stajati / stati (to stand / stop) | Croatian Grammar

Stajati and stati look like one verb but behave like two, and English collapses both into "stand / stop" — which is exactly why they trip learners up. Stajati (imperfective) is the state of being upright and motionless: standing there, standing in line. Stati (perfective) is the change into that state or into stillness: coming to a stop, stepping onto something, halting. On top of that, stajati has a completely separate everyday meaning — "to cost" (Koliko stoji? — "How much is it?"). This page disentangles all three, and points you to the closely related staviti / stavljati ("to put"), which beginners constantly mix in.

Aspect and the two verbs

Verb	Aspect	Present 1sg	Core meaning
stajati	imperfective	stojim	be standing / be stationary; (of price) cost
stati	perfective	stanem	come to a stop, halt; step (onto); fit/get in

The pairing is a classic state vs change-of-state opposition: stajati is the ongoing situation, stati is the punctual entry into it. English uses the bare verb "stand / stop" for both and relies on context; Croatian forces you to choose, and the choice is your aspect. See verbal aspect: the big picture.

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The deceptive forms are stojim ("I am standing", from stajati) versus stanem ("I stop / I'll come to a stand", from stati). They share no syllable. Memorise them as a contrasting pair, because mixing them up changes a state into an event.

Present tense

The imperfective stajati has a suppletive-looking present on the stem stoj-; the perfective stati uses the regular -ne- present typical of one-syllable perfectives (stati → stanem, like pasti → padnem).

Person	stajati (impf)	stati (pf)
ja	stojim	stanem
ti	stojiš	staneš
on/ona/ono	stoji	stane
mi	stojimo	stanemo
vi	stojite	stanete
oni/one/ona	stoje	stanu

Već pola sata stojim u redu na pošti.

I've been standing in line at the post office for half an hour. — state, 'stojim'.

Tramvaj stane na svakoj stanici.

The tram stops at every stop. — perfective present, generic/repeated single stops.

The l-participle

Stajati has the past stem staja-; stati contracts to sta- (so masculine stao, with the vocalised -l).

Gender / number	stajati	stati
masculine singular	stajao	stao
feminine singular	stajala	stala
neuter singular	stajalo	stalo
masculine plural	stajali	stali
feminine plural	stajale	stale
neuter plural	stajala	stala

Perfect tense (perfekt)

Clitic biti + l-participle. Use stajati for "was standing" (a held state) and stati for "stopped / came to a halt" (a single event).

Person	stajati (masc./fem.)	stati (masc./fem.)
ja	stajao / stajala sam	stao / stala sam
ti	stajao / stajala si	stao / stala si
on / ona	stajao / stajala je	stao / stala je
mi	stajali / stajale smo	stali / stale smo
vi	stajali / stajale ste	stali / stale ste
oni / one	stajali / stajale su	stali / stale su

Cijelu večer je stajala uza zid i nije plesala.

She stood by the wall all evening and didn't dance. — held state.

Auto je naglo stao na crveno.

The car stopped abruptly at the red light. — single event.

Future I (futur prvi)

Stajati ends in -ti → stajat ću. Stati likewise → stat ću.

Person	stajati	stati
ja	stajat ću	stat ću
ti	stajat ćeš	stat ćeš
on/ona/ono	stajat će	stat će
mi	stajat ćemo	stat ćemo
vi	stajat ćete	stat ćete
oni/one/ona	stajat će	stat će

Stat ćemo na prvoj benzinskoj da natočimo gorivo.

We'll stop at the first petrol station to fill up.

Imperative

This is where the state/change contrast is most audible. Stoj! ("Stand! / Halt! / Stay where you are!") is built on the imperfective stoj- stem and is the classic "freeze, don't move" command. Stani! (from stati) means "stop! / pull over! / hold on!" — bring the motion to an end.

Person	stajati (impf)	stati (pf)
ti	stoj	stani
mi	stojmo	stanimo
vi	stojte	stanite

Stoj! Ruke uvis!

Halt! Hands up! — the held-state command.

Stani, zaboravili smo ključeve!

Stop, we forgot the keys! — bring the motion to a halt.

Other forms

Verbal adverb: the imperfective stajati gives stojeći ("[while] standing") — also used adjectivally in stojeća mjesta ("standing room / standing places"). The perfective stati has the literary past adverb stavši ("having stopped").
Passive participle: neither verb is transitive in these senses, so there is no passive participle. (The "put" verb staviti does have one — stavljen — but that is a different verb; see below.)

Putovali smo stojeći jer nije bilo slobodnih mjesta.

We travelled standing because there were no free seats. — verbal adverb 'stojeći'.

stajati = "to cost"

A high-frequency second life: stajati in the 3rd person means "to cost". The price is the subject's "worth", and the form you hear constantly is stoji / stoje:

Koliko stoji ova majica?

How much does this T-shirt cost?

Karte za koncert stoje sto kuna.

The concert tickets cost a hundred kuna.

In the past this sense even uses the perfective stajati / stati idiomatically: To me skupo stalo ("That cost me dearly") — both literally and figuratively. Note that koštati ("to cost") is a common everyday synonym: Koliko košta? = Koliko stoji?.

Key uses and government

1. Standing somewhere: stajati + locative

A static position takes a locative place phrase (na / u / pred / kraj + the rest case). The case, not the preposition, signals "rest, not motion" — see the two-case prepositions.

Knjige stoje na polici u dnevnoj sobi.

The books are standing on the shelf in the living room. — locative, position.

2. Stepping onto something: stati na + accusative

When stati means "step (on)", the target of the step is na + accusative (motion onto a surface).

Ne staj na travu, upravo je posijana.

Don't step on the grass, it's just been seeded. — 'na' + accusative.

3. "to fit / get in": stati (intransitive)

Colloquially stati also means "to fit": Sve je stalo u jedan kofer ("Everything fit into one suitcase").

Hoće li sve ovo stati u prtljažnik?

Will all of this fit in the boot?

Don't confuse: staviti / stavljati "to put"

These resemble stati but are a different verb meaning "to put, to place" (transitive, with a direct object in the accusative). Staviti is perfective (stavim, passive participle stavljen), stavljati imperfective. See stavljati / staviti.

Stavi ključeve na stol da ih ne izgubiš.

Put the keys on the table so you don't lose them. — 'staviti', a transitive 'put' verb.

Common Mistakes

❌ Stanem u redu već pola sata.

Wrong aspect — a held state needs the imperfective: 'stojim u redu'.

✅ Stojim u redu već pola sata.

I've been standing in line for half an hour.

❌ Stoj, zaboravili smo ključeve!

Wrong verb — to halt the motion you need 'stani' (stati), not the freeze-command 'stoj'.

✅ Stani, zaboravili smo ključeve!

Stop, we forgot the keys!

❌ Knjige stoje na policu.

Wrong case — static position takes the locative: 'na polici', not the accusative 'policu'.

✅ Knjige stoje na polici.

The books are on the shelf.

❌ Koliko stane ova majica?

Wrong verb for price — 'cost' is 'stajati': 'Koliko stoji?'.

✅ Koliko stoji ova majica?

How much does this T-shirt cost?

❌ Stani ključeve na stol.

Wrong verb — to 'put' something you need transitive 'stavi', not 'stani' (stop).

✅ Stavi ključeve na stol.

Put the keys on the table.

Key Takeaways

stajati (impf, stojim) = the state of standing; stati (pf, stanem) = the change: stop, step, fit.
The deceptive present forms are stojim vs stanem — they share no syllable; learn them as a pair.
Imperatives split the meaning: stoj! = freeze/halt-in-place, stani! = bring motion to a stop.
stajati also means "to cost" — Koliko stoji? (synonym koštati).
Position = locative (na polici); stepping onto = na
- accusative (stani na…). Don't confuse with transitive staviti "to put".

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