Conjugation of biti in Croatian
bitito beirregular
Prezentpresent
Actions happening now or habitually.
| Person | Conjugation | |
|---|---|---|
| ja | jesam | |
| ti | jesi | |
| on/ona/ono | jest | |
| mi | jesmo | |
| vi | jeste | |
| oni/one | jesu |
Common mistakes in the Prezent
- on/ona/ono
je samjestThe present 3rd person singular full form is jest, while je is the unstressed clitic form; *je sam* is incorrect. - mi
jesmo smojesmoDo not add the auxiliary *smo* here; the correct form is jesmo.
Perfektpresent perfect
Past actions with a bearing on the present.
| Person | Conjugation | |
|---|---|---|
| ja | bio/bila/bilo sam | |
| ti | bio/bila/bilo si | |
| on/ona/ono | bio/bila/bilo je | |
| mi | bili/bile/bila smo | |
| vi | bili/bile/bila ste | |
| oni/one | bili/bile/bila su |
Common mistakes in the Perfekt
- ja
sam biobio/bila/bilo samIn Croatian, the perfect is built with the past participle before the auxiliary in standard declarative forms: bio/bila/bilo sam. - on/ona/ono
je biobio/bila/bilo jeFor the perfect, use the past participle plus auxiliary: bio/bila/bilo je, not *je bio*.
Futur Ifuture
Actions that will happen.
| Person | Conjugation | |
|---|---|---|
| ja | bit ću | |
| ti | bit ćeš | |
| on/ona/ono | bit će | |
| mi | bit ćemo | |
| vi | bit ćete | |
| oni/one | bit će |
Common mistakes in the Futur I
- ja
ću bitibit ćuFor future I, the infinitive is shortened after the auxiliary: bit ću, not *ću biti*. - mi
ćemo bitibit ćemoUse the shortened future form: bit ćemo.
Kondicionalconditional
Actions that would happen under some condition.
| Person | Conjugation | |
|---|---|---|
| ja | bio/bila/bilo bih | |
| ti | bio/bila/bilo bi | |
| on/ona/ono | bio/bila/bilo bi | |
| mi | bili/bile/bila bismo | |
| vi | bili/bile/bila biste | |
| oni/one | bili/bile/bila bi |
Common mistakes in the Kondicional
- ja
bih biobio/bila/bilo bihThe conditional uses the l-form first, then bih: bio/bila/bilo bih.
Imperativ
Commands and requests.
| Person | Conjugation | |
|---|---|---|
| ti | budi | |
| mi | budimo | |
| vi | budite |
biti — frequently asked questions
Is biti a regular verb?
No — biti is an irregular Croatian verb, so some of its forms do not follow the standard endings.
What does biti mean?
biti is a Croatian verb meaning "to be".