Lesson Goals
By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:
- Conjugate imperfective verbs in the present tense
- Recognize the six present tense endings in Serbian
- Understand subject–verb agreement
- Use adjectives that match the gender and number of nouns
- Make sentences with verbs and descriptive adjectives
1. Present Tense of Imperfective Verbs
Serbian present tense is formed by removing the infinitive ending -ti (sometimes -ći) from the verb and adding the appropriate personal ending.
Example with raditi (to work):
Person | Singular | Plural |
ja | radim | radimo |
ti | radiš | radite |
on/ona/ono | radi | rade |
2. Six Personal Endings (Present Tense)
These endings apply to most imperfective verbs:
Person | Ending | Example (raditi) |
ja | -m | radim |
ti | -š | radiš |
on/ona/ono | -∅ (no ending) | radi |
mi | -mo | radimo |
vi | -te | radite |
oni/one/ona | -e / -u | rade |
The choice between -e and -u depends on the verb stem — covered in Lesson 9: Verb Groups.
3. Subject–Verb Agreement
The verb ending must match the subject in person (1st, 2nd, 3rd) and number (singular/plural).
- Ja radim. — I work.
- Ti radiš. — You work.
- Oni rade. — They work.
4. Basic Adjective Agreement
In Serbian, adjectives agree with the gender and number of the noun they describe.
Masculine Singular
- Ending: i
- dobar student — good (male) student
Feminine Singular
- Ending: a
- dobra učiteljica — good (female) teacher
Neuter Singular
- Ending: o
- dobro selo — good village
Plural (all genders)
- Ending: i for masculine, e for feminine and neuter
- dobri studenti — good (male) students
- dobre učiteljice — good (female) teachers
- dobra sela — good villages
5. Mini Dialogue (Grammar Focus)
Ana: Gde radiš?
(Where do you work?)
Marko: Radim u školi. Imam dobre kolege.
(I work in a school. I have good colleagues.)
Ana: Da li su tvoji učenici dobri?
(Are your students good?)
Marko: Da, oni su vrlo dobri studenti.
(Yes, they are very good students.)
6. Vocabulary for This Lesson
Serbian | English |
raditi | to work |
učiti | to study / to learn |
živeti | to live |
voleti | to love |
škola | school |
kolega | colleague (male) |
koleginica | colleague (female) |
učenik | student (male) |
učenica | student (female) |
dobar/dobra/dobro | good |
7. Practice
A. Conjugate the verbs in the present tense (imperfective):
- učiti — ja ____
- živeti — ti ____
- voleti — oni ____
B. Make sentences with adjective–noun agreement:
4. (masculine singular) He is a good student.
5. (feminine singular) She is a good teacher.
6. (neuter singular) The village is good.