A1 Basic Verbs 1 min read Facile

Present Tense of 'Biti' (Long Forms)

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Grammar Rule in 30 Seconds

The verb 'biti' (to be) is the foundation of Serbian; use long forms for emphasis or at the start of sentences.

  • Use long forms for emphasis: 'Ja sam student' (I am a student).
  • Use long forms at the start of a sentence: 'Jesi li ti umoran?' (Are you tired?).
  • The short form is for neutral statements, the long form is for stress or questions.
Subject + Long Form of Biti + Predicate

Present Tense of 'Biti'

Pronoun Affirmative Negative Question
Ja
sam
nisam
jesam li
Ti
si
nisi
jesi li
On/Ona/Ono
je
nije
je li
Mi
smo
nismo
jesmo li
Vi
ste
niste
jeste li
Oni/One/Ona
su
nisu
jesu li

Meanings

The verb 'biti' functions as the copula, linking the subject to a noun, adjective, or location.

1

Identity

Defining who or what someone is.

“Ja sam Marko.”

“Ti si student.”

2

State/Condition

Describing how someone feels or their state.

“Ja sam umoran.”

“Mi smo gladni.”

3

Location

Stating where someone or something is.

“Ja sam u Beogradu.”

“Oni su kod kuće.”

Reference Table

Reference table for Present Tense of 'Biti' (Long Forms)
Form Structure Example
Affirmative
Subject + Verb
Ja sam srećan
Negative
Subject + Negated Verb
Ja nisam srećan
Question
Verb + li + Subject
Jesi li ti srećan?
Short Answer
Verb
Jesam
Negative Answer
Negated Verb
Nisam
Emphasis
Long Form
Ja jesam student

Spectre de formalité

Formel
Ja sam ovde.

Ja sam ovde. (Arrival)

Neutre
Sam ovde.

Sam ovde. (Arrival)

Informel
Tu sam.

Tu sam. (Arrival)

Argot
Evo me.

Evo me. (Arrival)

Uses of Biti

Biti

Identity

  • Ja sam Marko I am Marko

State

  • Ja sam umoran I am tired

Location

  • Ja sam ovde I am here
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Exemples par niveau

1

Ja sam student.

I am a student.

2

Ti si moj prijatelj.

You are my friend.

3

Ona je ovde.

She is here.

4

Mi smo srećni.

We are happy.

1

Jesi li ti umoran?

Are you tired?

2

Ja nisam gladan.

I am not hungry.

3

Vi ste u Beogradu.

You are in Belgrade.

4

Oni nisu kod kuće.

They are not at home.

1

Biti ili ne biti, to je pitanje.

To be or not to be, that is the question.

2

Da li ste sigurni u to?

Are you sure about that?

3

Nisam siguran da li je to tačno.

I am not sure if that is correct.

4

Bili smo tamo juče.

We were there yesterday.

1

Kad bih ja bio na tvom mestu...

If I were in your place...

2

Nije važno ko je kriv.

It is not important who is guilty.

3

Oni su bili veoma ljubazni.

They were very kind.

4

Bilo bi lepo da dođeš.

It would be nice if you came.

1

Nije mi jasno zašto je to tako.

It is not clear to me why it is like that.

2

Biti čovek znači biti odgovoran.

To be a human means to be responsible.

3

Ne bih bio ovde da nije tebe.

I wouldn't be here if it weren't for you.

4

Sve je to bilo davno.

All of that was a long time ago.

1

Bivajući svestan situacije, odlučio sam da odem.

Being aware of the situation, I decided to leave.

2

Neka bude po tvom.

Let it be your way.

3

Bilo kako bilo, moramo nastaviti.

Be that as it may, we must continue.

4

Nije bilo druge nego prihvatiti.

There was no other choice but to accept.

Facile à confondre

Present Tense of 'Biti' (Long Forms) vs Biti vs. Postojati

Learners confuse 'to be' with 'to exist'.

Present Tense of 'Biti' (Long Forms) vs Short vs. Long forms

When to use 'sam' vs 'jesam'.

Present Tense of 'Biti' (Long Forms) vs Enclitic position

Where to put the verb.

Erreurs courantes

✗

Ja ne sam

✓

Ja nisam

Negation must be attached to the verb.
✗

Ja student

✓

Ja sam student

You must include the verb 'biti'.
✗

Oni je

✓

Oni su

Agreement error.
✗

Ti sam

✓

Ti si

Wrong conjugation.
✗

Jesi ti umoran?

✓

Jesi li ti umoran?

Missing the question particle 'li'.
✗

Ja sam biti

✓

Ja sam

Do not use the infinitive after the copula.
✗

Nisam umoran ja

✓

Ja nisam umoran

Word order is usually subject first.
✗

Da li ti si...

✓

Da li si ti...

Enclitic must be in second position.
✗

Biti sam...

✓

Ja sam...

Incorrect subject usage.
✗

Oni su bili umorni juče

✓

Oni su bili umorni juče

This is actually correct, but often confused with present tense.
✗

Bivajući umoran...

✓

Budući umoran...

Incorrect participle usage.
✗

Neka budeš...

✓

Neka bude...

Incorrect imperative form.
✗

Bilo je da...

✓

Bilo je tako da...

Stylistic error.

Structures de phrases

Ja sam ___.

Ti si ___.

Jesi li ti ___?

Ja nisam ___.

Real World Usage

Social Media constant

Ja sam u kafiću!

Texting constant

Gde si?

Job Interview very common

Ja sam veoma motivisan.

Travel common

Gde je hotel?

Food Delivery common

Ja sam na adresi.

Classroom very common

Ja sam spreman za čas.

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💡

Drop the pronoun

You don't always need to say 'Ja'. 'Sam umoran' is perfectly natural.
⚠️

Negation

Always attach 'ni' to the verb. Never say 'ne sam'.
🎯

Enclitic position

Keep the short form in the second position of the sentence.
💬

Emphasis

Use the long form 'jesam' only when you really need to emphasize your point.

Smart Tips

Always use 'nisam', never 'ne sam'.

Ja ne sam umoran. → Ja nisam umoran.

Use the long form 'jesam' instead of 'sam'.

Sam ja student. → Ja jesam student.

Remember to place 'li' after the verb.

Ti si li umoran? → Jesi li ti umoran?

Drop the pronoun to sound more natural.

Ja sam srećan. → Sam srećan.

Prononciation

bee-tee

Vowel length

The 'i' in 'biti' is short.

Question intonation

Jesi li ti umoran? ↑

Rising pitch at the end for yes/no questions.

Mémorise-le

Moyen mnémotechnique

Remember 'S-S-J-S-S-S' for the endings: Sam, Si, Je, Smo, Ste, Su.

Association visuelle

Imagine a mirror. When you look at yourself, you say 'Ja sam' (I am). When you point to others, you use the other forms.

Rhyme

Ja sam, ti si, on je tu, mi smo, vi ste, oni su.

Story

Marko is a student. He says 'Ja sam student'. He is tired, so he says 'Ja nisam veseo'. He asks his friend 'Jesi li ti veseo?' and his friend says 'Jesam'.

Word Web

samsijesmostesunisamnisi

Défi

Write 5 sentences about yourself using 'Ja sam' and 5 about your friends using 'Oni su'.

Notes culturelles

Serbians often drop the pronoun 'Ja' because the verb form 'sam' already indicates the subject.

Very similar to Serbian, but sometimes uses 'jesam' more frequently in formal contexts.

Similar to Serbian, often uses 'biti' in the same way.

Derived from Proto-Slavic *byti.

Amorces de conversation

“

Ko si ti?

“

Jesi li umoran?

“

Gde si sada?

“

Da li ste sigurni?

Sujets d'écriture

Describe yourself in 5 sentences.
Where are your friends today?
Are you happy with your progress?
What is important to you?

Erreurs courantes

Incorrect

Correct

Incorrect

Correct

Incorrect

Correct

Incorrect

Correct

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Test Yourself

Fill in the correct form of 'biti'.

Ja ___ student.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: sam
First person singular is 'sam'.
Choose the correct negative form. Choix multiple

Ja ___ umoran.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: nisam
The negative of 'sam' is 'nisam'.
Fix the sentence. Error Correction

Find and fix the mistake:

Ti je srećan.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Ti si srećan.
Second person singular is 'si'.
Reorder the words. Sentence Reorder

Arrange the words in the correct order:

All words placed

Click words above to build the sentence

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Ti si umoran?
Standard word order.
Translate to Serbian. Traduction

We are here.

Answer starts with: Mi ...

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Mi smo ovde.
Here = ovde.
Match the pronoun to the verb. Match Pairs

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

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: sam, si, smo
Correct conjugation mapping.
Choose the correct question form. Choix multiple

___ li ti spreman?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Jesi
Second person singular question.
Fill in the correct form.

Oni ___ kod kuće.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: su
Third person plural is 'su'.

Score: /8

Exercices pratiques

8 exercises
Fill in the correct form of 'biti'.

Ja ___ student.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: sam
First person singular is 'sam'.
Choose the correct negative form. Choix multiple

Ja ___ umoran.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: nisam
The negative of 'sam' is 'nisam'.
Fix the sentence. Error Correction

Find and fix the mistake:

Ti je srećan.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Ti si srećan.
Second person singular is 'si'.
Reorder the words. Sentence Reorder

umoran / ti / si / ?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Ti si umoran?
Standard word order.
Translate to Serbian. Traduction

We are here.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Mi smo ovde.
Here = ovde.
Match the pronoun to the verb. Match Pairs

Match: Ja, Ti, Mi

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: sam, si, smo
Correct conjugation mapping.
Choose the correct question form. Choix multiple

___ li ti spreman?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Jesi
Second person singular question.
Fill in the correct form.

Oni ___ kod kuće.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: su
Third person plural is 'su'.

Score: /8

FAQ (8)

No, Serbian is a pro-drop language. You can often omit 'Ja', 'Ti', etc.

'Sam' is the neutral short form, 'jesam' is the emphatic long form.

Usually in the second position, especially for short forms.

Use 'li' after the verb or change your intonation.

Yes, it covers identity, state, and location.

In Serbian, the negative 'ni' is prefixed to the verb.

Yes, but that's a different rule involving the past participle.

It is neutral and used in all registers.

Scaffolded Practice

1

1

2

2

3

3

4

4

Mastery Progress

Needs Practice

Improving

Strong

Mastered

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In Other Languages

Spanish partial

ser/estar

Serbian has only one verb for 'to be'.

French moderate

être

Serbian has enclitic forms that French lacks.

German moderate

sein

Serbian allows subject pronoun dropping.

Japanese low

desu/iru/aru

Serbian does not distinguish animate/inanimate for 'to be'.

Arabic unknown

kana

Serbian requires the copula in the present tense.

Chinese low

shi

Serbian uses 'biti' with adjectives.

Learning Path

Prerequisites

Previous
Present Tense of 'Biti' (Short Forms)
Next
Negative Forms of 'Biti'

Related Grammar Rules

A1

Present Tense of 'Biti' (Short Forms)
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