The Present Tense of Regular Serbian Verbs
Regular Serbian verbs form the present tense in three groups, and each group is named after its "I" (ja) ending: -am, -im or -em. Once you know which group a verb belongs to, the whole present tense follows automatically. The -am group, like gledati (to watch), goes gledam, gledaš, gleda, gledamo, gledate, gledaju. The -im group, like raditi (to work), goes radim, radiš, radi, radimo, radite, rade — note rade, not "radiju". The -em group, like pisati (to write), takes a stem change to piš- and goes pišem, pišeš, piše, pišemo, pišete, pišu. The big trap: the infinitive ending does not reliably tell you the group. Because pisati ends in -ati, learners guess "pisam" — but it is an -em verb, so the correct form is pišem. So always learn each verb together with its ja-form. One more difference from English: Serbian drops the subject pronoun, because the ending already shows who is acting — you say "Gledam film." (I am watching a film.), "Radim kod kuće." (I work at home.) and "Pišem pismo." (I am writing a letter.), without ja.
Examples
- Gledam film. I am watching a film.
- Radim kod kuće. I work at home.
- Pišem pismo. I am writing a letter.
The full lesson
Everything in the video, in text.
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I watch, I work, I write — almost every regular Serbian verb follows one of just three present-tense patterns. The catch? You can't always guess which one from the infinitive.
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Here's the idea. Regular verbs split into three groups, each named for its I ending: -am verbs, -im verbs, and -em verbs. Learn the I form and the rest of the group falls into place.
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Three sample verbs show all three groups. Gledati, to watch, is -am. Raditi, to work, is -im. And pisati, to write, is -em. gledam, radim, pišem
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Start with the -am group. Take the stem gleda- and add the endings. Hear how the a runs through every form: gledam, gledaš, gleda, gledamo, gledate, gledaju
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Now the -im group, with raditi. The marker vowel switches to i. Watch the they form — it's rade, not radiju: radim, radiš, radi, radimo, radite, rade
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And the -em group, with pisati. Here the stem changes from pisa- to piš-, and the marker vowel is e: pišem, pišeš, piše, pišemo, pišete, pišu
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Let's put each group to work. An -am verb in a real sentence: I'm watching a film. The I form is gledam. Gledam film.
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Now an -im verb: I work at home. The I form takes the i marker — radim. Radim kod kuće.
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And an -em verb: I'm writing a letter. Remember the stem shifted — so it's not pisam, it's pišem. Pišem pismo.
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Here's the trap. Pisati ends in -ati, so it looks like an -am verb — you'd expect pisam. But it isn't: it's an -em verb with a stem change, pišem. The infinitive isn't a reliable guide. pisati → pišem
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So the safe move: learn each new verb with its I form. Gledam tells you -am, radim tells you -im, pišem tells you -em. From that one form, the whole present tense unfolds.
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Lock in three things. Three present groups: -am, -im, -em. Each shares one set of endings across all six persons. And you can't trust the infinitive — so always learn the I form.
