Once you know the -am group, a whole slice of everyday Serbian opens up instantly. You can talk about when you eat, what you watch on television, how often you pick up a book - all of it with one friendly, predictable ending. This lesson pairs each question with its natural answer so the pattern settles in without any memorising grind. Shall we start?
What is the -am group?
In Serbian, many verbs follow a conjugation pattern where the first-person singular (ja - I) ends in -am. That single syllable is your anchor. For example: ja ručam means "I have lunch." Once you hear that -am, you know the subject is "I," and you know the verb belongs to this friendly family.
The good news is that the rest of the endings are just as regular. Learn the pattern once and it works across dozens of common verbs - verbs you will reach for every single day.
Question and answer - the five day-to-day pairs
Below are five question-and-answer pairs built around daily routines. Read each one aloud, notice the ending shift between the question (ti - you) and the answer (ja - I), and the pattern will start feeling natural very quickly.
1. Lunch time
Q: Kada obično ručaš?
When do you usually have lunch?A: Obično ručam u tri.
I usually have lunch at 3.
| Word | Meaning / Note |
|---|---|
| KADA | when |
| OBIČNO | usually |
| RUČATI | to have lunch / dinner (infinitive); ručaš = you have lunch; ručam = I have lunch |
| U TRI | at three (o'clock) |
2. Dinner time
Q: Kada obično večeraš?
When do you usually have dinner?A: Obično večeram u 7.
I usually have dinner at 7.
| Word | Meaning / Note |
|---|---|
| VEČERATI | to have dinner / supper (infinitive); večeraš = you have dinner; večeram = I have dinner |
| U 7 | at 7 (o'clock) - numbers work perfectly with u for telling the time |
3. Where do you have dinner?
Q: Gde obično večeraš?
Where do you usually have dinner?A: Večeram u kuhinji.
I have dinner in the kitchen.
| Word | Meaning / Note |
|---|---|
| GDE | where |
| KUHINJA | kitchen; u kuhinji = in the kitchen (the -i ending marks the locative case - "location where") |
4. Television - or not
Q: Gde obično gledaš televiziju?
Where do you usually watch TV?A: Ne gledam televiziju.
I do not watch TV.
| Word | Meaning / Note |
|---|---|
| GLEDATI | to watch (infinitive); gledaš = you watch; gledam = I watch |
| TELEVIZIJA | television; televiziju = television (accusative - the direct object form) |
| NE | not - comes directly before the verb to negate it: ne gledam = I do not watch |
5. Reading and free time
Q: Koliko često čitaš knjige?
How often do you read books?A: Čitam knjige vikendom, kad imam vremena.
I read books at weekends, when I have time.
| Word | Meaning / Note |
|---|---|
| KOLIKO ČESTO | how often |
| ČITATI | to read (infinitive); čitaš = you read; čitam = I read |
| KNJIGE | books (plural of knjiga) |
| VIKEND / VIKENDOM | weekend; vikendom = at weekends (the instrumental case gives a recurring-time meaning) |
| IMATI / IMAM | to have / I have |
| VREME / VREMENA | time; vremena = of time (genitive after imam in this construction) |
The -am endings at a glance
Here is the full present-tense pattern for the -am group. We will use PEVATI (to sing) as the example verb - but every verb in the list below follows the same shape.
| Person | Ending | Example (PEVATI) |
|---|---|---|
| JA (I) | -am | ja pevam |
| TI (you, sing.) | -as | ti pevaš |
| ON / ONA / ONO (he / she / it) | -a | on/ona/ono peva |
| MI (we) | -amo | mi pevamo |
| VI (you, pl. / formal) | -ate | vi pevate |
| ONI / ONE / ONA (they) | -aju | oni/one/ona pevaju |
Notice how tidy it is. The stem peva- stays stable all the way through, and you just swap the ending. The same thing happens with ruca-, vecera-, gleda-, cita- - every verb you met above. That consistency is your best friend.
Other -am verbs to know
Here are ten more useful verbs that belong to the same group. They all follow the identical ending pattern you just learned - just swap in the new stem:
- čekati - to wait
- čitati - to read
- duvati - to blow
- gledati - to watch
- igrati - to play
- imati - to have
- izgledati - to look / to seem
- mešati - to mix / to stir
- obožavati - to adore
- padati - to fall
Keep that list somewhere handy. Every time you spot a new verb ending in -ati, there is a very good chance it is a member of this group - and you already know exactly how to conjugate it.
A good exercise idea
Take the five question-and-answer sentences from the lesson and rewrite each one four times, swapping the subject each time. Work through these four subjects in order:
- On / Ona / Ono (he / she / it) - third-person singular ending: -a
- Mi (we) - ending: -amo
- Vi (you, plural or formal) - ending: -ate
- Oni / One / ONA (they) - ending: -aju
So for the first sentence you would write: On obično ruča u tri. / Mi obično ručamo u tri. / Vi obično ručate u tri. / Oni obično ručaju u tri. - and so on for all five. It feels repetitive at first, and that is exactly the point. By the time you reach sentence five, the endings will be moving from your fingers rather than your conscious mind. That is the goal.
Quick questions
How do I know if a verb is in the -am group or the -im group?
The simplest clue is the infinitive ending. Verbs ending in -ati almost always belong to the -am group (e.g. gledati, čitati, pevati). Verbs ending in -iti or -eti generally belong to the -im group (e.g. govoriti - govorim, voleti - volim). There are a small number of exceptions, but that rule of thumb will carry you a very long way in the beginning.
Is the -am group common in everyday Serbian?
Very. The verbs you use most when talking about daily life - eating, drinking, watching, reading, waiting, playing - are overwhelmingly -am verbs. Learning this one pattern gives you immediate, practical reach into normal conversation.
Why do I see ručam (answer) versus ručaš (question)?
Because the question is asking you something, so the verb is conjugated for ti (you) - giving ručaš. The answer is spoken by me, so the verb flips to ja (I) - giving ručam. That little shift is the whole lesson in miniature: the subject changes, the ending follows automatically. Once you internalize that reflex, Serbian present-tense conversation starts to feel much less like translation and much more like speaking.
I hope this lesson has made the -am group feel genuinely approachable. These verb endings are some of the first things I teach every new student, because the payoff is so immediate - you can build real, usable sentences about your actual day from the very first lesson. If you have a question, a correction, or just want to try one sentence of your own, please leave it in the comments below. I read every one. Even a simple "Čitam knjige vikendom" would make my day.
- Marina Petrovic, teacher of Serbian
More verb practice: browse the Serbian Conjugations category.