Bilo da je onlajn, bilo da je uživo, kurs je isti.

to be

Breakdown of Bilo da je onlajn, bilo da je uživo, kurs je isti.

• isti: same
• kurs: a course
• onlajn: online

Questions & Answers about Bilo da je onlajn, bilo da je uživo, kurs je isti.

What does bilo da ..., bilo da ... mean?

It is a very common Serbian pattern meaning whether ... or ....

So:

• Bilo da je onlajn, bilo da je uživo, kurs je isti.
• = Whether it is online or in person, the course is the same.

This structure often introduces two alternatives and says that the main statement stays true in either case.

Is bilo here the past tense of biti (to be)?

Not really in the way a learner might first think.

Although bilo is historically related to biti, in bilo da ... bilo da ... the whole expression works like a fixed conjunction pattern. You should learn it as one unit meaning whether ... or ... or be it ... or ..., not as a literal past-tense form.

So in this sentence, bilo does not mean was.

Why is there je after da?

Because da je onlajn and da je uživo are full clauses with the verb biti in the present tense:

• je onlajn = is online
• je uživo = is in person / live

After da, Serbian often uses a finite verb form. Here, je is simply the normal is.