A1grammar

Glagol 'biti' i predstavljanje (Verb 'to be' & introductions)

The Present Tense of 'Biti'

The verb biti (to be) is the most important auxiliary verb in Croatian. In the present tense, it has two sets of positive forms:

1. Unstressed Short Forms (Clitics): These are the default forms used in sentences. They cannot stand at the beginning of a sentence.

ja sam (I am)

ti si (you are)

on/ona/ono je (he/she/it is)

mi smo (we are)

vi ste (you are)

oni/one/ona su (they are)

2. Stressed Long Forms: Used for emphasis, in short answers (e.g. Jesi li ti student? - Jesam.), or at the very beginning of a sentence.

jesam, jesi, jest, jesmo, jeste, jesu

Negation and Questions

Negative Forms: Formed by adding the negative particle ni- directly to the stressed forms, creating a single word:

ja nisam (I am not)

ti nisi (you are not)

on/ona/ono nije (he/she/it is not)

mi nismo (we are not)

vi niste (you are not)

oni/one/ona nisu (they are not)

Interrogative Forms (Questions): To form a 'yes/no' question, use the stressed verb form followed by the particle li:

Jesi li ti student? (Are you a student?)

Je li on učitelj? (Is he a teacher?)

Jeste li vi iz Zagreba? (Are you from Zagreb?)

How to Answer Yes/No Questions

In Croatian, instead of answering with just Da (Yes) or Ne (No), it is grammatically correct and natural to respond using the long stressed forms of the verb biti (for positive answers) or negative forms (for negative answers):

Question: Jesi li ti umoran? (Are you tired?)

Positive reply: Jesam. (Yes, I am.)

Negative reply: Nisam. (No, I am not.)

Question: Je li ona profesorica? (Is she a professor?)

Positive reply: Jest. / Je. (Yes, she is.)

Negative reply: Nije. (No, she is not.)

Question: Jeste li vi iz Hrvatske? (Are you from Croatia?)

Positive reply: Jesmo. (Yes, we are.) / Jesam. (Yes, I am [polite address to one person]).

Negative reply: Nismo. (No, we are not.) / Nisam. (No, I am not.)

Exercise 1/15

Kako _____ zoveš? (What is your name?)