Zdravo! Today we tackle one of the most important topics in Serbian grammar: verb conjugation. If vocabulary is the bricks of a language, then verb conjugation is the mortar that holds everything together. Once you understand how Serbian verbs change according to person and number, you will be able to express an enormous range of ideas. Let's build that foundation right now.
Why do Serbian verbs change their form?
Serbian is what linguists call a flexive language (a language with inflection). This means that the ending of a word - whether a verb, noun, or adjective - changes to carry grammatical information such as who is doing the action, how many people are involved, or what role the word plays in the sentence. For verbs, this process of changing endings is called conjugation.
In English we have a small amount of this: "I walk" versus "he walks." In Serbian the endings change for every person - I, you, he/she, we, you (plural), they - giving each verb six distinct forms in the present tense alone. It sounds like a lot, but the patterns are very regular, and once you learn one verb family you can apply the same endings to dozens of other verbs immediately.
What are the main Serbian verb infinitive endings?
Every Serbian verb has an infinitive form - the "base" form of the verb, equivalent to "to walk," "to speak," and so on. Serbian infinitives end in one of the following ways:
- -iti (e.g. govoriti - to speak)
- -ati (e.g. raditi - to work)
- -eti (e.g. voleti - to love)
- -ti (e.g. piti - to drink)
- -ci (e.g. moci - to be able to / can)
To conjugate a verb, you remove the infinitive ending to find the stem, and then add the person suffix to that stem.
How does conjugation work in practice - the verb "ziveti"?
Let us take the verb ziveti (to live) as our demonstration. Remove the infinitive ending -eti and you are left with the stem ziv-. Now add the person endings:
| Person | Serbian | Cyrillic | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| ja | zivim | живим | I live |
| ti | zivis | живиш | you live (singular) |
| on / ona | zivi | живи | he / she lives |
| mi | zivimo | живимо | we live |
| vi | zivite | живите | you live (plural / formal) |
| oni / one | zive | живе | they live |
The endings are: -im, -is, -i, -imo, -ite, -e. These same endings apply to the entire family of verbs that share this conjugation pattern. Learn one verb well, and you have learned them all.
Which other verbs follow the same pattern as "ziveti"?
Here is a family of verbs that conjugate with the same person endings. Practise each one by removing its infinitive ending, finding the stem, and adding the suffixes from the table above.
- govoriti - to speak
- hvaliti - to praise
- uciti - to learn / to study
- mrzeti - to hate
- voleti - to love
- raditi - to work
- zeleti - to want / to wish
- brojati - to count
- postojati - to exist
Watch and listen - a video lesson on Serbian verb conjugation
Sometimes it helps to hear a verb conjugated out loud. Watch the video below for a spoken walkthrough of the conjugation pattern we have covered today.
Frequently Asked Questions about Serbian verb conjugation
- Do I always need to include the subject pronoun (ja, ti, on...) when I conjugate a verb?
- No - and this is actually one of the conveniences of Serbian! Because the verb ending already tells you who the subject is, the pronoun can usually be dropped. Serbians say zivim rather than ja zivim in most natural speech. You will hear the pronoun added for emphasis: Ja zivim u Beogradu, a ti gde zivis? ("I live in Belgrade - and where do YOU live?")
- Are there irregular verbs in Serbian?
- Yes, as in every language, some of the most common verbs are irregular. The verb biti (to be) and ici (to go) are good examples. However, the vast majority of everyday Serbian verbs follow regular patterns, and the irregular ones are few enough to learn individually.
- What is the difference between the "-iti" and "-ati" verb families?
- Both families use the same person endings in the present tense, but the stem can change differently when you remove the infinitive ending. For example, raditi (to work) gives stem rad- and conjugates radim, radis, radi... - very similar to ziveti. The key is always to identify the infinitive ending correctly and strip it away cleanly before adding your suffixes.
- How can I practise conjugation on my own?
- Take any verb from the family list above and write out all six forms from memory. Then say them aloud. Then the next day, do it again without looking at your notes. Three days of this for each verb and it will be permanent. You can also practise by narrating what you are doing as you go about your day: Pijem kafu. Ucim srpski. Radim...
Verb conjugation is genuinely one of those grammar topics that feels difficult at first but becomes deeply satisfying as the pattern clicks into place. Every time you conjugate a new verb correctly, you are using real Serbian grammar - not simplified learner Serbian, but the actual language as Serbians speak it. That is something to be genuinely proud of.
Odlicno! Keep going!
With warm regards,
Marina Petrovic
More verb practice: browse the Serbian Conjugations category.