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Biti Conjugation

biti means "to be" in Croatian. Present: ja sam, ti si, on / ona / ono je, mi smo, vi ste, oni / one / ona su. Below: all 18 tenses we teach, with examples.

Present Prezent

Stem + personal ending (-im, -am, -em, -ujem). Only imperfective verbs have a true present, covering both 'I work' and 'I am working' (Croatian has no separate present continuous). The present of a perfective verb (napravim) does not mean 'now': it appears after da, kad, ako and in the Future II sense.

Perfect (imperfective verb) Perfekt (nesvršeni glagol)

The everyday past: present of 'biti' (sam, si, je...) as a clitic + l-participle, which agrees in gender and number. The imperfective verb describes an ongoing, repeated or unfinished past action. The clitic stands in second position: 'Radio sam' or 'Ja sam radio'. The 3rd person je is dropped in negatives only in writing styles, not in standard speech.

Imperfect (literary) Imperfekt

Literary and archaic in standard Croatian; found in older prose, storytelling imitation and some dialects (Čakavian, Kajkavian). Imperfective verbs only: it describes a past process or habit. Stem + -ah/-aše/-ahu (verbs in -iti: -ijah/-ijaše; -ati: -ah/-aše).

Aorist (literary) Aorist

Literary, rare in modern speech; used in older narrative and solemn style. Perfective verbs only: a single completed past event. Stem + -h, -, -, -smo, -ste, -še (napravih, napravi, napravi, napravismo, napraviste, napraviše).

Pluperfect Pluskvamperfekt

Perfect of 'biti' (bio sam) + l-participle: the past before another past. Written 'bio sam radio'; in speech often shortened to the perfect.

Pluperfect with bijah (literary) Pluskvamperfekt (s aoristom/imperfektom)

Literary variant: imperfect bijah + l-participle. Found in old texts and archaizing style; not used in speech.

Future I (imperfective verb) Futur I

Infinitive + clitic ću/ćeš/će/ćemo/ćete/će. The final -i of the infinitive is dropped when the clitic follows directly: 'radit ću' (written apart). In a question or with the clitic first the full infinitive stays: 'Ću li raditi?', 'Što ću raditi?'. Standard Croatian prefers 'radit ću' over Serbian 'radiću'.

Future II (future perfect) Futur II

Present of perfective 'biti' (budem...) + l-participle. Used only in subordinate clauses with future reference: after ako, kad, čim, dok, tko, što. The main clause has Future I or the imperative.

Conditional I (present) Kondicional I (sadašnji)

L-participle + aorist of 'biti': bih, bi, bi, bismo, biste, bi. The clitic follows the first stress group: 'Radio bih'. Expresses wishes, polite requests and unreal present or future conditions (with da/kad/ako + conditional).

Conditional II (past) Kondicional II (prošli)

Conditional of biti (bio bih) + l-participle: unreal past situation, 'would have'. In everyday speech Conditional I often replaces it.

Da + present Prezent s veznikom da

Croatian has no true subjunctive; the meaning of a subjunctive is carried by da + present (verb in the present form), the conditional and the imperative with neka. Da + present follows verbs of wanting, demanding, fearing and purpose (htjeti, tražiti, bojati se, kako bi/da bi), in impersonal phrases (potrebno je da, važno je da) and after čim, prije nego što (with perfective). In standard Croatian the infinitive is preferred when the subject is the same: 'Želim raditi', not 'Želim da radim'.

Affirmative imperative Imperativ (potvrdni)

Direct commands to ti, mi (we: let's) and vi. For the 3rd person (and the 1st singular) use 'neka' + present. Imperfective for repeated or general commands, perfective for a single one.

Negative imperative Imperativ (niječni)

nemoj/nemojmo/nemojte + infinitive (imperfective). The older type 'ne radi!' with the imperative is also heard but nemoj is standard. Third person: neka ne + present.

Infinitive Infinitiv

Dictionary form in -ti (or -ći). Stays after modal verbs (moći, morati, htjeti, željeti) instead of Serbian da + present.

Active participle (l-participle) Glagolski pridjev radni

Gives masculine / feminine / neuter singular (and plural -li / -le / -la). Forms the perfect, pluperfect and conditionals.

Present verbal adverb Glagolski prilog sadašnji

Imperfective stem + -ći (radeći, čitajući, pišući, kupujući): action simultaneous with the main verb. More common in writing.

Past verbal adverb Glagolski prilog prošli

Perfective stem + -vši (napravivši, pročitavši, napisavši, kupivši): action completed before the main verb. Formal and written; avoided in speech.

Verbal noun Glagolska imenica

Suffix -nje / -će: čitanje, pisanje, kupovanje; many verbs prefer a different noun (rad for 'work'). Used as a noun: reading, writing.

Examples

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