Serbian Lessons - Imperative of "To Be"

The Serbian imperative of biti (to be) appears in encouragement, advice, warnings and everyday instructions. The two forms you need most are budi for one person informally and budite for formal address or more than one person.

Budi and budite: the imperative of biti

Practise the verb “to be” in the imperative mood with this video and follow-up exercise.

• budi — informal singular: speaking to one person you know well
• budite — formal singular or plural: speaking politely to one person or addressing several people

These forms are often followed by an adjective. The adjective agrees with the person or people you are addressing:

• Budi pažljiv! / Budi pažljiva! — Be careful!
• Budi srećan! / Budi srećna! — Be happy!
• Budite strpljivi! — Be patient!
• Budite spremni! — Be ready!

After watching, create two examples with budi and two with budite. You can also review earlier intermediate and pre-intermediate Serbian posts.