Ja živim u gradu.

I

Breakdown of Ja živim u gradu.

• grad: city
• živeti: to live
• u: in

Questions & Answers about Ja živim u gradu.

Do I need to say ja, or can I just say Živim u gradu?

You can very often drop ja.

Serbian verb endings usually already show who the subject is, and živim clearly means I live. So:

• Ja živim u gradu. = I live in the city.
• Živim u gradu. = also I live in the city.

Including ja often adds emphasis, contrast, or clarity, for example:

• Ja živim u gradu, a on živi na selu.
  I live in the city, but he lives in the countryside.

So ja is correct, but not always necessary.

What does živim mean grammatically?

Živim is the 1st person singular present tense form of the verb živeti (to live).

So the pattern is:

• ja živim = I live
• ti živiš = you live
• on/ona/ono živi = he/she/it lives
• mi živimo = we live
• vi živite = you live
• oni/one/ona žive = they live

A native English speaker often wants to know where the word I is in the verb. In Serbian, the ending -im already tells you it is I.

Why is it u gradu and not u grad?