A1 Negation 1 min read आसान

Negative Forms of 'Biti'

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Grammar Rule in 30 Seconds

To negate 'biti', simply place the particle 'ni-' in front of the short form of the verb.

  • Use 'nisam' for 'I am not' (e.g., 'Nisam gladan').
  • Use 'nisi' for 'You are not' (e.g., 'Ti nisi ovde').
  • Use 'nije' for 'He/she/it is not' (e.g., 'Nije hladno').
ni- + short_form_of_biti = negative_verb

Meanings

The negation of the verb 'biti' (to be) is used to express that something or someone does not exist or does not possess a certain quality.

1

Identity/State Negation

Denying a state of being or identity.

“Ja nisam umoran.”

“Ona nije kod kuće.”

Negative Conjugation of 'Biti'

Person Singular Plural
1st nisam nismo
2nd nisi niste
3rd nije nisu

Reference Table

Reference table for Negative Forms of 'Biti'
Form Structure Example
Affirmative Ja sam Ja sam srećan.
Negative Ja nisam Ja nisam srećan.
Question Da li sam? Da li sam srećan?
Negative Question Zar nisam? Zar nisam srećan?
Short Answer Nisam Nisam.
Past Negative Nisam bio Nisam bio tamo.

औपचारिकता का स्तर

औपचारिक
Nisam spreman.

Nisam spreman. (General)

तटस्थ
Nisam spreman.

Nisam spreman. (General)

अनौपचारिक
Nisam spreman.

Nisam spreman. (General)

बोलचाल
Nisam još.

Nisam još. (General)

Negation Map

Biti

Negative

  • nisam I am not
पूरी व्याख्या पढ़ने के लिए मुफ़्त साइन अप करें

स्तर के अनुसार उदाहरण

1

Ja nisam gladan.

I am not hungry.

2

Ti nisi ovde.

You are not here.

3

On nije doktor.

He is not a doctor.

4

Mi nismo spremni.

We are not ready.

1

Niste bili u školi.

You all were not at school.

2

Oni nisu kod kuće.

They are not at home.

3

Nije hladno danas.

It is not cold today.

4

Nisam siguran u to.

I am not sure about that.

1

Nije mi jasno zašto.

It is not clear to me why.

2

Nismo znali da ste tu.

We didn't know you were here.

3

Niste morali da dođete.

You didn't have to come.

4

Nisu svi ljudi isti.

Not all people are the same.

1

Nije bilo nikoga u sali.

There was no one in the hall.

2

Nisam mogao da verujem.

I could not believe it.

3

Niste bili obavešteni o promeni.

You were not informed about the change.

4

Nisu nas pitali za mišljenje.

They did not ask us for an opinion.

1

Nije reč o novcu, već o principu.

It is not about money, but about principle.

2

Nismo ni slutili kakve će biti posledice.

We didn't even suspect what the consequences would be.

3

Niste li vi onaj koji je pobedio?

Aren't you the one who won?

4

Nisu to baš najbolje vesti.

Those aren't exactly the best news.

1

Nije da me ne zanima, ali nemam vremena.

It's not that I'm not interested, but I don't have time.

2

Nismo bili u prilici da razgovaramo.

We were not in a position to talk.

3

Niste li mogli da nađete bolje rešenje?

Couldn't you have found a better solution?

4

Nisu to puke slučajnosti.

Those are not mere coincidences.

आसानी से भ्रमित होने वाले

Negative Forms of 'Biti' बनाम Nisam vs Ne radim

Learners mix up the negation of 'biti' with other verbs.

Negative Forms of 'Biti' बनाम Nisam vs Ne

Learners try to use 'ne' with 'biti'.

Negative Forms of 'Biti' बनाम Nisam vs Nije

Confusing 1st person with 3rd person.

सामान्य गलतियाँ

✗

ne sam

✓

nisam

The negation is fused into the verb.
✗

nisam gladan ja

✓

ja nisam gladan

Word order is usually Subject-Verb-Adjective.
✗

ne sam gladan

✓

nisam gladan

Incorrect particle usage.
✗

nisam umorna (if male)

✓

nisam umoran

Adjective must match gender.
✗

oni nije

✓

oni nisu

Verb must agree with plural subject.
✗

nismo bio

✓

nismo bili

Past participle must be plural.
✗

nije hladan

✓

nije hladno

Weather uses neuter.
✗

nisam ne znam

✓

ne znam

Don't use 'nisam' with other verbs.
✗

nisu bili tamo niko

✓

niko nije bio tamo

Negative concord requires 'niko' + 'nije'.
✗

nije mi jasno

✓

nije mi jasno

This is correct, but often confused with 'ne razumem'.
✗

nisam li ja rekao

✓

zar nisam rekao

Use 'zar' for rhetorical questions.
✗

nije da ne želim

✓

nije da ne želim

Correct, but check for double negative logic.
✗

nisu to bili oni

✓

nisu to bili oni

Correct, but check agreement.
✗

nisam bio u mogućnosti

✓

nisam bio u mogućnosti

Formal register check.

वाक्य संरचनाएँ

Ja ___ ___.

On ___ ___.

Mi ___ ___.

Oni ___ ___.

Real World Usage

Texting constant

Nisam još stigao.

Job Interview common

Nisam siguran u to.

Ordering Food common

Nisam gladan.

Travel common

Nisam iz ovog grada.

Social Media very common

Nisam zadovoljan uslugom.

Food Delivery Apps occasional

Nisam dobio narudžbinu.

सभी उदाहरण देखने के लिए मुफ़्त साइन अप करें
💡

Consistency

The negative forms are the same regardless of gender. This makes them easier to learn!
⚠️

Don't separate

Never write 'ni sam'. It must be 'nisam'.
🎯

Use with adjectives

You can use these forms with almost any adjective to describe yourself.
💬

Directness

Serbians are direct. 'Nisam' is perfectly polite.

Smart Tips

Always use 'nisam' as one word.

Ja ne sam gladan. → Ja nisam gladan.

Use 'nisu' for 'they are not'.

Oni nije ovde. → Oni nisu ovde.

Add 'bio/bila' after 'nisam'.

Nisam tamo. → Nisam bio tamo.

Remember the 'ni-' prefix.

Ne sam siguran. → Nisam siguran.

उच्चारण

NI-sam

Stress

The stress is usually on the first syllable.

Statement

Ja nisam gladan. ↘

Falling intonation for facts.

याद करें

स्मृति सहायक

Think of 'NI' as 'NO'. NI-sam = NO-I-am.

दृश्य संबंध

Imagine a giant 'NI' shield blocking the verb 'biti' from entering the sentence.

Rhyme

When you want to say no, just add NI to the flow.

Story

Ana is at a party. Someone asks if she is hungry. She says 'Nisam'. Someone asks if she is tired. She says 'Nisam'. She is just happy.

Word Web

nisamnisinijenismonistenisu

चैलेंज

Write 5 sentences about things you are NOT today.

सांस्कृतिक नोट्स

Serbians are very direct. 'Nisam' is a standard, polite way to decline.

Similar usage, very common in daily speech.

Identical usage of 'nisam'.

Derived from the Old Church Slavonic 'ne' + 'jesm'.

बातचीत की शुरुआत

“

Da li si gladan?

“

Da li si iz Srbije?

“

Da li si siguran u to?

“

Da li si bio na koncertu?

डायरी विषय

Describe 3 things you are not.
Write about a place you were not at yesterday.
Explain why you are not ready for a task.
Reflect on a time you were not sure about a decision.
Sign up free to see all tips

Test Yourself

Fill in the correct form.

Ja ___ gladan.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: nisam
1st person singular.
Choose the correct form. बहुविकल्पी

Oni ___ kod kuće.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: nisu
3rd person plural.
Correct the sentence. Error Correction

Find and fix the mistake:

Ja ne sam student.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Ja nisam student.
Must use 'nisam'.
Build the sentence. Sentence Building

umoran / nisam / ja

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Ja nisam umoran.
Standard word order.
Complete the dialogue. Dialogue Completion

A: Da li si spreman? B: ___.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Nisam.
Answering for self.
Match the form to the meaning. Match Pairs

Match each item on the left with its pair on the right:

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: I am not, You all are not, He is not
Correct mapping.
Conjugate for 'Mi'. Conjugation Drill

Mi ___ spremni.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: nismo
1st person plural.
Is this true? True False Rule

The negative form of 'biti' is one word.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: True
It is a fused form.

Score: /8

अभ्यास प्रश्न

8 exercises
Fill in the correct form.

Ja ___ gladan.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: nisam
1st person singular.
Choose the correct form. बहुविकल्पी

Oni ___ kod kuće.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: nisu
3rd person plural.
Correct the sentence. Error Correction

Find and fix the mistake:

Ja ne sam student.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Ja nisam student.
Must use 'nisam'.
Build the sentence. Sentence Building

umoran / nisam / ja

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Ja nisam umoran.
Standard word order.
Complete the dialogue. Dialogue Completion

A: Da li si spreman? B: ___.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Nisam.
Answering for self.
Match the form to the meaning. Match Pairs

Match: nisam, niste, nije

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: I am not, You all are not, He is not
Correct mapping.
Conjugate for 'Mi'. Conjugation Drill

Mi ___ spremni.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: nismo
1st person plural.
Is this true? True False Rule

The negative form of 'biti' is one word.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: True
It is a fused form.

Score: /8

अक्सर पूछे जाने वाले सवाल (8)

No, you must use the fused 'ni-' forms like 'nisam'.

Yes, it is gender-neutral.

You use 'nisam bio' (for men) or 'nisam bila' (for women).

It is used in all registers.

It evolved from two words into one over time.

You say 'Ja nisam student'.

Yes, for other verbs you use 'ne'.

No, it is one of the most consistent patterns in Serbian.

Scaffolded Practice

1

1

2

2

3

3

4

4

Mastery Progress

Needs Practice

Improving

Strong

Mastered

अभ्यास करने के लिए मुफ़्त साइन अप करें

In Other Languages

Spanish partial

no soy

Serbian uses one word, Spanish uses two.

French low

ne suis pas

Serbian is a single word.

German low

bin nicht

Serbian prefix vs German adverb.

Japanese none

de wa arimasen

Serbian is a simple verb form.

Arabic high

lastu

Arabic uses suffixes, Serbian uses prefixes.

Chinese partial

bù shì

Serbian fuses, Chinese keeps separate.

Learning Path

Prerequisites

Connected Grammar

Present Tense of Biti

Prerequisite

You need to know the affirmative first.

Negation of Regular Verbs

Builds On

This is the next step in negation.

Past Tense of Biti

Builds On

You will need to negate the past tense too.

Negative Concord

Advanced Form

Serbian uses double negatives.

Previous
Present Tense of 'Biti' (Long Forms)
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