Kurir je postao umoran.

to be

Breakdown of Kurir je postao umoran.

• umoran: tired
• kurir: the courier
• postati: to become

Questions & Answers about Kurir je postao umoran.

Why is there je in the sentence?

Je is the 3rd person singular present form of biti (to be) and it is used to form the Serbian past tense.

So:

• kurir = courier
• je postao = became / has become
• umoran = tired

Serbian past tense is usually made with:

• a present-tense form of biti
• plus the past active participle

Here, that gives:

• je
  • postao

So Kurir je postao umoran literally has the structure The courier is become tired, but in natural English that means The courier became tired.

Why is je in the second position, after Kurir?

Because je is a clitic, and Serbian clitics usually go in the second position of the sentence or clause.

So in:

• Kurir je postao umoran.

the first element is Kurir, and the clitic je comes right after it.

This second-position rule is very common in Serbian. For example:

• Kurir je stigao. = The courier arrived.
• Danas je umoran. = Today he is tired.
• Moj brat je došao. = My brother came.

Even though English learners may expect the verb to stay together, Serbian often places these short helper words in second position.