Present Tense is created by auxiliary verb To Be – Biti.
The present tense is used to talk about:
- an action in a present situation:
- a habbit or repeated action:
- a wish or command:
- an action that started at a certain time in the past and continues into the present:
- expressing the near future
Long version :
Jesam / I am | Jesmo / We are | |
Jesi / You are | Jeste / You are | |
Jest / He, she, it | Jesu / They are |
Short version: we can’t start a sentence with using enclitics alone.
sam / I am | smo / We are | |
si / You are | ste / You are pl. formal | |
je / He, she, it is | su / They are |
Example of sentences using this form:
- Ja sam dobro. / I am good.
- Dobro sam. / I am good.
- Kako si? / How are you?
- Ko je na sastanku? / Who is at the meeting?
- Oni su na plaži. / They are at the beach.
Negative form is created by adding ‘Ne’ to the short form of ‘Biti’:
Nisam / I am not | Nismo / We are not | |
Nisi / You are not | Niste / You are not pl. or formal | |
Nije / He, she, it is not | Nisu / They are not |
Interrogative form is created in two ways:
Jesam li / Am I | Jesmo li / Are we | |
Jesi li / Are you | Jeste li / Are you | |
Je li / Is he, she, or it | Jesu li / Are they |
Interrogative form creation of present tense second option:
Da li sam / Am I | Da li smo / Are we | |
Da li si / Are you | Da li ste / Are you | |
Da li je / Is he, she, it | Da li su / Are they |
Verb conjugation in present tense:
The present tense in Bosnian language is formed by adding corresponding endings to the verb’s base form in 1st person singular.
There are four groups of endings -em, -jem, -am, -im.
A little tip: try to memorize the 1st person singular of the verb in order to create other forms of the same verb (and the same tense) more easily!
For ex. SANJATI; sanj (verb’s base form in present, 1st person sing.) + am (ending) = sanjam
Person | ending -em | ending -jem | ending -am | ending -im |
Pisati/ To write | Bolovati / To feel sick | Spavati / To sleep | Voljeti / To love |
Ja /I | Pišem | Bolujem | Spavam | Volim |
Ti /You | Pišeš | Boluješ | Spavaš | Voliš |
On, Ona, Ono /He, she, it | Piše | Boluje | Spava | Voli |
Mi / We | Pišemo | Bolujemo | Spavamo | Volimo |
Vi / You | Pišete | Bolujete | Spavate | Volite |
Oni / They | Pišu | Boluju | Spavaju | Vole |
note: It is important to keep in mind that some verbs that end on –ati will have -i conjugation.
Example:
Bojati se | Držati se | Stajati |
To fear | To keep | To stand |
Bojim se | Držim se | Stojim |
Bojiš se | Držiš se | Stojiš |
Boji se | Drži se | Stoji |
Bojimo se | Držimo se | Stojimo |
Bojite se | Držite se | Stojite |
Boje se | Drže se | Stoje |