STUDY GUIDE

Learn Serbian. Have fun.

LESSON 28

GRAMMAR
VOCABULARY
PRACTICE
ANSWER KEY

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GRAMMAR
PRESENT TENSE – VERB BITI (TO BE)

In this lesson we are going to learn how to conjugate the long form of the verb
biti which means to be. This will be very useful because we use the long form of
the verb biti in order to answer questions or to make declarative statements. In
Serbian, we often use the long form of the verb biti when we answer yes or no
questions.
Da means yes in Serbian, and ne means no. Now, let’s learn how to say yes or no
using the long form of the verb biti and learn when and how we can use it.
da – yes and ne – no
When someone asks you a question like Are you a student? Da li si ti student?
you could answer by saying Da, which means Yes. But an even better way to
answer this question is to say Jesam, which means I am. Notice how you don’t
have to use pronouns when you answer these kinds of questions, because they
are implied in the verb, so Jesam means I am, and requires nothing else.
If someone asks you a question like Is she a student? Da li je ona studentkinja?
you could answer by saying Da, or you could say Jeste, which means She is.
Let’ review the short form conjugation of the verb biti:

Verb biti – to be
Conjugation in Present Tense (Affirmative)
Person Number

Singular Plural
Serbian English Serbian English

1. ja sam I am mi smo we are

2. ti si you are vi ste you are (polite/plural)
3. on/ona/ono he/she/it is oni/one/ona they are (masculine/feminine/neuter)
je su

Study Guide 2
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PRESENT TENSE – VERB BITI – JESAM FORM

Verb biti also has the long form, called the JESAM Form. Let’s learn!

Verb biti – to be
JESAM form (longer form)
Conjugation in Present Tense
Person Number

Singular Plural
Serbian English Serbian English

1. jesam I am jesmo we are

2. jesi you are jeste youare (polite/plural)
3. jeste he/she/it is jesu theyare (masculine/feminine/neuter)

To make the JESAM form of the verb biti, which we is used to answer questions or make
declarative statements, we use the word je + the clitic (short) form of the verb biti in
Present Tense - sam

Let’s practice what we’ve learned.

Da li si ti doktor? (Are you a doctor?)– Da, jesam (Yes, I am)
Da li je ona profesorka? (Is she a professor?)– Da, jeste (Yes, she is)
Da li je ona tvoja prijateljica? (Is she your friend?)– Da, jeste (Yes, she is)
Da li su oni njegovi prijatelji?(Are they his friends?)– Da, jesu (Yes, they are)
Da li je ovo tvoj restoran? (Is this your restaurant?)– Da, jeste (Yes, it is)

Study Guide 3
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VOCABULARY
VERB BITI – JESAM FORM

Serbian English
jesam I am
jesi you are
jeste he/she/it is
jesmo we are
jeste you are (polite/plural)
jesu they are (masculine/feminine/neuter)

LESSON EXAMPLES

Serbian English Serbian English

Da li si ti Stiven? Are you Steven? Jesam I am
Da li je ona doktorka? Is she a doctor? Jeste She is
Da li ste vi studenti? Are you students? Jesmo We are
Da li su one studentkinje? Are they students? Jesu They are
Da li sam ja pametan? Am I clever? Jesi You are
Da li je on tvoj prijatelj? Is he your friend? Jeste He is
Da li smo mi dobri studenti? Are we good students? Jeste You are
Da li su oni vaši profesori? Are they your professors? Jesu They are

Study Guide 4
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PRACTICE
EXCERCISE #1

Match the verb biti with the correct JESAM form:

# Verb biti – Clitic From # JESAM Form Answer

1. Ti si a) Jesam 1e) (example)

2. Mi smo b) Jesu
3. Ja sam c) Jeste

4. On je d) Jesmo
5. Vi ste e) Jesi
6. Oni su f) Jeste

EXERCISE #2

Translate the following sentences into Serbian:

# English Serbian
1. Are you my friend? – Yes, I am (example) Da li si ti moj prijatelj? – Da, jesam.

2. Are you my friends? – Yes, we are

3. Is she your girlfriend? – Yes, she is
4. Am I wonderful? – Yes, you are (feminine)
5. Are we your students? – Yes, you are (polite)
6. Are they our professors? – Yes, they are (feminine)
7. Is he her husband? – Yes, he is

Study Guide 5
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EXCERCISE #3

Translate into Serbian:

# English Serbian

1. Are they our dentists? – Yes, they are Da li su one naše zubarke? – Da, jesu (example)
2. Am I their professor? – Yes, you are
3. Are you his father? – Yes, I am
4. Is she her mother? – Yes, she is
5. Are we smart? – Yes, you are
6. Are you our professors? – Yes, we are
7. Is he her boyfriend? – Yes, he is

EXCERCISE #4

Answer the questions using the JESAM form of the verb biti:
Questions Answers
1. Da li sam ja lepa? Da, jesi (example)
2. Da li su oni dobri studenti?
3. Da li ste vi slikari?

4. Da li je ona tvoja majka?

5. Da li si ti manekenka?
6. Da li je on tvoj muž?
7. Da li smo mi dobri prijatelji?
8. Da li su one tvoje studentkinje?
9. Da li sam ja dobra slikarka?
10. Da li si ti moj student?

Study Guide 6
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ANSWER KEY
EXCERCISE #1

(The answer is underlined and in bold)

Match the verb biti with the correct JESAM form:

# Verb biti - Clitic Form # JESAM Form Answer

1. Ti si a) Jesam 1e) (example)

2. Mi smo b) Jesu 2d)
3. Ja sam c) Jeste 3a)

4. On je d) Jesmo 4c)
5. Vi ste e) Jesi 5f)
6. Oni su f) Jeste 6b)

EXCERCISE #2

(The answer is underlined and in bold)

Translate into Serbian:

# English Serbian
1. Are you my friend? – Yes, I am (example) Da li si ti moj prijatelj? – Da, jesam

2. Are you my friends? – Yes, we are Da li ste vi moji prijatelji? – Da, jesmo
3. Is she your girlfriend? – Yes, she is Da li je ona tvoja devojka? – Da, jeste
4. Am I wonderful? – Yes, you are (feminine) Da li sam ja divna? – Da, jesi
5. Are we your students? – Yes, you are (polite) Da li smo mi Vaši studenti? – Da, jeste
6. Are they our professors? – Yes, they are (feminine) Da li su one naše profesorke? – Da, jesu
7. Is he her husband? – Yes, he is Da li je on njen muž? – Da, jeste

Study Guide 7
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EXCERCISE #3

(The answer is underlined and in black)

Translate into Serbian:

# English Serbian

1. Are they our dentists? – Yes, they are Da li su one naše zubarke? – Da, jesu (example)

2. Am I their professor? – Yes, you are Da li sam ja njihova profesorka? – Da, jesi
3. Are you his father? – Yes, I am Da li si ti njegov otac? – Da, jesam
4. Is she her mother? – Yes, she is Da li je ona njena majka? – Da, jeste
5. Are we smart? – Yes, you are Da li smo mi pametni? – Da, jeste
6. Are you our professors? – Yes, we are Da li ste vi naše profesorke? – Da, jesmo
7. Is he her boyfriend? – Yes, he is Da li je on njen dečko? – Da, jeste

EXCERCISE #4
(The answer is underlined and in bold)
Answer the questions using the JESAM form of the verb biti:
Questions Answers English
1. Da li sam ja lepa? Da, jesi (example) Am I pretty? - Yes, you are
2. Da li su oni dobri studenti? Da, jesu Are they good students? - Yes, they are
3. Da li ste vi slikari? Da, jesmo Are you all painters? - Yes, we all are

4. Da li je ona tvoja majka? Da, jeste Is she your mother? - Yes, she is
5. Da li si ti manekenka? Da, jesam Are you a model? – Yes, I am
6. Da li je on tvoj muž? Da, jeste Is he your husband? – Yes, he is
7. Da li smo mi dobri prijatelji? Da, jesmo Are we good friends? – Yes, we are
8. Da li su one tvoje studentkinje? Da, jesu Are they your students? – Yes, they are
9. Da li sam ja dobra slikarka? Da, jesi Am I a good painter? – Yes, you are
10. Da li si ti moj student? Da, jesam Are you my student? -Yes, I am

Excellent job! Odlično!

Study Guide 8
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