STUDY GUIDE

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LESSON 35

GRAMMAR
VOCABULARY
PRACTICE
ANSWER KEY

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GRAMMAR
PRESENT TENSE – TI VERBS – VERB GROUP III

In today’s lesson we are going to learn the group III of the TI verbs also known as
the E/U verbs. As a reminder there are 5 (sub)groups of TI verbs and this
classification only applies to the Simple Present Tense.
The verb stem of the E/U verbs has the -E ending. In the case of our head verb
kazati which means to say, the verb stem is KAŽE. For the 3rd person plural the
Present Tense ending is -U (the verb stem ending -E is omitted) - (i.e. Oni kažu –
They say).
E/U verbs make the Present Tense by adding the endings for the Present Tense
to the verb stem. This stem is called the present verb stem because it is used for
making the Present Tense. We will refer to it simply as the verb stem in this
chapter about the Present Tense. It is not to be confused with the infinitive verb
stem, which we will learn later in the future lessons about other tenses in
Serbian language.
Remember to learn the verb stems along with verbs in infinitive. Memorizing the
conjugation patterns of the head verbs can help you conjugate all other verbs
within the same group.

HEAD VERB – KAZATI (TO SAY)

PRESENT TENSE ENDINGS Verb kazati – to say (verb stem KAŽE)

Present Tense Conjugation

# Singular Plural # Singular Plural

1. 1.
-M -MO KAŽEM KAŽEMO
2. 2.
-Š -TE KAŽEŠ KAŽETE
3. 3.
/ -U KAŽE KAŽU

Study Guide 2
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The verb kazati means to say. For starters, we need to know the verb stem of the
verb kazati. In this case, the verb stem is kaže.
Starting with the verb stem we then apply the following pattern:
For the first person (ja) we add -m to the end of the verb stem kaže. When we do
this, we get kažem, which means I say.
For the second person (ti) we add -Š to the verb stem. When we do this, we get
kažeš, which means you say.
For the third person singular (on/ona/ono) we don’t need to add an ending, kaže
stays the same. Kaže means he, she, it says.
For the first person plural (mi) we add –mo to the verb stem kaže, so we end up
with kažemo, which means we say.
For the second person plural/polite (vi) we add –te to the verb stem kaže, so we
get kažete, which means you (polite) say or you (plural) say.
For the third person plural (oni/one/ona) we substitute the -e ending of the verb
stem kaže with an -u, so instead of kaže we get kažu, which means they say.
Ja kažem – I say
Ti kažeš – You say
On/ona/ono kaže – He/she/it says
Mi kažemo – We say
Vi kažete – You (polite) or you (plural) say
Oni/one/ona kažu – They say
Notice how the third person singular (on/ona/ono) conjugates. The verb stem
doesn’t change. It’s simply kaže. The ending of kaže is an -e. The third person
plural (oni/ one/ona) substitutes the -e of the verb stem with an -u, so instead of
kaže it’s kažu, which means they say. This is the reason why kazati belongs to the
-e/-u group of verbs.

Study Guide 3
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E/U VERB – ZVATI (TO CALL)

The verb zvati means to call. The verb stem for zvati is zove. Using the same
pattern that we used for the previous verb kazati, we can conjugate this verb.
How would you say I call? If the verb stem is zove, then we know for the first
person we need to add an -m to the verb stem, giving us zovem, so Ja zovem
means I call.
How would you say We call? Mi zovemo. Since the verb stem is zove, we add the –
mo ending for the first person plural (mi), giving us zovemo, so mi zovemo means
we call.
Ja zovem – I call
Ti zoveš – You call
On/ona/ono zove – He/she/it calls
Mi zovemo – We call
Vi zovete – You (polite) or you (plural) call
Oni/one/ona zovu – They call
Verb zvati – to call
Present Tense Conjugation
Verb stem ZOVE + endings for Present Tense

Singular Plural

Person Serbian English Person Serbian English

1. ja ZOVEM I call 1. mi ZOVEMO we call

2. ti ZOVEŠ you call 2. vi ZOVETE you (polite/all)

call
3. on, ona, ZOVE He, she, it
ono calls 3. oni ZOVU they call

Study Guide 4
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 The most important thing to remember is that the verb stem of the E/U verbs
has the -E ending. In the case of our head verb kazati which means to say, the
verb stem is KAŽE. For the 3rd person plural the Present Tense ending is -U (the
verb stem ending -E is omitted) - (i.e. Oni kažu – They say).

VOCABULARY
E/U VERBS - GROUP III

Serbian English Verb Stem

kazati to say KAŽE
zvati to call ZOVE

LESSON EXAMPLES

Serbian English
Ja kažem I say
Ti zoveš You call
On kaže He says
Ona zove She calls
Ono kaže It says
Mi zovemo We call
Vi kažete You say
Oni zovu They (masculine) call
One kažu They (feminine) say
Ona zovu They (neuter) call

Study Guide 5
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PRACTICE
EXCERCISE #1
Choose the correct form of the verb:
Example Present Tense
1. Ti zoveš (example) zoveš/zovemo/zovu

2. Mi_________ kažem/kažemo/kažete
3. Oni _________ kažemo/kažu/kažeš
4. Vi_________ zovem/zovemo/zovete
5. Ja _________ kažeš/kažem/kažemo
6. On _________ kažemo/kaže/kažeš
7. One _________ zovu/zovem/zovete
8. Ti _________ kažeš/kažem/kažu
9. Ona _________ zovemo/zove/zoveš
10. Mi _________ zovemo/zovem/zovu

EXERCISE #2
Translate into English:

# Serbian English
1. Ona zove svaki dan She calls every day (example)
2. Ja kažem sve

3. Mi zovemo danas
4. Oni kažu nešto
5. Vi zovete sada
6. Ti kažeš sve
7. On kaže nešto
8. Ja zovem svaki dan

Study Guide 6
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EXCERCISE #3

Match the sentences with the right form of the verb:

Sentence Verb Answer
1. Oni kažu sve a) kažeš (example) 1c)
2. Ti_______ nešto b) zovem
3. Mi ______ danas c) kažu

4. Ja ______ svaki dan d) zovemo

5. Vi _______ sve e) kaže
6. Ona ______ danas f) zovu
7. On ______ nešto g) kažete
8. Oni ______ svaki dan h) zove

ANSWER KEY
EXCERCISE #1
(The answer is underlined and in bold)
Choose the correct form of the verb:
Example Present Tense
1. Ti zoveš(example) zoveš/zovemo/zovu

2. Mi kažemo kažem/kažemo/kažete
3. Oni kažu kažemo/kažu/kažeš
4. Vi zovete zovem/zovemo/zovete
5. Ja kažem kažeš/kažem/kažemo
6. On kaže kažemo/kaže/kažeš
7. One zovu zovu/zovem/zovete
8. Ti kažeš kažeš/kažem/kažu
9. Ona zove zovemo/zove/zoveš
10. Mi zovemo zovemo/zovem/zovu

Study Guide 7
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EXERCISE #2
Translate into English:

# Serbian English
1. Ona zove svaki dan She calls every day (example)
2. Ja kažem sve I say everything
3. Mi zovemo danas We call today

4. Oni kažu nešto They say something

5. Vi zovete sada You are calling now
6. Ti kažeš sve You say everything
7. On kaže nešto He says something
8. Ja zovem svaki dan I call every day

EXCERCISE #3
Match the sentences with the right form of the verb:
Sentence Verb Answer
1. Oni kažu sve a) kažeš (example) 1c)
2. Ti kažeš nešto b) zovem 2a)
3. Mi zovemo danas c) kažu 3d)
4. Ja zovem svaki dan d) zovemo 4b)
5. Vi kažete sve e) kaže 5g)
6. Ona zove danas f) zovu 6h)
7. On kaže nešto g) kažete 7e)
8. Oni zovu svaki dan h) zove 8f)

Great job! Ćao, drugari!

Study Guide 8
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