Every action in Serbian is expressed through a concept called verb aspect.

This means almost every verb comes in a pair.

You have to choose between a perfective verb and an imperfective verb depending on the nature of the action.

I’ll explain exactly how these two types of verbs work so you can use them correctly.

What is verb aspect in Serbian?

In English, you use different tenses to show if an action is finished or still happening.

You might say “I was reading” for an ongoing action and “I read” for a completed one.

Serbian handles this differently.

Instead of relying only on tenses, Serbian uses two different verbs for the same action.

These two verb types are called aspects.

The imperfective aspect describes an ongoing or repeated action.

The perfective aspect describes an action that’s completely finished.

Imperfective verbs (nesvršeni glagoli)

Imperfective verbs are used to describe actions that are continuous, habitual, or unfinished.

When you use an imperfective verb, you’re focusing on the process of the action.

You aren’t focused on whether the action has a clear end or result.

If you’re doing something right now, you must use an imperfective verb.

You also use them for routines or things you do every day.

Here are a few examples of imperfective verbs in action:

Perfective verbs (svršeni glagoli)

Perfective verbs describe actions that are fully completed.

You use them when an action is a one-time event that has a clear beginning and end.

These verbs focus purely on the result of the action.

Because the action is viewed as a single, completed block of time, perfective verbs can’t be happening right now.

You generally only use them to talk about the past or the future.

Here are examples using the perfective pairs of the verbs we used above:

How to form verb pairs

You have to memorize Serbian verbs in pairs.

Most perfective verbs are created by adding a prefix to the front of an imperfective verb.

Common prefixes include po-, na-, pro-, iz-, and za-.

Sometimes, the pair is formed by changing the suffix at the end of the word instead.

In very rare cases, the two verbs look completely different from each other.

Here’s a helpful table of the most common Serbian verb pairs:

Verb aspects in different tenses

Using these verb pairs in the past and future tenses is very straightforward.

You simply choose the imperfective verb for a process and the perfective verb for a result.

The present tense is where things get a bit tricky.

You can’t use a perfective verb as a main, standalone verb in the present tense.

An action can’t be totally finished while you’re currently doing it.

Therefore, standalone present tense sentences always use imperfective verbs.

You can only use a perfective verb in the present tense if it follows a conjunction like da (to/that) or ako (if).

This structure is used to express a desire, plan, or condition.

Learning these pairs takes time and exposure to the language.

Pay close attention to the prefixes when reading or listening to native Serbian speakers.