There are two stems in Montenegrin language: present and infinitive, and all verbal forms are formed from one or the other. The present stem is formed by dropping the personal suffix from the 1st p. sg. of the present tense.
Personal suffixes for the present tense are
sg. | pl. | |
1st p. | -m/-u | -mo |
2nd p. | -š | -te |
3rd p. | -e, -u/-ju |
Only two verbs HTJETI and MOĆI have the suffix –u in the first person singular.
Conjugation:
By combining the final vowel of the stem and the personal suffixes, we can divide all verbs in the present tense into the following three groups: 1)I/E 2)A/AJU 3)E/U
The first group I/E
The ‘I’ represents the final vowel of the present stem, whereas the ‘E’ represents the suffix for the 3rd p. pl.
učiti | ||||
1st group | -im | -imo | učim | učimo |
-iš | -ite | učiš | učite | |
-i | -e | uči | uče |
The second group: A/AJU
The ‘A’ represents the final vowel of the present stem, whereas the ‘AJU’ represents the suffix for the 3rd p. pl.
pričati | ||||
2nd group | -am | -amo | pričam | pričamo |
-aš | -ate | pričaš | pričate | |
-a | -aju | priča | pričaju |
The third group: E/U
The ‘E’ represents the final vowel of the present stem, whereas the ‘U’ represents the suffix for the 3rd p. pl.
čuti | pisati | |||||
3rd group | -(j)-em | -(j)-emo | čujem | čujemo | pišem | pišemo |
-(j)-eš | -(j)-ete | čuješ | čujete | pišeš | pišete | |
-(j)-e | -(j)-u | čuje | čuju | piše | pišu |
The subject of the sentence is frequently omitted because the person and the number are indicated by the verb.
e.g. Ja pišem. = Pišem. / Oni pišu. = Pišu.
The third group of verbs has a sound alternation in the stem.
k>č | plakati, plačem |
g>ž | lagati, lažem |
h>š | jahati, jašem |
s>š | pisati, pišem |
z>ž | stizati, stižem |
t>ć | sretati, srećem |
The negative and interrogative form
The negative form
učiti | |||||
Ja | NE | učim. | Mi | NE | učimo. |
Ti | učiš. | Vi | Učite. | ||
On/Ona/Ono | uči. | Oni/One/Ona | uče. |
The verbs IMATI, HTJETI and JESAM have special negative forms. The negation is written together with the verb.
imati | hteti | jesam | |||
nemam | nemamo | neću | nećemo | nijesam | nijesmo |
nemaš | nemate | nećeš | nećete | nijesi | nijeste |
nema | nemaju | neće | neće | nije | nijesu |
The interrogative form
studirati | |||||
DA LI | ja | studiram? | DA LI | mi | studiramo? |
ti | studiraš? | vi | studirate? | ||
on/ona/ono | studira? | oni/one/ona | studiraju? |
An interrogative sentence is formed by inversion using the interrogative particle LI.
npr. Studiraš li (ti)? Studira li (ona)? Studiraju li (oni)?
Reflexive verbs in the present tense
The form of reflexive verbs is represented by the verb plus the morpheme SE.
e.g. Tuširati se. Smejati se. Plašiti se. Ja se češljam. Vi se družite.
The affirmative form:
zvati se | |||||
Ja | SE | zovem… | Mi | SE | zovemo… |
Ti | zoveš… | Vi | zovete… | ||
On/Ona/Ono | zove… | Oni/One/Ona | zovu… |
The morpheme SE is placend in the second position in the sentence, after the subject.
The subject of the sentence is frequently omitted because the person and number are indicated by the verb. In this situation the sentence starts with the verb followed by the morpheme SE.
e.g. Zovem se… Zoveš se… Zovemo se…
The negative form:
zvati se | |||||||
Ja | SE | NE | zovem… | Mi | SE | NE | zovemo… |
Ti | zoveš… | Vi | zovete… | ||||
On/Ona/Ono | zove… | Oni/One/Ona | zovu… |
The morpheme SE is placed in the second position in the sentence, after the subject. The subject of the sentence is frequently omitted. In this situation the sentence starts with the negative form of the verb and is followed by the morpheme SE.
e.g. Ne zovem se … Ne zoveš se … Ne zovemo se …
The interrogative form:
zvati se | |||||||
DA LI | SE | ja | zovem … ? | DA LI | SE | mi | zovemo … ? |
ti | zoveš … ? | vi | zovete … ? | ||||
on/ona/ono | zove … ? | oni/one/ona | zovu … ? |
The morpheme SE is placed in the second position in the sentence after the question marker DA LI.
The subject of the sentence is frequently omitted. In this situation the sentence starts with the question marker DA LI followed by the morpheme SE.
e.g. Da li se zovem … ? Da li se zoveš … ? Da li se zovemo … ?
The interrogative form may also be formed by inversion, using the interrogative particle LI. The sentence then begins with the verb which is followed by the interrogative particle LI which in its turn is followed by the morpheme SE.
e.g. Zoveš li se (ti) … ? Zove li se (on) … ?