Ti si tamo.

You are there.

Breakdown of Ti si tamo.

• biti: to be
• ti: you
• tamo: there

Questions & Answers about Ti si tamo.

What does each word in Ti si tamo. do?

• Ti = you (singular, informal)
• si = are (2nd person singular of biti, to be)
• tamo = there

So the structure is literally You are there.

Why is ti included? Can Serbian leave it out?

Yes. Serbian often drops subject pronouns because the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

So:

• Ti si tamo. = You are there.
• Si tamo. is not normally used on its own in standard Serbian.
• The natural pronoun-dropped version is simply Tamo si. or sometimes just Tamo ješ? No, not here — for this sentence, Tamo si.

More precisely:

• si is a clitic, and clitics usually do not stand at the beginning of a sentence.
• That is why Si tamo. sounds wrong as a normal standalone sentence.

You use ti when:

• you want emphasis: You are there
• you want contrast: I am here, but you are there
• you want clarity

What exactly is si?

Si is the present-tense form of biti (to be) used with ti.

Present tense of biti:

• ja sam = I am
• ti si = you are
• on/ona/ono je = he/she/it is
• mi smo = we are
• vi ste = you are / you are (formal singular or plural)
• oni/one/ona su = they are

So in Ti si tamo., si agrees with ti.

Is ti singular or plural?

Ti is singular informal you.

Serbian distinguishes:

• ti = one person, informal
• vi = more than one person, or one person addressed formally/politely

So:

• Ti si tamo. = said to one person you address informally
• Vi ste tamo. = either said to several people, or to one person formally

When should I use ti and when should I use vi?

Use ti with:

• friends
• family
• children
• people you know well
• peers in casual situations

Use vi with:

• strangers
• older people in more formal contexts
• teachers, officials, customers, etc., depending on the situation
• anyone you want to address politely

So if you are speaking to a friend, Ti si tamo. is fine.
If you are speaking politely to one person, you would say Vi ste tamo.

Why is the word order Ti si tamo and not something else?

This is a normal and simple word order, but Serbian word order is fairly flexible.

Possible versions include:

• Ti si tamo.
• Tamo si.
• Tamo si ti.
• Ti tamo si. — much less natural in neutral speech

A key point is that si is a clitic. Clitics usually go in the second position of the clause. That is why forms like:

• Ti si tamo
• Tamo si are natural.

Word order can change emphasis:

• Ti si tamo. = neutral or mildly contrastive on you
• Tamo si. = neutral if the subject is already understood
• Tamo si ti. = stronger contrast, like You’re the one who is there

What is a clitic, and why does it matter here?

A clitic is a short unstressed word that cannot normally stand freely in just any position. In Serbian, forms like sam, si, je, smo, ste, su often behave this way.

In this sentence, si is a clitic, so it tends to appear in second position.

Examples:

• Ti si tamo.
• On je ovde.
• Mi smo kod kuće.
• Tamo si.

This is why Si tamo is not the usual word order.

What is the difference between tamo and tu?

Both can relate to location, but they are not exactly the same.

• tu = there / here by you / in that place near the listener or contextually close
• tamo = there / over there / in that place farther away or more distinct

Very roughly:

• tu often feels closer
• tamo often feels farther or more clearly separate

So:

• Ti si tu. = You are here/there (often nearer, depending on context)
• Ti si tamo. = You are there / over there

In real speech, the exact difference depends on context.

How do I pronounce Ti si tamo?

A simple approximation for an English speaker is:

• Ti ≈ tee
• si ≈ see but with a shorter, cleaner s
• tamo ≈ TAH-mo

More carefully:

• Serbian i is like the vowel in machine
• a is like a in father
• every vowel is pronounced clearly
• stress in tamo is usually on the first syllable: TA-mo

So a rough pronunciation is: TEE see TAH-mo

Can this sentence be used for emphasis or contrast?

Yes. Including ti can add emphasis, especially in contrastive contexts.

For example:

• Ja sam ovde, a ti si tamo. = I am here, and you are there.

Here ti helps highlight the contrast between I and you.

If no emphasis is needed, Serbian often prefers:

• Tamo si.

Would Serbian normally say this exact sentence in everyday speech?

Yes, it is grammatical and natural, especially if you want to mention or emphasize you.

But in everyday conversation, Serbian often omits the pronoun when it is obvious:

• Tamo si.

So:

• Ti si tamo. = fully correct, often a bit more explicit or contrastive
• Tamo si. = also very natural, often more conversational

Can tamo mean something broader than physical location?

Yes. Although it often means a physical there, it can also refer to:

• a place already mentioned
• a destination or area understood from context
• sometimes even a more abstract there, depending on the conversation

For example, it could mean:

• in that room
• in that city
• at that place we were talking about

So Ti si tamo. does not always have to mean someone is visibly over there; it can also refer to a known location from context.

How would this change for other people, like I am there or they are there?

You just change the pronoun and the form of biti:

• Ja sam tamo. = I am there
• Ti si tamo. = You are there
• On je tamo. = He is there
• Ona je tamo. = She is there
• Mi smo tamo. = We are there
• Vi ste tamo. = You are there
• Oni su tamo. = They are there

This is a good pattern to memorize: pronoun + form of biti + tamo

Is there anything tricky here for an English speaker?

Yes, mainly these points:

1. Serbian often drops pronouns
   English needs you are there, but Serbian often just says Tamo si.

2. The verb form matters a lot
   The ending/form tells you the subject, so you must learn the present tense of biti well.

3. Clitic position matters
   Si does not usually go first in the sentence.

4. Serbian has informal and formal you
   English you can be ti or vi depending on the situation.

5. Word order is flexible, but not random
   Because of clitics, some orders are natural and some are not.