The past tense in Serbian has a wonderfully musical quality once you tune your ear to it. Instead of a single past-tense ending like English "-ed," Serbian uses a past participle that agrees with the gender and number of the subject - so the verb itself tells you whether the speaker is male, female, or speaking on behalf of a group.
The best part? There is a poem-song called "Džuli" that makes this grammar point almost impossible to forget. Read on, listen, and try to fill in the gaps yourself.
How do you form the past participle?
Take the infinitive of any verb and replace its ending according to the table below. The infinitive endings you will most commonly meet are -iti, -eti, -ati, and -ci/-ći.
| Form | Ending added to stem | Example (raditi - stem: radi-) |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine singular | -o | radio |
| Feminine singular | -la | radila |
| Neuter singular | -lo | radilo |
| Masculine plural | -li | radili |
| Feminine plural | -le | radile |
| Neuter plural | -la | radila |
To form the full past tense, combine the present tense of biti (to be) - sam, si, je, smo, ste, su - with the correct past participle. For example: "Radila sam" means "I worked" (said by a woman).
Hear it (carried forward)
The song below is a great example of these participles in action. Listen carefully and see how many you can identify before you attempt the gap-fill below.
The Džuli song (fill the gaps)
Read the excerpt below and fill in the past-participle forms for the verbs given in brackets. The subject is feminine (she, or "I" as a man speaking about her), so pay attention to gender. Write your answers in the comments!
___ (she arrived / doći) je sama sa ljetom
___ (she approached / prici) i rekla hello
Pogledi su nam ___ (telling / govoriti) vise od rijeci
K'o da se zvijezda sa neba ___ (came down / spustiti se) meni na dlan
___ (I knew / znati) sam samo o njoj da zove se Dzuli...
Hints: the first two verbs have a feminine subject (she); the third is a plural subject (our glances); the fourth is a reflexive feminine phrase; the fifth is masculine (I, as the male singer).
A tip
If you are unsure which participle ending to use, ask yourself: who or what is the grammatical subject, and what is its gender and number in Serbian? That single question will guide you to the right ending every time.
Songs and poems are genuinely one of the fastest ways to internalise this kind of agreement because the rhyme and rhythm make the correct forms "feel" right even before you can explain the rule consciously - so keep listening!
Frequently asked questions
Do I use the past participle with "je" or "je bio/bila"?
For most everyday past-tense sentences, you use the short form of biti plus the participle: "Ona je radila" (She worked). The form "je bio/bila" is used in specific constructions, such as the pluperfect. For now, focus on the simple past with sam/si/je/smo/ste/su.
Why does the neuter plural look the same as the feminine singular (-la)?
It is one of those quirks of South Slavic languages that you simply memorise by context. Because neuter plural subjects are relatively rare, the potential for confusion is low. In practice, the sentence structure makes it clear which form is intended.
What happens with verbs that end in "-sti" or "-zti"?
These verbs often have irregular past participle stems - for example, jesti (to eat) gives jeo / jela / jelo. They are common enough to be worth learning individually, and you will find a full list in the past-tense hub linked below.
Is this the same as the passive participle?
No - the form covered here is the active past participle used to build the perfect tense. Serbian also has a separate passive past participle (ending in -n or -t), which is used in passive constructions. One step at a time!
I hope "Džuli" gets stuck in your head in the best possible way - few things cement grammar rules like a song you cannot stop humming. Leave your gap-fill answers in the comments; I would love to see them!
Happy studying, Marina Petrovic
For more lessons on forming and using the past tense, visit More past tense practice.