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Questions & Answers about Imala sam sreće.
Why is it imala, not imao?
Because imala is the feminine singular past active participle, so it tells you the speaker is female.
- imao sam = I had (said by a man)
- imala sam = I had (said by a woman)
In Serbian past tense, the participle agrees with the subject in gender and number.
What does sam mean here?
Sam is the 1st person singular form of the auxiliary verb biti (to be) used to form the past tense.
So the structure is:
- imala = main verb participle
- sam = auxiliary am
Together, imala sam means I had.
This is the normal Serbian past-tense pattern:
- radio sam = I worked
- videla sam = I saw
- imala sam = I had
Why is the word order imala sam, not sam imala?
In standard Serbian, the auxiliary sam is a clitic, which means it usually goes in the second position of the sentence or clause.
That is why Imala sam sreće is the natural order here.
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