Serbian завршавати — завршити covers finishing a task, bringing a phase to its endpoint, and an event coming to an end. The imperfective завршавати opens the final stage as a process or repeated routine; perfective завршити asserts the boundary. The construction changes when the thing ends by itself: састанак се завршио.
Principal parts and high-value forms
| Form | завршавати (imperfective) | завршити (perfective) |
|---|---|---|
| 1st singular present | завршавам | завршим |
| 2nd singular | завршаваш | завршиш |
| 3rd singular | завршава | заврши |
| 1st plural | завршавамо | завршимо |
| 2nd plural/polite | завршавате | завршите |
| 3rd plural | завршавају | заврше |
| l-participle | завршавао / завршавала | завршио / завршила |
| imperative | завршавај, завршавајмо, завршавајте | заврши, завршимо, завршите |
The perfective belongs to the i-class: завршим — заврше, not an invented завршам. Masculine завршио contains -ио; feminine завршила retains -ила.
Завршавам извештај и послаћу га пре четири.
I'm finishing the report and I'll send it before four.
Кад завршим извештај, послаћу ти коначну верзију.
When I finish the report, I'll send you the final version.
The first sentence views the final work in progress. Perfective завршим in the second is a dependent present with future reference; it cannot mean that one completion is unfolding now.
Direct object: finish something
The person who finishes is nominative, and the task or phase finished is accusative.
Морамо да завршимо обнову моста пре зиме.
We have to finish renovating the bridge before winter.
Јелена је завршила медицински факултет у Новом Саду.
Jelena graduated from medical school in Novi Sad.
Завршити школу/факултет/курс means complete that course of study and commonly corresponds to English graduate from. Дипломирати more specifically highlights obtaining a degree; the two do not match in every institutional context.
An object clitic occupies its normal early position:
Пројекат је тежак, али ћемо га завршити на време.
The project is difficult, but we'll finish it on time.
In ћемо га завршити, auxiliary ћемо precedes accusative га. The future may also fuse after the infinitive stem: завршићемо га.
Reflexive се: something ends
With завршити се, the event that ends becomes the nominative subject. There is no external finisher expressed as a direct object.
Представа се завршила нешто после десет.
The performance ended shortly after ten.
Како се завршава ова серија? Немој да ми откријеш.
How does this series end? Don't spoil it for me.
The clitic се is part of the valency-changing construction. Compare редитељ је завршио представу “the director brought the performance to an end” with представа се завршила “the performance ended.” Do not add се to the transitive sentence.
С(а) + instrumental: be done with
Завршити с нечим means finish dealing with an activity, topic, or item. The complement is instrumental after с/са.
Завршили смо с пописом, па сада можемо да затворимо магацин.
We're done with the inventory, so now we can close the warehouse.
Кад завршиш са састанком, позови ме.
When you're done with the meeting, call me.
With a person, завршити с неким can mean ending a relationship or declaring all dealings over. It is strong and can sound final or hostile in informal speech.
После још једне лажи рекла је да је завршила с њим.
After one more lie, she said she was through with him. (informal, emphatically final)
Ending up somewhere
Perfective завршити also means “end up,” followed by a location or resulting position. This is lexical extension, not a direct-object completion frame.
Погрешно је скренуо и завршио у слепој улици.
He took a wrong turn and ended up in a dead-end street.
Расправа је на крају завршила на суду.
The dispute ultimately ended up in court.
Location uses the case required by the preposition: у слепој улици and на суду are locative because they describe the resulting location, not motion toward it.
A phase boundary, not an English-style infinitive frame
English freely says finish doing. Serbian usually names the activity with a direct object or verbal noun, uses с + instrumental, or chooses the perfective lexical verb for the completed action.
Завршио сам читање уговора тек пред поноћ.
I finished reading the contract only just before midnight. (male speaker)
Коначно сам прочитао цео уговор.
I finally read the entire contract through. (male speaker)
Neutral standard Serbian does not copy English with завршити да + present. Завршио сам да читам is not the normal way to say “I finished reading.” The phase-verbs guide contrasts verbs that select an imperfective да-clause, such as почети да чита, with the completion patterns above.
Negation, questions, and commands
Нисмо завршили посао јер је сервер престао да ради.
We didn't finish the work because the server stopped working.
Да ли завршавате за данас или остајете дуже?
Are you finishing for today, or are you staying longer?
Perfective заврши requests one result; imperfective завршавај can urge continuation through the final stage and is less common without context.
Заврши поруку па дођи на вечеру.
Finish the message, then come to dinner.
Micro-dialogue
Јеси ли завршила презентацију? — Скоро. Завршавам последњи слајд. — Пошаљи ми је кад завршиш.
Have you finished the presentation? — Almost. I'm finishing the last slide. — Send it to me when you're done. (female addressee)
The first and last завршити ask for the endpoint; завршавам places the speaker inside the final process. Clitic је in пошаљи ми је refers to feminine презентацију and follows dative ми.
Practice Tasks
Task 1: Change valency
Rewrite “The organizers ended the meeting” as “The meeting ended.” Mark the accusative object in the first version, the nominative subject in the second, and the role of се.
Task 2: Choose a completion frame
Translate “I finished reading the application” in two natural ways: one with the verbal noun читање and one with perfective прочитати. Explain why завршити да читам is not the standard model.
Common Mistakes
❌ Сада завршим извештај већ сат времена.
Incorrect for an ongoing process — perfective завршим cannot describe actual present duration.
✅ Већ сат времена завршавам извештај.
I've been finishing the report for an hour.
❌ Састанак је завршио у пет.
Incorrect for the neutral intransitive meaning — an event ends with reflexive завршити се.
✅ Састанак се завршио у пет.
The meeting ended at five.
❌ Завршили смо са попис.
Incorrect — с(а) governs instrumental пописом.
✅ Завршили смо са пописом пре ручка.
We finished the inventory before lunch.
❌ Завршио сам да читам извештај.
Incorrect English transfer — use a verbal noun or the lexical perfective прочитати.
✅ Завршио сам читање извештаја.
I finished reading the report. (male speaker)
❌ Она је завршио курс прошле недеље.
Incorrect — the l-participle must agree with feminine она: завршила.
✅ Она је завршила курс прошле недеље.
She completed the course last week.
Key Takeaways
- Learn завршавати — завршити with present stems завршавам — завршим and both l-participles.
- Завршити нешто takes an accusative object; нешто се завршити makes the event the subject.
- Завршити с нечим takes instrumental and means be done with it.
- For “finish doing,” prefer a verbal noun, с + instrumental, or the completed action's own perfective verb.
Now practice Serbian
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Start learning Serbian →Related Topics
- What the Perfective MeansB1 — Completion, result, single bounded events, and the no-present rule.
- Forming Aspect Pairs: Suffixation and Secondary ImperfectivesB2 — Building imperfectives from perfectives with -ava-/-iva-/-ja-.
- Phase Verbs: početi, prestati, nastavitiB2 — Begin, stop, continue — and their aspect/complement rules.
- Accusative: The Direct ObjectA1 — The accusative as the default object of transitive verbs.
- The Imperative: FormsA1 — Building commands with -j, -i, and the 1pl/2pl endings.