Serbian separates the process or recurring responsibility of deciding, одлучивати, from reaching one decision, одлучити. It also uses three different complement frames for three different questions: what someone decides to do, which option someone chooses, and what matter someone decides about.
Process and result
Imperfective одлучивати presents deliberation in progress, repeated decisions, or an institution's standing responsibility. Perfective одлучити presents the decision as reached.
О важним набавкама обично одлучујемо на заједничком састанку.
We usually decide on major purchases at a joint meeting.
После дугог разговора одлучили смо да одложимо селидбу до пролећа.
After a long conversation, we decided to postpone the move until spring.
English often uses decide for both. Serbian aspect tells the listener whether the sentence looks inside the process or selects its endpoint.
Forms and stem changes
The imperfective has a -уј- present stem; the perfective has одлуч-.
| Person | одлучивати (impf.) | одлучити (pf.) |
|---|---|---|
| ја | одлучујем | одлучим |
| ти | одлучујеш | одлучиш |
| он / она / оно | одлучује | одлучи |
| ми | одлучујемо | одлучимо |
| ви | одлучујете | одлучите |
| они / оне / она | одлучују | одлуче |
The complete l-participles are одлучивао, одлучивала, одлучивало; одлучивали, одлучивале, одлучивала and одлучио, одлучила, одлучило; одлучили, одлучиле, одлучила. The imperatives are одлучуј, одлучујмо, одлучујте and одлучи, одлучимо, одлучите. Future I is одлучиваћу, одлучиваћеш, одлучиваће, одлучиваћемо, одлучиваћете, одлучиваће and одлучићу, одлучићеш, одлучиће, одлучићемо, одлучићете, одлучиће.
Не одлучуј у журби; прво провери све услове понуде.
Don't decide in a rush; check all the terms of the offer first.
Кад одлучиш шта ти је важније, биће ти лакше да изабереш.
When you decide what matters more to you, it will be easier to choose.
Perfective present одлучиш is natural in future and conditional subordinate clauses. For an action unfolding now, use одлучујем: Сада одлучујемо ко иде први.
Decide to do: да + present
The most frequent everyday frame is одлучити да + present. The subject of the embedded verb is usually the person who makes the decision.
Ивана је одлучила да ове године путује возом, а не авионом.
Ivana decided to travel by train rather than by plane this year.
The embedded verb keeps its own clitics inside the да clause:
Одлучили су да нам га предају тек после потписивања уговора.
They decided to hand it over to us only after the contract was signed.
The same-subject infinitive is also standard, especially in concise written prose and among speakers who favor infinitival complements:
После прегледа документације одлучили су повући пријаву.
After reviewing the documentation, they decided to withdraw the application.
This sentence is more compact; in everyday Ekavian Serbian, одлучили су да повуку is often more usual. Both belong to the standard language. The detailed choice is covered under да and the infinitive.
Choose an option: одлучити се за
When decide means select among alternatives, Serbian commonly uses reflexive одлучити се за + accusative.
На крају смо се одлучили за мањи стан ближе центру.
In the end, we opted for a smaller apartment closer to the center.
The се is part of this lexical frame and occupies the normal second position. In the third-person singular affirmative perfect, auxiliary је is omitted:
Петар се одлучио за вечерњи курс јер ради до пет.
Petar opted for the evening course because he works until five.
The pattern contrasts with non-reflexive одлучити да.... Do not add за before a clause; use за + noun/pronoun but да + clause.
Decide about a matter: о + locative
A person, committee, court, or other authority одлучује о нечему. The matter is locative after о.
Комисија ће сутра одлучити о захтеву за додатна средства.
The committee will decide on the request for additional funds tomorrow.
Не могу сам да одлучујем о туђем распореду рада.
I cannot decide other people's work schedules on my own.
Official Serbian may also use a direct object in specialized legal-administrative collocations, but одлучити о + locative is the broad, productive frame learners should use.
Formal reports often suppress the decision-maker with impersonal одлучено је да... (formal):
На седници је одлучено да се рок продужи за још две недеље.
At the meeting, it was decided that the deadline would be extended by another two weeks. (formal)
This is not reflexive “someone decided themselves.” The clause is an impersonal passive-like construction used to background the agent.
Micro-dialogue
— Јесте ли одлучили где ћете летовати? — Још одлучујемо, али вероватно ћемо се одлучити за Тару.
— Have you decided where you will spend your summer vacation? — We're still deciding, but we'll probably choose Tara.
Perfective одлучили asks whether the endpoint has been reached. Imperfective одлучујемо says deliberation is still in progress; reflexive одлучити се за introduces the likely selected option.
Common Mistakes
Using the imperfective for one reached decision
❌ После гласања одлучивали смо да прихватимо понуду.
Incorrect for the result reached after the vote — use perfective одлучили смо.
✅ После гласања одлучили смо да прихватимо понуду.
After the vote, we decided to accept the offer.
Omitting се in the option frame
❌ Ана је одлучила за карту без повратка.
Incorrect — opting for a noun phrase requires одлучити се за.
✅ Ана се одлучила за карту без повратка.
Ana opted for a one-way ticket.
Using accusative after о
❌ Савет данас одлучује о нови правилник.
Incorrect — о governs locative here: о новом правилнику.
✅ Савет данас одлучује о новом правилнику.
The council is deciding on the new regulations today.
Combining за with a да-clause
❌ Одлучио сам се за да останем код куће.
Incorrect — use одлучити да with a clause, or одлучити се за with a noun phrase.
✅ Одлучио сам да останем код куће.
I decided to stay home.
Practice
Task 1: Match meaning and frame
Write one sentence for each meaning: deliberating repeatedly with одлучивати о + locative; deciding to act with одлучити да + present; choosing an option with одлучити се за + accusative.
Task 2: Control aspect
Complete a short sequence: “We deliberated for an hour. Then we decided. In the end we opted for the later train.” Use both aspect partners and the reflexive option frame.
Key Takeaways
- Одлучивати presents process or repeated authority; одлучити presents a reached decision.
- Use одлучити да + present for an intended action, and одлучити се за + accusative for a selected option.
- A matter being decided takes о + locative.
- In одлучио се, се is a fixed second-position clitic and affirmative third-person је is absent.
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- da + present vs the InfinitiveB1 — When to use the infinitive and when da + present.
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- Clitics in da-ClausesB1 — A focused guide to clitics in da-clauses in Serbian.