The pluperfect
In short
| man / mixed | woman / women | |
|---|---|---|
| 1sg | bio sam otišao | bila sam otišla |
| 2sg | bio si otišao | bila si otišla |
| 3sg | bio je otišao | bila je otišla (n: bilo je otišlo) |
| 1pl | bili smo otišli | bile smo otišle |
| 2pl | bili ste otišli | bile ste otišle |
| 3pl | bili su otišli | bile su otišle |
Past of biti + l-participle; both agree with the subject. Used beside another past event (kad..., pre nego što...). Passive has a -n/-t participle instead: kuća je bila prodata.
B1 · Lesson 31 · Pluskvamperfekat
The full explanation, from the lesson that teaches this rule
When you tell a life story, events pile up: by the time she moved to Belgrade, she had already finished school. English marks the earlier event with had + participle. Serbian has the same tool: the pluperfect (pluskvamperfekat), "the past behind the past".
How it is built
You already know every piece. Take the ordinary past tense of biti (bio sam, bila je, bili smo...) and add the l-participle of the main verb (otišao, završila, upoznali...). So the pluperfect is two l-participles plus the clitic: bio sam otišao — I had left.
Both participles agree with the subject in gender and number, so a woman says bila sam otišla, a group of men bili smo otišli, a group of women bile smo otišle. That is the one thing to watch: the agreement is done twice.
| Person | Man / mixed group | Woman / women | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1sg (ja) | bio sam otišao | bila sam otišla | I had left |
| 2sg (ti) | bio si otišao | bila si otišla | you had left |
| 3sg (on, ona, ono) | bio je otišao | bila je otišla (ono: bilo je otišlo) | he / she / it had left |
| 1pl (mi) | bili smo otišli | bile smo otišle | we had left |
| 2pl (vi) | bili ste otišli | bile ste otišle | you (all) had left |
| 3pl (oni, one) | bili su otišli | bile su otišle | they had left |
Where the clitic goes
The clitic (sam, si, je, smo, ste, su) obeys the second-position rule you know. With nothing before it, the sentence opens with bio / bila / bili: Bila sam otišla. With a subject or another word first, the clitic comes right after it: Ona je već bila otišla. Kad smo stigli, oni su već bili otišli. In the negative, the fused negative replaces the clitic: Nisam bio završio fakultet.
It always leans on another past event
The pluperfect makes sense only next to a second past moment, usually a kad-clause or a pre nego što-clause. The ordinary past tells what happened; the pluperfect says what had already happened before that.
- Kad sam upoznao Anu, ona je već bila završila fakultet. — When I met Ana, she had already finished university.
- Deda je bio radio u fabrici pre nego što je otvorio prodavnicu. — Grandpa had worked in a factory before he opened a shop.
Spoken shortcut. In everyday speech Serbs very often drop the pluperfect and just use the ordinary past with već (already): Kad smo stigli, već su otišli. Both are correct. Use the pluperfect when you want the order of events to be unmistakable, as in a biography or a careful story.
Do not mix it up with the passive
In lesson 26 you met the passive: Kuća je bila prodata — The house had been sold / was sold. It also uses bila je, but the second word is a passive participle (-n, -en, -t). The pluperfect uses the l-participle and has an active subject who did something.
| Sentence | Second word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Oni su bili prodali kuću. | prodali (l-participle) | They had sold the house. (pluperfect) |
| Kuća je bila prodata. | prodata (passive participle) | The house was sold. (passive) |
Quick test: if the second participle ends in -o, -la, -lo, -li, -le, it is the pluperfect. If it ends in -n, -na, -t, -ta, -en, it is the passive.
Check what you read
6 of the 14 questions this lesson asks in the app. Type the form or pick the answer.
Kad sam upoznala muža, ja sam već(biti) našla posao.
Pre nego što sam se oženio, ___ sam kupio stan.
Kad smo se upoznali, ti si već(biti) diplomirala.
Da li si već ___ završio školu kad si se zaposlio?
Kad je dobila nagradu, ona je već(biti) objavila pet romana.
Kad smo se venčali, već smo ___ kupili stan.
Examples from the course
The marked word is where the rule applies. Press play to hear the sentence.
Kad smo stigli, oni su već bili otišli.
When we arrived, they had already left.
Kad sam upoznala verenika, već sam bila dobila diplomu.
When I met my fiancé, I had already got my degree. (woman speaking)
Bila sam otišla pre nego što je on došao.
I had left before he came. (woman speaking)
Vi ste već bile otišle kad je mladoženja održao govor.
You had already left when the groom gave a speech. (to a group of women)
Kad smo se vratili, oni su već bili prodali kuću.
When we came back, they had already sold the house.
Kad sam upoznao Anu, ona je već bila završila fakultet.
When I met Ana, she had already finished university. (man speaking)
Otac je bio izgubio posao pre nego što se razboleo.
Father had lost his job before he fell ill.
Kad je deda preminuo, baka je već bila otišla u penziju.
When Grandpa passed away, Grandma had already retired.
Kad smo se venčali, već smo bili živeli zajedno pet godina.
When we got married, we had already lived together for five years.
Bio sam se zaposlio u gimnaziji pre nego što sam diplomirao.
I had got a job at a grammar school before I graduated. (man speaking)
Sentences in the course that use this rule: 28
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
I had left before he came. (woman speaking)
Use the pluperfect for the earlier event.