Saigrač je obećao da će doneti grickalice.

to be

Breakdown of Saigrač je obećao da će doneti grickalice.

• da: that
• hteti: will
• doneti: to bring

Questions & Answers about Saigrač je obećao da će doneti grickalice.

Why is je there in Saigrač je obećao?

je is the auxiliary verb used to form the Serbian past tense.

So je obećao = promised.

More literally:

• je = is/has as an auxiliary
• obećao = past participle of obećati (to promise)

Serbian commonly forms the past tense with:

• a form of biti (to be)
• plus a past participle

So:

• On je obećao = He promised
• Ona je obećala = She promised

---

Why does it say obećao, and not obećati?

Because obećao is the form needed for past tense, while obećati is the dictionary form / infinitive.

Compare:

• obećati = to promise
• obećao = promised (masculine singular)
• obećala = promised (feminine singular)

Since the sentence is talking about something the teammate already did — he made the promise — Serbian uses the past form obećao.

---

Why does obećao end in ?