Lesson Goals

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

• Form the present tense for regular and common irregular verbs
• Use present tense to describe current actions, habits, and future plans
• Make affirmative, negative, and interrogative sentences in the present tense

1. When to Use the Present Tense

The Serbian present tense is used for:

1. Actions happening right now — Sada pišem pismo. (I am writing a letter now.)
2. Regular habits — Čitam knjige svako veče. (I read books every evening.)
3. Near future (with imperfective verbs) — Sutra idem u Beograd. (I’m going to Belgrade tomorrow.)

2. Present Tense Formation – Regular Verbs

Most Serbian verbs end in -ti in the infinitive.

To form the present tense:

1. Drop the -ti ending to get the stem.
2. Add present tense endings according to the conjugation group.

Group 1 – Verbs ending in ati

Stem often ends in a consonant.