in relaxed settings; addressing an older stranger or an official with ти is a real discourtesy.
The verb sits at the centre of the two most Serbian of all utterances: the toast Живели! ("may we live") and the funeral formula Нека му је вечна слава ("let eternal glory be his") — both optatives built on the wish that something be, which is the work of the буде stem.
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From Горски вијенац (The Mountain Wreath), Петар II Петровић Његош, Vienna, 1847 — the central poem of the Serbian language, written in decasyllabic verse. The line нека буде што бити не може is the most quoted sentence in Serbian literature, and it turns entirely on two forms of the verb of this lesson.
F-A: Interlinear Construed Text
F.1a Треба it-behoves служит to-serve-INF чести honour-DAT и and имену name-DAT F.1b Treba (TRE-ba) it-behoves služit (SLOO-zheet) to-serve-INF časti (CHAS-tee) honour-DAT i (ee) and imenu (EE-me-noo) name-DAT
F.2a нека let буде be-3SG.PERF борба struggle непрестана unceasing-FEM F.2b neka (NE-ka) let bude (BOO-de) be-3SG.PERF borba (BOR-ba) struggle neprestana (ne-PRES-ta-na) unceasing-FEM
F.3a нека let буде be-3SG.PERF што what бити be-INF не not може can-3SG F.3b neka (NE-ka) let bude (BOO-de) be-3SG.PERF što (shto) what biti (BEE-tee) be-INF ne (neh) not može (MO-zhe) can-3SG
F.4a нек let ад hell прождре devour-3SG покоси mow-down-3SG сатана satan F.4b nek (nek) let ad (ahd) hell proždre (PROZH-dre) devour-3SG pokosi (PO-ko-see) mow-down-3SG satana (SA-ta-na) satan
F.5a На on гробљу graveyard-LOC ће will изнићи spring-up-INF цвијеће flowers-COLL F.5b Na (nah) on groblju (GROB-lyoo) graveyard-LOC će (che) will iznići (eez-NEE-chee) spring-up-INF cvijeće (TSVYE-che) flowers-COLL
F.6a за for далеко distant-NEUT неко some покољење generation F.6b za (zah) for daleko (DA-le-ko) distant-NEUT neko (NE-ko) some pokoljenje (po-KO-lye-nye) generation
F-B: Natural Text with Translation
Треба служит чести и имену, нека буде борба непрестана, нека буде што бити не може — нек ад прождре, покоси сатана! На гробљу ће изнићи цвијеће за далеко неко покољење.
"Honour and name must be served: let the struggle be unceasing, let that come to pass which cannot come to pass — let hell devour, let Satan mow us down. On the graveyard flowers will spring up for some far-off generation."
F-C: Original Only
Треба служит чести и имену, нека буде борба непрестана, нека буде што бити не може — нек ад прождре, покоси сатана! На гробљу ће изнићи цвијеће за далеко неко покољење.
F-D: Grammar and Vocabulary Notes
нека буде што бити не може puts both stems of the verb into a single line. буде is the perfective present in an optative construction with нека — "let it be, may it come about." бити is the plain infinitive, the subject of не може: literally "let there be that which to be is not able." The line is untranslatable in the strict sense, and Ivo Andrić called it the most terrible watchword he had found in any nation's poetry.
нека and its shortened form нек introduce third-person commands and wishes, exactly filling the gap left by the absence of a third-person imperative. Serbian has imperatives only for the second person (буди, будите) and the first-person plural (будимо).
служит is an apocopated infinitive — standard служити with the final -и dropped, a licence of the decasyllabic line. The same shortening survives in ordinary speech before a future clitic: служићу.
чести is the dative of част (honour), an i-stem feminine noun. служити governs the dative: one serves to honour, not honour directly.
ће изнићи is the future: clitic ће plus infinitive. Because ће here follows гробљу, it stays a separate word.
цвијеће is a collective neuter singular — "flowers" as a mass, not a countable plural. Serbian has a productive class of these collectives: лишће (foliage), грање (branches), камење (stones). They take singular agreement.
The text is Ijekavian: цвијеће, покољење, вијенац correspond to Ekavian цвеће, поколење, венац. Његош wrote in the speech of Montenegro, and the poem is read in Ijekavian throughout the Serbian-speaking world.
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Part A — Intralinear Construed Text
2.16a Добро good вече evening ја I сам am Милан Milan 2.16b Dobro (DO-bro) good veče (VE-cheh) evening ja (yah) I sam (sahm) am Milan (MEE-lan) Milan
2.17a Драго dear ми to-me је is ја I сам am Ана Ana 2.17b Drago (DRA-go) dear mi (mee) to-me je (yeh) is ja (yah) I sam (sahm) am Ana (A-na) Ana
2.18a Одакле from-where сте you-are-PL 2.18b Odakle (o-DAK-le) from-where ste (steh) you-are-PL
2.19a Ја I сам am из from Ниша Niš-GEN а and ви you-PL 2.19b Ja (yah) I sam (sahm) am iz (eez) from Niša (NEE-sha) Niš-GEN a (ah) and vi (vee) you-PL
2.20a Ми we смо are из from Новог New-GEN Сада Sad-GEN 2.20b Mi (mee) we smo (smo) are iz (eez) from Novog (NO-vog) New-GEN Sada (SA-da) Sad-GEN
2.21a Да Q ли Q сте you-are-PL први first пут time овде here 2.21b Da (dah) Q li (lee) Q ste (steh) you-are-PL prvi (PR-vee) first put (poot) time ovde (OV-deh) here
2.22a Нисам I-am-not био been-MASC сам I-am овде here прошлог last-GEN лета summer-GEN 2.22b Nisam (NEE-sam) I-am-not — bio (BEE-o) been-MASC sam (sahm) I-am ovde (OV-deh) here prošlog (PROSH-log) last-GEN leta (LE-ta) summer-GEN
2.23a Јесте are-EMPH ли Q уморни tired-PL од from пута journey-GEN 2.23b Jeste (YES-teh) are-EMPH li (lee) Q umorni (oo-MOR-nee) tired-PL od (od) from puta (POO-ta) journey-GEN
2.24a Мало a-little јесмо we-are-EMPH али but је is вече evening лепо lovely 2.24b Malo (MA-lo) a-little jesmo (YES-mo) we-are-EMPH ali (A-lee) but je (yeh) is veče (VE-cheh) evening lepo (LE-po) lovely
2.25a Где where сте you-are-PL били been-PL данас today 2.25b Gde (g'deh) where ste (steh) you-are-PL bili (BEE-lee) been-PL danas (DA-nas) today
2.26a Били been-PL смо we-are на at тврђави fortress-LOC 2.26b Bili (BEE-lee) been-PL smo (smo) we-are na (nah) at tvrđavi (TVR-dya-vee) fortress-LOC
2.27a Тамо there је is увек always прелепо beautiful 2.27b Tamo (TA-mo) there je (yeh) is uvek (OO-vek) always prelepo (pre-LE-po) beautiful
2.28a Сутра tomorrow ћемо we-will бити be-INF слободни free-PL цео whole дан day 2.28b Sutra (SOO-tra) tomorrow ćemo (CHE-mo) we-will biti (BEE-tee) be-INF slobodni (slo-BOD-nee) free-PL ceo (TSE-o) whole dan (dahn) day
2.29a Онда then будите be-IMP.PL наши our-PL гости guests 2.29b Onda (ON-da) then budite (BOO-dee-teh) be-IMP.PL naši (NA-shee) our-PL gosti (GOS-tee) guests
2.30a То that би would било been-NEUT дивно wonderful 2.30b To (toh) that bi (bee) would bilo (BEE-lo) been-NEUT divno (DEEV-no) wonderful
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Part B — Natural Sentences
2.16 Добро вече! Ја сам Милан. "Good evening. I'm Milan."
2.17 Драго ми је, ја сам Ана. "Pleased to meet you, I'm Ana."
2.18 Одакле сте? "Where are you from?"
2.19 Ја сам из Ниша, а ви? "I'm from Niš — and you?"
2.20 Ми смо из Новог Сада. "We're from Novi Sad."
2.21 Да ли сте први пут овде? "Is this your first time here?"
2.22 Нисам, био сам овде прошлог лета. "No — I was here last summer."
2.23 Јесте ли уморни од пута? "Are you tired from the journey?"
2.24 Мало јесмо, али је вече лепо. "A little, we are — but it's a lovely evening."
2.25 Где сте били данас? "Where were you today?"
2.26 Били смо на тврђави. "We were at the fortress."
2.27 Тамо је увек прелепо. "It's always beautiful there."
2.28 Сутра ћемо бити слободни цео дан. "Tomorrow we'll be free all day."
2.29 Онда будите наши гости. "Then be our guests."
2.30 То би било дивно. "That would be wonderful."
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Part C — Target Language Only
2.16 Добро вече! Ја сам Милан.
2.17 Драго ми је, ја сам Ана.
2.18 Одакле сте?
2.19 Ја сам из Ниша, а ви?
2.20 Ми смо из Новог Сада.
2.21 Да ли сте први пут овде?
2.22 Нисам, био сам овде прошлог лета.
2.23 Јесте ли уморни од пута?
2.24 Мало јесмо, али је вече лепо.
2.25 Где сте били данас?
2.26 Били смо на тврђави.
2.27 Тамо је увек прелепо.
2.28 Сутра ћемо бити слободни цео дан.
2.29 Онда будите наши гости.
2.30 То би било дивно.
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Part D — Grammar Notes for the Dialogue
Драго ми је (2.17) — literally "it is dear to me." The standard formula on being introduced. ми is the dative enclitic, and note the clitic order: dative ми precedes the auxiliary је, which as always comes last.
Одакле сте? (2.18) — the subject pronoun is absent, and the question word hosts the clitic. Serbian drops pronouns freely; Одакле сте ви? adds contrastive emphasis ("and where are you from?").
из Ниша, из Новог Сада (2.19–2.20) — the preposition из governs the genitive. In Нови Сад both parts of the name decline: Нови Сад, Новог Сада, Новом Саду. The adjective is in its definite form throughout, as always in proper names.
а ви? (2.19) — а here is not "but"; it is the contrastive linker introduced in Lesson 3, marking a shift of topic from one speaker to the other.
Нисам, био сам… (2.22) — the negative answer echoes the verb rather than using a bare не. Then био сам: participle first, clitic second. Had the sentence begun with the pronoun it would be ја сам био.
Јесте ли… (2.23) versus Да ли сте… (2.21) — both form a yes-no question. The stressed јесте is required in the inverted pattern, because an enclitic cannot begin a clause; сте appears only in the да ли pattern, where да occupies first position.
Мало јесмо (2.24) — the stressed form again, this time because it is answering and conceding: "we are, a little." An enclitic could not carry this weight.
Били смо (2.26) — masculine or mixed plural. A group of women would say биле смо; a neuter plural subject takes била су.
на тврђави (2.26) — locative of тврђава. Novi Sad's Petrovaradin fortress and Belgrade's Kalemegdan are both тврђава, and in both cities the phrase needs no further specification.
будите наши гости (2.29) — the imperative of the perfective stem. The singular is буди, the plural and polite form будите. The predicate noun stands in the nominative: гости, not the accusative.
То би било дивно (2.30) — the conditional: би plus the neuter participle било, agreeing with the neuter subject то. The full paradigm is бих, би, би, бисмо, бисте, би, and in the third person singular and plural the form is simply би.
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сам (sam): sahm. Short, unstressed, and leaning on the word before it. In connected speech студент сам is pronounced almost as one word, studentsam. Never give the enclitic its own stress — that is the single clearest foreign-accent marker in Serbian.
јесам (jesam): YE-sam. Stress on the first syllable. Contrast the enclitic above: the stressed form is a full word and can stand alone as an answer.
није (nije): NEE-yeh. Two syllables, both clear. English speakers tend to swallow the final -е; Serbian has no reduced vowels, and every vowel keeps its full value however unstressed.
бићу (biću): BEE-choo. The ћ is the soft affricate; бићу and бићеш must not be pronounced with the hard ч.
буде (bude): BOO-de. Two syllables. Distinguish carefully from буди (BOO-dee), the imperative.
тврђава (tvrđava): TVR-dya-va. The first syllable has no vowel at all — syllabic р carries it. Say the r as a rolled consonant and let it hold the beat.
Ниш (Niš): neesh. Новог Сада (Novog Sada): NO-vog SA-da.
гробљу (groblju): GROB-lyoo. The љ is one palatal sound, not l followed by y.
Pitch accents: бити carries a short rising accent on the first syllable; био a long rising. The four-accent system is not required for intelligibility and is best absorbed by listening rather than studied in tables. What matters at this stage is that stress never falls on the final syllable of a word of two or more syllables.
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