Present Tense: -e- Verbs and Stem Changes | Serbian Grammar

The Serbian -е- class is recognized by forms such as пишем, пишеш, пише. Its endings are regular once the present stem is known, but that stem often differs sharply from the infinitive: писати — пишем, звати — зовем, путовати — путујем.

This is therefore a class to learn through principal forms, not by removing -ти from the dictionary form. Record the infinitive, first-person singular, and third-person plural together: писати, пишем, пишу.

The Core Paradigm

Person	писати (write)	Ending
ја	пишем	-ем
ти	пишеш	-еш
он / она / оно	пише	-е
ми	пишемо	-емо
ви	пишете	-ете
они / оне / она	пишу	-у

Пишем ти јер ми је лакше да све објасним у поруци.

I am writing to you because it is easier for me to explain everything in a message.

Колеге пишу извештај, а ја проверавам податке.

My colleagues are writing the report, and I am checking the data.

The first five forms visibly contain -е-. The third-person plural has -у, not -еу: пишу. Other members have -ју, as in пију, чују, путују, because ј belongs to their present-stem pattern.

Why the Infinitive Is Not Enough

Several infinitives ending in -ати belong to the -е- class rather than the transparent -а- class. Historical sound changes and different verb stems lie behind the mismatch.

Infinitive	1st singular	3rd plural	Visible alternation
писати	пишем	пишу	с → ш
казати	кажем	кажу	з → ж
плакати	плачем	плачу	к → ч
звати	зовем	зову	vowel change
брати	берем	беру	inserted е in the present

Зовем те чим завршим разговор с лекаром.

I’ll call you as soon as I finish speaking with the doctor.

Дете плаче јер не може да нађе омиљену играчку.

The child is crying because it cannot find its favorite toy.

Do not extend an alternation mechanically. Чекати — чекам stays in the -а- class even though плакати — плачем changes к to ч. The lexical verb determines the pattern.

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Learn чекати — чекам and плакати — плачем as contrasting pairs. The final letters of the infinitive do not reliably identify the present class.

Present Stems with ј

Several common subpatterns insert or preserve ј throughout the present.

Infinitive	1st singular	3rd plural	Meaning
пити	пијем	пију	drink
чути	чујем	чују	hear
путовати	путујем	путују	travel
куповати	купујем	купују	buy habitually / be buying

The -овати → -ујем pattern is productive and useful: путовати — путујем, куповати — купујем, становати — станујем. Still, learn each verb’s actual present; not every longer infinitive in -ати follows this pattern.

Путујемо возом кад год имамо довољно времена.

We travel by train whenever we have enough time.

Не чујем те добро јер је овде велика бука.

I cannot hear you well because it is very noisy here.

The spelling пијем, чујем, путујем preserves Serbian ј. Do not replace it with Russian-style й or omit it.

Affirmative, Negative, and Question

Regular present negation writes не separately. A neutral yes/no question can use да ли or place ли after the finite verb.

Милена пише клијенту сваког понедељка.

Milena writes to the client every Monday.

Милена данас не пише клијенту.

Milena is not writing to the client today.

Да ли Милена данас пише клијенту?

Is Milena writing to the client today?

Пише ли Милена данас клијенту?

Is Milena writing to the client today?

There is no equivalent of English do/does. The Serbian verb remains finite. Object clitics keep their own order near the front of the clause:

Да ли ти га шаљу данас или сутра?

Are they sending it to you today or tomorrow?

In ти га шаљу, dative ти precedes accusative га, and шаљу is the -е-class present of слати.

Tense Meaning and Aspect

An imperfective -е-class present can describe an action happening now or a habit. English uses two different present forms; Serbian often uses the same one.

Сада пијем кафу и читам поруке.

I am drinking coffee and reading messages now.

Обично пијем чај пре спавања.

I usually drink tea before bed.

Perfective verbs also have -е-class present forms, but these normally do not describe an event unfolding at speech time. They commonly point to a future boundary in a subordinate clause.

Кад напишем извештај, послаћу ти коначну верзију.

When I finish writing the report, I will send you the final version.

Напишем is morphologically present and perfective, but кад and the future result give it future reference. See Using the Present Tense for the wider system.

Present Form versus Past Agreement

Present endings mark person and number but not the subject’s gender. The past perfect uses an agreeing l-participle.

Данас пишем од куће, а јуче сам писала из канцеларије.

Today I am writing from home, and yesterday I wrote from the office. (female speaker)

Данас пишем од куће, а јуче сам писао из канцеларије.

Today I am writing from home, and yesterday I wrote from the office. (male speaker)

The present пишем is identical for both speakers; past писала/писао carries gender. Do not try to create a feminine present form.

Government Stays with the Verb

Conjugation class does not determine case government. Писати can take an accusative message and a dative recipient; путовати often combines with a destination phrase.

Пишем сестри кратку поруку пре поласка.

I am writing my sister a short message before leaving.

Следећег месеца путујемо у Крагујевац на конференцију.

Next month we are traveling to Kragujevac for a conference.

Learn the verb with its complement pattern as well as its present forms.

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Three pieces make a usable verb entry: principal forms (писати, пишем, пишу), aspect, and government (писати некоме нешто).

Infinitive and да + Present Complements

After a modal verb, an -е-class verb can appear as an infinitive or inside да + present. Both patterns are standard Serbian; да + present is especially frequent in everyday speech, while distribution varies with the governing verb, region, and register.

Могу да пишем ћирилицом и латиницом.

I can write in Cyrillic and Latin script.

Могу писати ћирилицом и латиницом.

I can write in Cyrillic and Latin script.

In the first version, пишем agrees in person with the understood subject of могу, but it does not assert a separate present-time event. English uses an infinitive after can in both translations, so its syntax cannot tell you which Serbian complement to choose.

Practice Tasks

Task 1: Supply the Principal Forms

Give the first-person singular and third-person plural of three infinitives.

Писати — пишем — пишу; звати — зовем — зову; путовати — путујем — путују.

To write—I write—they write; to call—I call—they call; to travel—I travel—they travel. Answer: each belongs to the broad -e- pattern, but each exposes a different stem change.

Task 2: Choose Present or Past Agreement

A female speaker contrasts today with yesterday.

Данас путујем сама, а јуче сам путовала с колегама.

Today I am traveling alone, and yesterday I traveled with colleagues. Answer: present путујем has no gender; past путовала agrees with the female speaker.

Common Mistakes

Conjugating писати like a transparent -а- verb

❌ Писам ти чим стигнем кући.

Incorrect—the present of писати uses пиш- and -ем.

✅ Пишем ти чим стигнем кући.

I’ll write to you as soon as I get home.

Using -е instead of -у in the third-person plural

❌ Они пише извештај у суседној соби.

Incorrect—third-person plural is пишу.

✅ Они пишу извештај у суседној соби.

They are writing the report in the next room.

Omitting ј

❌ Ми путуемо сваког лета.

Incorrect spelling—the present stem requires Serbian ј: путујемо.

✅ Ми путујемо сваког лета.

We travel every summer.

Predicting the class from -ати alone

❌ Дете плака јер је уморно.

Incorrect—плакати has the -е-class present плаче.

✅ Дете плаче јер је уморно.

The child is crying because it is tired.

Giving a perfective present an ordinary ongoing reading

❌ Сада напишем извештај већ два сата.

Incorrect for an action in progress—perfective напишем presents a boundary, not ongoing writing now.

✅ Сада пишем извештај већ два сата.

I have been writing the report for two hours now.

Key Takeaways

The -е- class uses -ем, -еш, -е, -емо, -ете, with third-person plural -у/-ју.
Infinitive and present stems may differ sharply: писати — пишем, звати — зовем, путовати — путујем.
Learn infinitive, first-person singular, and third-person plural together rather than deriving one mechanically.
Imperfective presents can be current or habitual; perfective presents commonly refer to a future boundary in subordinate clauses.
Conjugation class does not predict government or past agreement; learn those separately.

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