Perfective vs. Imperfective Verbs

01

Imperfective: the Process

Imperfective verbs look at the action from the inside, while it is going on; they say nothing about whether it ever reached a result. Use the imperfective for something happening right now, for habits and repeated actions, and for simply naming an activity that took place.

• Kupujem namirnice.

  I am buying groceries. (right now)

• Obično ne pijem puno piva.

  I usually don't drink a lot of beer. (a habit)

• Uvijek kuhaju u ovo vrijeme.

  They always cook at this time. (a repeated action)

• Što si radila jučer?

  What did you do yesterday? (naming the activity, not asking whether it finished)

02

Perfective: the Result

Perfective verbs look at the action from the outside, as one finished event with a clear endpoint or result.

• Kupila sam tucet jaja.

  I bought a dozen eggs. (a single, one-off event)

• Položio sam ispit.

  I passed the exam. (a completed action whose result now holds)

• Zatvorila je vrata nakon što sam ušao.

  She closed the door after I came in. (two events in sequence, each finished)

A request for one specific action usually takes the perfective too: you are asking for the thing to be done, not to be under way.

• Pojedi nešto voća.

  Eat some fruit. (perfective: eat it and finish)

03

How the Pairs Are Built

Most verbs come in pairs - an imperfective and a perfective partner with the same meaning - and there are three common ways the two partners relate.

1. By a prefix. Most often the perfective is the imperfective plus a prefix - much like English "eat" versus "eat up", or "write" versus "write down". Common prefixes are po-, na-, s-, iz-, za-, u-, pro- and o-.

• jesti / pojesti

  to eat / to eat up

• pisati / napisati

  to write / to finish writing

• piti / popiti

  to drink / to drink up

• prati / oprati

  to wash / to wash clean

2. By a change of suffix or stem. Here the imperfective usually carries the longer suffix.

• kupovati / kupiti

  to be buying / to buy

• davati / dati

  to be giving / to give

3. Irregular pairs. A few pairs are built on two different roots.

• dolaziti / doći

  to be coming / to come

Because a prefix can also change the meaning, it is safest to learn each pair as a unit rather than guess the partner.

04

Aspect Decides Which Tense You Can Use

Present. Only imperfective verbs have a real present tense - you can only be in the middle of an action right now.

• Čitam knjigu.

  I am reading a book.

Future. Both aspects build the future the same way, with the future auxiliary plus the infinitive; the aspect supplies the nuance.

• Čitat ću knjigu.

  I will read a book.

• Pročitat ću knjigu.

  I will read the book and finish it.

Past. Both aspects work in the past, but the meaning differs sharply - "was doing" versus "did and finished".

• Kuhala sam ručak.

  I was cooking lunch.

• Skuhala sam ručak.

  I cooked lunch, it is ready.

05

The Perfective Present

When a perfective verb (one that views the action as a single completed whole) takes present-tense endings it does not mean "now". It appears mainly in subordinate clauses after words like da, kad or ako, still pointing to a completed action.

• Imam novca da kupim auto.

  I have money to buy a car.

• Moram voziti dok ne nabavim auto.

  I have to drive until I get a car.

06

Aspect with Modal Verbs

After a verb like željeti (to want) or moći (can), the aspect of the following infinitive sets the nuance: imperfective for the activity, perfective for the achievement.

• Želim jesti pizzu.

  I want to eat pizza, to spend time eating.

• Želim ispeći kolač.

  I want to bake a cake and finish it.

07

Biaspectual Verbs

A small group of verbs are both aspects at once. Where an ordinary verb needs a partner - jesti for the process and pojesti for the finished event - these have one form that does both jobs, and only the sentence around it tells you which is meant. Common ones are vidjeti (to see), čuti (to hear) and razumjeti (to understand).

• Vidim te.

  I see you. (the seeing is going on right now - the imperfective job)

• Jesi li to vidjela?

  Did you see that? (one finished event - the perfective job, from the very same verb)

08

Aspect in Negative Sentences

In negatives the imperfective is the usual choice: if something did not happen, there is no completed result to point to.

• Obično ne pijem pivo.

  I usually don't drink beer.

• Ona ne govori engleski.

  She does not speak English.

• Nisam te vidjela devet godina.

  I haven't seen you for nine years.

• vidjeti is biaspectual - a single verb that works as both aspects - so the same form serves here; there is no imperfective partner to switch to