The periphrastic passive
In short
| Tense | biti | + participle (agrees) |
|---|---|---|
| present | je / su | Most je otvoren. Granice su otvorene. |
| past | je bio/bila/bilo, su bili/bile/bila | Škola je bila oštećena. |
| future | će biti / biće | Rezultati će biti objavljeni. |
| negative | nije / nisu, nije bio, neće biti | Lopov nije uhapšen. |
Participle endings: m -Ø, f -a, n -o; pl m -i, f -e, n -a (otvoren, otvorena, otvoreno, otvoreni, otvorene, otvorena).
B1 · Lesson 26 · Pasiv s glagolom biti
The full explanation, from the lesson that teaches this rule
Read any Serbian news report and you will see sentences where nobody does anything — things simply get done: a bridge gets opened, a law gets passed, a thief gets arrested. Compare an ordinary sentence with its news version:
- Radnici su otvorili most. — The workers opened the bridge. (we say who did it)
- Most je otvoren. — The bridge has been opened / is open. (we only say what happened to the bridge)
In the second sentence the bridge has become the subject, and the verb is replaced by two pieces you already know: a form of biti plus the passive participle from the last lesson (otvoren, zatvoren, izabran, uhapšen...). This is called the passive. It is how Serbian describes an event without naming who caused it.
The participle agrees with the subject
The participle behaves exactly like a short adjective after biti: it takes the gender and number of the subject. Look at the subject, then pick the ending.
| Subject | Participle | Example |
|---|---|---|
| masculine singular | otvoren | Most je otvoren. |
| feminine singular | otvorena | Izložba je otvorena. |
| neuter singular | otvoreno | Pozorište je otvoreno. |
| masculine plural | otvoreni | Putevi su otvoreni. |
| feminine plural | otvorene | Granice su otvorene. |
| neuter plural | otvorena | Vrata su otvorena. |
When the subject is I, you or we, the participle agrees with the real person: a man says Pozvan sam, a woman Pozvana sam (I have been invited); a group says Nismo bili informisani (we were not informed).
Three tenses: only biti changes
The participle stays the same in every tense; the tense is carried entirely by biti, using the forms you already know from the present, the past and the future.
| Tense | Form of biti | Example |
|---|---|---|
| present | je / su (sam, si, smo, ste) | Aerodrom je zatvoren zbog snega. |
| past | je bio / je bila / je bilo, su bili / su bile / su bila | Muzej je bio zatvoren dve godine. |
| future | će biti / biće | Rezultati će biti objavljeni u ponedeljak. |
In the past, both words agree with the subject: bio and the participle. Škola je bila oštećena, Stanovnici su bili evakuisani. In the future the bit that changes is će: Most će biti otvoren, and at the start of a sentence the fused biće: Biće izgrađena nova škola.
Negation
Negate biti exactly as you always do, and leave the participle alone:
| Tense | Affirmative | Negative |
|---|---|---|
| present | Lopov je uhapšen. | Lopov nije uhapšen. |
| past | Škola je bila oštećena. | Škola nije bila oštećena. |
| future | Koncert će biti otkazan. | Koncert neće biti otkazan. |
What the present form means in the news
Most participles in the passive come from perfective verbs, so je + participle describes a result: Prodavnica je zatvorena — the shop is closed (someone has closed it). Put a time word next to it and it reports the event itself — this is the normal news way to say was done: Novi predsednik je izabran u nedelju — the new president was elected on Sunday. Use bio / bila when you describe how things stood at some past time, often for a stretch of time: Muzej je bio zatvoren dve godine — the museum was closed for two years.
Do not reach for the l-participle here. Most je otvorio means "the bridge opened (something)" — nonsense. The passive always takes the participle in -n, -en or -t: Most je otvoren.
This passive belongs to written language and the news. In everyday speech Serbians usually say the same thing another way, with se — that is the next lesson. For now, notice that none of these sentences says WHO did it: that is the point of the construction.
Check what you read
6 of the 15 questions this lesson asks in the app. Type the form or pick the answer.
Novi most(biti) otvoren juče.
Granice su(biti) zatvorene tri dana.
Izložba je(biti) zatvorena mesec dana.
Koncert ___ otkazan. (The concert will not be cancelled.)
Nova škola je izgrađen___. Which ending does the participle take?
Pozorište će biti otvoren___ u maju. Which ending does the participle take?
Examples from the course
The marked word is where the rule applies. Press play to hear the sentence.
Lopov nije uhapšen.
The thief has not been arrested.
Škola nije bila oštećena.
The school was not damaged.
Koncert neće biti otkazan.
The concert will not be cancelled.
Nismo bili informisani o promeni.
We were not informed about the change.
Aerodrom je zatvoren zbog snega.
The airport is closed because of the snow.
Biće izgrađena i nova škola.
A new school will also be built.
Pobednik izbora biće proglašen večeras.
The winner of the election will be announced tonight.
Rezultati će biti objavljeni u ponedeljak.
The results will be published on Monday.
Muzej je bio zatvoren dve godine.
The museum was closed for two years.
Pozvan sam na konferenciju za štampu.
I have been invited to the press conference. (man speaking)
Sentences in the course that use this rule: 89
Try it yourself
Translate a sentence that uses this rule. The check marks the word that went wrong and names the rule behind it, as in the app.
Sentences
Write it in Serbian
The thief has not been arrested.