Your task
Monday, February 1, 7 p.m. · Jelena's apartment, number 8
Your task
In the evening, Jelena shows you her photos from Niš, and then her brother Luka drops by. Everyone wants to know where everyone was and how it was. Your goal: say where you were last weekend and how it was, ask others the same, and get bio and bila right for men and women.
By the end you can
Say where you were and how it was (Bio sam u Nišu. Bilo je hladno.), say where you weren't, ask Jesi li bio? or Jesi li bila?, and retell a short story about someone else.
Guess first: does a man say I was the same way as a woman in Serbian?
No. A man says Bio sam, a woman says Bila sam. The past tense in Serbian shows who was there, and if it's a man or a woman. This lesson shows you how.
The scene
Two moments at Jelena's. Read them on your own first, and open the translations only if you need them. Your own lines aren't in the text, only what the others say.
7:00 p.m. Jelena shows you the photos from Niš on her phone.
- Jelena:Evo slika iz Niša. Ovo je tvrđava. Bila sam tamo u subotu, sa mamom.
- Jelena:Bilo je hladno, ali lepo. Vidiš sneg na zidinama?
- Jelena:A ovo je pekara. Najbolja pekara na svetu, kažem ti! Bila sam tamo svako jutro.
- Jelena:Dobro, dosta o meni. A ti? Kako je bilo ovde za vikend?
- Jelena:Na Avali? Sa Lukom i Nemanjom? Super! Je l' bilo hladno gore?
7:30 p.m. The doorbell rings. It's Luka.
- Luka:Ćao, ćao! Seko, dobro nam došla!
- Luka:Kako je bilo kod mame? Jesi li bila na tvrđavi?
- Jelena:Bila sam, i bilo je divno. Pozdrav od mame! Pita zašto ti nisi bio u Nišu.
- Luka:Nisam bio u Nišu jer je ispit bio u četvrtak.
- Jelena:Pa? Kako je bilo na ispitu?
- Luka:Ne pitaj.
- Jelena:Jao, Luka...
- Luka:Ali Avala je bila odlična! Bili smo gore četiri sata. Je l' tako?
- Jelena:A Nemanja? I on je bio sa vama?
- Luka:Jeste. Nemanja je bio naš kuvar. Sendviči su bili odlični, a čaj je bio vruć.
- Jelena:Bravo, Nemanja! Sledeći put i ja idem sa vama.
Words & phrases
How to ask where someone was, and how to answer. A man and a woman say some of these differently.
Where were you?
Gde si bio? / Gde si bila?
Where were you? (to a man / to a woman)
Bio sam... / Bila sam...
I was... (a man / a woman)
Kako je bilo?
How was it?
Bilo je super.
It was great.
Bilo je lepo / dosadno / naporno.
It was nice / boring / exhausting.
Jesi li bio? / Jesi li bila?
Were you...? (to a man / to a woman)
Nisam bio. / Nisam bila.
I wasn't. (a man / a woman)
Places and people
kod mame
at Mom's
kod kuće
at home
na poslu
at work
na Avali
on Avala, the mountain at the edge of Belgrade
tvrđava
fortress
za vikend
over the weekend
seko
sis (a brother to his sister)
How it works
Jelena says Bila sam na tvrđavi. Luka says Nisam bio u Nišu. Same verb, two forms. Here's how the past tense of biti (to be) works.
- on: a man, čaj
- bio sam
- ona: a woman, kafa
- bila sam
- ono: pivo
- -
- on: a man, čaj
- bio si
- ona: a woman, kafa
- bila si
- ono: pivo
- -
- on: a man, čaj
- bio je
- ona: a woman, kafa
- bila je
- ono: pivo
- bilo je
- on: a man, čaj
- bili smo
- ona: a woman, kafa
- bile smo
- ono: pivo
- -
- on: a man, čaj
- bili ste
- ona: a woman, kafa
- bile ste
- ono: pivo
- -
- on: a man, čaj
- bili su
- ona: a woman, kafa
- bile su
- ono: pivo
- -
The past tense: sam + bio
sam / si / je / smo / ste / su + bio / bila / bilo / bili / bile
The past tense of biti has two pieces. The short word sam, si, je, smo, ste, su shows who: I, you, he or she, we, you all, they. The second word matches the person or thing, just like describing words in A1 (veliki čaj, velika kafa): bio for a man or an on word (čaj, ispit, burek), bila for a woman or an ona word (Avala, kafa), bilo for an ono word, bili for a group or on words in the plural (sendviči su bili), bile for women only. A mixed group is bili. Polite Vi to one person is always bili ste. Why? Serbian shows two things at once: who it was (sam) and if it's on, ona or ono (bio, bila, bilo). English was shows neither.
- 1.
Bio sam na Avali.
I was on Avala. (a man)
- 2.
Bila sam kod mame.
I was at my mom's. (a woman)
- 3.
Luka je bio kod kuće.
Luka was at home.
- 4.
Ana je bila u Beču.
Ana was in Vienna.
- 5.
Mama i ja smo bile na tvrđavi.
Mom and I were at the fortress. (two women)
- 6.
Luka, Nemanja i ja smo bili na Avali.
Luka, Nemanja and I were on Avala. (a group)
- 7.
Čaj je bio vruć, a Avala je bila super.
The tea was hot, and Avala was great. (čaj is on, Avala is ona)
Sam never comes first
Bio sam. · Ja sam bio. · Nisam bio. · Jesi li bio?
Sam, si, je, smo, ste and su are small words that can't start a sentence. Start with bio or bila (Bio sam u Nišu), or with another word like ja, Luka or gde, and the small word comes right after it (Ja sam bio u Nišu. Gde si bio?). Bio sam and Ja sam bio are both correct; Ja sam bio puts the focus on ja. To say no, use nisam, nisi, nije, nismo, niste, nisu + bio, with no sam after it. To ask, use Jesi li bio? or Da li si bio? The short answer is Jesam (yes, I was) or Nisam (no). Jesam, jesi, nisam and nisi are the long, full forms, so they can start a sentence. With friends you'll often see Jesi bio? without li, and that's fine on ti; in careful writing and with Vi, use Jesi li bio? or Jeste li bili? Why? The small words sam, si, je always sit in second place in the sentence.
- 1.
Bio sam u Nišu.
I was in Niš. (a man)
- 2.
Ja sam bila u Nišu.
I was in Niš. (a woman)
- 3.
Gde si bio za vikend?
Where were you over the weekend? (to a man)
- 4.
Nisam bila na poslu.
I wasn't at work. (a woman)
- 5.
Jesi li bila na tvrđavi?
Were you at the fortress? (to a woman)
Bilo je hladno. When there's no subject at all, just the weather or how something was (Kako je bilo?), it's always bilo je: Bilo je super. Kako je bilo? Bilo je hladno, ali lepo. Nije bilo dosadno.
Sam can't start the sentence
Sam bio u Nišu.
Bio sam u Nišu.
Sam always comes in second place: Bio sam u Nišu, or Ja sam bio u Nišu.
The weather is bilo, not bio
Bio je hladno.
Bilo je hladno.
Bio je means he was, or it was for an on word (čaj je bio vruć). The weather has no on word, so: Bilo je hladno.
No sam after nisam
Nisam sam bio na poslu.
Nisam bio na poslu.
Nisam already means I wasn't. Don't add another sam.
Speak Russian or Ukrainian?
Ja bio u Nišu feels natural if you speak Russian or Ukrainian, but standard Serbian always needs sam: Bio sam u Nišu or Ja sam bio u Nišu.
Practice
New: one story, two people
Jelena tells you about one day in Niš.
Bila sam u Nišu, kod mame. Prvo sam bila u pekari. Onda sam bila na tvrđavi, sa mamom. Bilo je hladno, ali lepo. Uveče smo bile kod kuće, mama i ja. Bila sam umorna, ali srećna.
New words: prvo = first, onda = then, uveče = in the evening, umoran / umorna = tired, srećan / srećna = happy.
Read: Jelena's post
Later that evening, Jelena posts three photos from Niš.
Jelena Marković
Deset dana kod mame u Nišu!
Slika 1: Tvrđava pod snegom. Bilo je hladno, ali sunčano i baš lepo.
Slika 2: Burek za doručak, iz najbolje pekare na svetu. Bio je topao i savršen, kao i uvek.
Slika 3: Mama i ja u kuhinji. Ona kuva sarmu, a ja slikam.
Niš je na jugu Srbije i ljudi tamo govore malo drugačije. To volim! Bilo je divno, ali i ovde je lepo: moj Beograd, moj stan, moja Mrvica. Mrvica je bila u stanu 7, u dobrim rukama. Hvala, komšije! Ko je od vas bio u Nišu?
New words: pod snegom = under the snow, sunčano = sunny, savršen = perfect, slikam = I take photos, na jugu Srbije = in the south of Serbia, drugačije = differently, u dobrim rukama = in good hands, ko je od vas = which of you.
Culture note
Culture note
Niš is the biggest city in the south of Serbia, about 240 km from Belgrade by road, with an old fortress in the center and a serious burek reputation. People from Niš are called Nišlije. They have their own way of speaking, and they're proud of it. Avala is a small mountain at the edge of Belgrade, with a TV tower on top and paths through the forest: an easy weekend trip by car or bus, in any season.
Your turn
Your writing goes to your instructor, who reads every one and writes back.
Your weekend
Write Jelena a message: where were you last weekend, who were you with, and how was it? Use bio or bila, bili, and Bilo je... At the end, ask her one question with Jesi li bila...? Write 40-60 words. Open the example only after you try.
Write it in your own words. Without an account, you can save your answer in this tab. Closing the tab deletes it.
Main writing task · at least 40 words. Submitting it is part of finishing this activity.
Example answer
Ćao, Jelena! Bio sam / Bila sam na Adi za vikend, sa prijateljima sa posla. Bilo je hladno, ali sunčano. Prvo smo bili u kafiću pored reke, a posle na koncertu. Koncert je bio odličan! U nedelju sam bio / bila kod kuće. Bilo je malo dosadno. A ti? Jesi li bila na tvrđavi?
Compare the information and how it's phrased. Your answer doesn't need to use the same words.
Check yourself
Four questions. Get three right to pass, and try again as many times as you like. The lesson is complete when you pass the quiz and send your writing task.
Quiz
Check yourself: bio sam, bila sam
4 questions · pass mark 75%
- 1.
Which sentence is right?
- 2.
Jelena talks about herself. What does she say?
- 3.
How was the weather? Which is right?
- 4.
Luka says he wasn't at work. What does he say?
Answer every question before you submit.
What you can do now
What you can do now
You can say where you were and how it was (Bio sam na Avali. Bilo je hladno, ali lepo.), say where you weren't, ask Jesi li bio? and Jesi li bila?, and retell a story about someone else with the right forms. Next lesson: every other verb in the past, from radio sam to išao sam.
More practice
Two more questions about the texts: the scene and Jelena's post.
Match each person with the right form.
Put the conversation in order.
Grab a card and drag it to the right spot.