Lesson 38. Negation: nisam, nisi, nije…
The verb biti has its own way of negation. No “ne sam” here — there are special words instead.
Negative Forms
biti — negation
| Person | Form | Translation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | nisam (нисам) | I am not | |
| you | nisi (ниси) | you are not | |
| he/she/it | nije (није) | (he) is not | |
| we | nismo (нисмо) | we are not | |
| you (pl.) | niste (нисте) | you are not | |
| they | nisu (нису) | they are not |
Unlike Short Forms — Negative Forms Are Stressed
nisam, nije, nisu are full stressed words. They can stand at the beginning of a sentence.
Nisam umoran. (Нисам уморан.)
— (I) am not tired.
Nije u školi. (Није у школи.)
— (He) is not at school.
Nisu moji prijatelji. (Нису моји пријатељи.)
— They are not my friends.
Dialogue
— Si dobro? (— Си добро?)
— — Are you well?
— Nisam. Umoran sam. (— Нисам. Уморан сам.)
— — No, I'm tired.
— Je li tvoja sestra kod kuće? (— Је ли твоја сестра код куће?)
— — Is your sister at home?
— Nije, ona je u školi. (— Није, она је у школи.)
— — No, she is at school.
One-Word Answers
Both short forms like Jesam! and negative forms can stand alone as answers:
— Jesi umoran? (— Јеси уморан?)
— — Are you tired?
— Nisam! (— Нисам!)
— — No!
Exercises
Exercise 1
How do you say 'he is not at home'?
Show explanation
Negation of je is nije. Never “ne je” — that’s wrong.
Exercise 2
'We are not ready' — which is correct?
Show explanation
smo → nismo.
Exercise 3
Answer negatively in Serbian: Jesi li učenik?
Show answer
Nisam. or Nisam učenik.
Exercise 4
Turn into negative:
— On je veliki.
— Mi smo kod kuće.
— Ja sam umoran.
Show answer
— On nije veliki.
— Mi nismo kod kuće.
— Ja nisam umoran.
Exercise 5
Translate: Ovo nije moja knjiga.
Show answer
“This is not my book.”
Lesson vocabulary
- nisam (нисам)
- — I am not
- nisi (ниси)
- — you are not
- nije (није)
- — (he/she) is not
- nismo (нисмо)
- — we are not
- niste (нисте)
- — you are not (pl.)
- nisu (нису)
- — they are not