Breakdown of Bilo da učim onlajn, bilo da učim uživo, program je isti.
biti
to be
učiti
to study
isti
same
program
a course program
Questions & Answers about Bilo da učim onlajn, bilo da učim uživo, program je isti.
What does bilo da ... bilo da ... mean in this sentence?
It means whether ... or ... or no matter whether ... or ....
So:
- Bilo da učim onlajn, bilo da učim uživo, program je isti.
- = Whether I study online or in person, the program is the same.
This structure is used to show that the result in the main clause does not change, regardless of which option is true.
Why is bilo used here? Is it a form of biti?
Yes, historically it comes from biti (to be), but in this structure bilo da functions as a fixed conjunction-like expression.
So you should not analyze it here as an ordinary past-tense verb meaning was. In bilo da ... bilo da ..., bilo does not agree with the speaker, and it does not mean it was.
Think of bilo da as a set phrase meaning:
- whether
- be it
- whether it be
In modern usage, learners are usually best off treating bilo da as one unit.
Why do we have da učim and not just učim?
Because after bilo da, Serbian normally uses da + present tense.
So: