Lesson 03.Personal Pronouns + Verbs biti (“to be”) & imati (“to have”)

Lesson Goals

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

• Use personal pronouns in Serbian (singular & plural)
• Conjugate the verb biti (“to be”) in the present tense
• Conjugate the verb imati (“to have”) in the present tense
• Make basic sentences with biti and imati
• Form negative and interrogative sentences with these verbs

1. Personal Pronouns (Nominative)

Serbian distinguishes gender only in the third person singular.

2. Verb biti – “to be” (Present Tense)

Examples:

• Ja sam student. — I am a student.
• Ona je učiteljica. — She is a teacher.
• Mi smo prijatelji. — We are friends.

3. Verb imati – “to have” (Present Tense)

Examples:

• Ja imam knjigu. — I have a book.
• On ima auto. — He has a car.
• Mi imamo vremena. — We have time.

4. Negatives

Add ne before the verb:

• Ja nisam student. — I am not a student.
• Oni nisu ovde. — They are not here.
• Ja nemam knjigu. — I don’t have a book.
• On nema auto. — He doesn’t have a car.

5. Yes–No Questions

1. da li + verb + subject
• Da li si ti učitelj? — Are you a teacher?
• Da li imate vremena? — Do you have time?
2. Inversion
• Jesi li ti učitelj? — Are you a teacher?
• Imaš li knjigu? — Do you have a book?

6. Mini Dialogue (Grammar Focus)

Ana: Da li si ti student?

(Are you a student?)

Marko: Da, ja sam student. A ti?

(Yes, I am a student. And you?)

Ana: Ja nisam student. Ja sam učiteljica.

(I am not a student. I am a teacher.)

Marko: Imaš li knjigu?

(Do you have a book?)

Ana: Imam dve knjige.

(I have two books.)

7. Vocabulary for This Lesson

8. Practice

A. Complete with the correct form of biti:

1. Ja ____ student.
2. Oni ____ prijatelji.
3. Ti ____ učiteljica.

B. Complete with the correct form of imati:

4. On ____ auto.

5. Vi ____ vremena.

6. Ja ____ knjigu.

C. Make negative sentences:

7. I am not a teacher.

8. We don’t have a car.