Lesson 40. Verbs ending in -am (čitati)
Today we meet the first major type of Serbian verbs. It’s called the “-am type” or A-type — named after the ending of the first-person form.
Model: čitati (to read)
čitati — present tense
| Person | Form | English | |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | čitam (читам) | read | |
| you (singular) | čitaš (читаш) | read | |
| he/she/it | čita (чита) | reads | |
| we | čitamo (читамо) | read | |
| you (plural) | čitate (читате) | read | |
| they | čitaju (читају) | read |
Other verbs of this type
They follow the same pattern:
znati (знати)
— to know: znam, znaš, zna, znamo, znate, znaju
igrati se (играти се)
— to play: igram se, igraš se… (+se)
pevati (певати)
— to sing: pevam, pevaš, peva…
gledati (гледати)
— to watch: gledam, gledaš, gleda…
slušati (слушати)
— to listen: slušam, slušaš, sluša…
kuvati (кувати)
— to cook: kuvam, kuvaš, kuva…
imati (имати)
— to have: imam, imaš, ima… (yes, this is where `Imam brata` comes from!)
In speech
Čitam knjigu. (Читам књигу.)
— I read a book.
Gledam TV. (Гледам ТВ.)
— I watch TV.
Slušamo muziku. (Слушамо музику.)
— We listen to music.
Moja sestra peva. (Моја сестра пева.)
— My sister sings.
Deca se igraju. (Деца се играју.)
— The children play.
How to identify the type — from a dictionary
In the dictionary, a Serbian verb is given in the infinitive (form ending in -ti). To find out the type, look up the first-person form in a dictionary or reference.
čitati → čitam→ -am type.znati → znam→ -am type.raditi → radim→ different type (coming later).
Exercises
Exercise 1
The form 'we read' is:
Show explanation
čitamo — for “we”.
Exercise 2
The form 'he sings' (pevati) is:
Show explanation
“He” — peva.
Exercise 3
Conjugate slušati (to listen) in three forms: I, you (singular), they.
Show answer
slušam, slušaš, slušaju.
Exercise 4
Translate: “I watch TV, my brother plays, my sister sings.”
Show answer
Gledam TV, brat se igra, sestra peva.
Exercise 5
Form the “we” and “they” forms from kuvati.
Show answer
kuvamo, kuvaju.
Lesson vocabulary
- čitati читати
- to read
- znati знати
- to know
- pevati певати
- to sing
- gledati гледати
- to watch
- slušati слушати
- to listen
- kuvati кувати
- to cook
- igrati se играти се
- to play