FSI Language Courses

Conjugation of the Serbo-Croatian Verb "čitati"

čitati
to read
Type
Group I (a-conjugation)
Aspect (vid)
imperfective
Aspect Pair
pročitati (perf.)

Prezent (Present Tense)

Used for current actions, habits, and general truths. For perfective verbs, the present form expresses future meaning.

Pronoun Conjugation
ja čitam
ti čitaš
on/ona/ono čita
mi čitamo
vi čitate
oni/one/ona čitaju

Perfekat (Past Tense)

Formed with the l-participle + clitic forms of biti (sam, si, je, smo, ste, su). The participle changes for gender and number.

Gender / Number L-Participle Example (1st person)
Masculine singular čitao čitao sam
Feminine singular čitala čitala sam
Neuter singular čitalo čitalo je (3rd person)
Masculine plural čitali čitali smo (1st pl.)
Feminine plural čitale čitale smo (1st pl.)

Futur I (Future Tense)

Formed with the clitic forms of htjeti (ću, ćeš, će, ćemo, ćete, će) + infinitive.

Pronoun Conjugation
ja čitaću
ti čitaćeš
on/ona/ono čitaće
mi čitaćemo
vi čitaćete
oni/one/ona čitaće

Kondicional (Conditional)

Used for hypothetical situations, polite requests, and wishes. Formed with bih/bi/bismo/biste + l-participle.

Pronoun Conjugation (masc./fem.)
ja bih čitao/čitala
ti bi čitao/čitala
on/ona/ono bi čitao/čitala
mi bismo čitali/čitale
vi biste čitali/čitale
oni/one/ona bi čitali/čitale

Imperativ (Imperative)

Direct commands and requests for ti (singular), mi (let's), and vi (plural/formal).

Person Form
ti (singular) čitaj
mi (let's) čitajmo
vi (plural/formal) čitajte

Example Sentences (Primjeri)

Prezent

Čitam knjigu.

I'm reading a book.

Perfekat

Pročitao sam članak.

I read the article. (perf.)

Imperativ

Čitaj!

Read!