Building sentences with бити
Ten minutes of the rule the grammar lesson just laid out: short сам/си/је leans on the word before it, the long form answers alone, and the negative is one word starting with ни-. Build three sentences that put each in its place, hear two of the grammar lesson's own examples said aloud, and catch the mistake every beginner makes splitting не сам in two.
The part of the grammar page this lesson drills — read it here, then use it.
Short (enclitic) form - the everyday form
The short form is unstressed: it cannot stand alone or begin a sentence. It normally sits in the second position of the clause, leaning on the word before it.
„Ја сам уморан.“ (I am tired.) and „Уморан сам.“ (Tired, I am.) are both correct; „Сам уморан.“ is wrong because the enclitic сам cannot start a sentence.
Long (stressed) form - emphasis and short answers
The long form is stressed and can stand alone: use it to answer a yes/no question with one word - Јесам. (Yes, I am.) - and for emphasis: „Ја јесам студент.“ (I really am a student.)
The long form also combines with the question particle ли: „Јеси ли уморан?“ (Are you tired?)
Negation
The negative present is a single word beginning with ни-: нисам, ниси, није, нисмо, нисте, нису. Do not write it as two words: не сам is wrong.
| Person | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | ja sam | mi smo |
| 2. | ti si | vi ste |
| 3. | on/ona/ono je | oni/one/ona su |