Traps with бити
Four slips that turn a correct sentence with бити into a wrong one: splitting the negative into two words, using је for the wrong person, and forgetting that the negative present is one word for every person, not only the first. Ten minutes of building the right version and correcting the wrong one - the last of the unit's grammar lessons, right before the colleague who asks about your job for real.
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.
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 |