Breakdown of Bolesna sam, zato se odmaram.
biti
to be
odmarati se
to rest
bolestan
sick or ill
zato
therefore; that is why
Questions & Answers about Bolesna sam, zato se odmaram.
Why is it bolesna, not bolestan?
Because bolesna agrees with a female speaker.
In Serbian, adjectives change form to match gender and number. So:
- bolesna sam = I am sick said by a woman
- bolestan sam = I am sick said by a man
If more than one person were speaking, the form would change again.
Why is there no word for I in the sentence?
Serbian often drops subject pronouns when they are not needed.
The verb form already shows who the subject is:
- sam = am
- odmaram = I rest / I am resting
So Bolesna sam already clearly means I am sick, and se odmaram clearly means I am resting.
You can add ja if you want emphasis:
- Ja sam bolesna = I am sick / I’m the one who is sick
But in ordinary speech, leaving out ja is very normal.
What exactly is sam here?
Sam is the 1st person singular present tense of the verb biti (to be).
So: