First steps into the past

Build the past tense with present biti plus an -l participle. A male speaker says bil sem, a female speaker bila sem. For another person use Jure je bil, Maja je bila, neuter stanovanje je bilo.

The short auxiliary normally follows the first phrase: Včeraj sem bil doma, Jure je bil tukaj. Starting directly with the participle is natural: Bil sem doma. Negation uses nisem bil, nisem bila. Begin with biti, then reuse the pattern with familiar verbs later.

• Jure je bil tukaj.Jure was here.

• Maja je bila tukaj.Maja was here.

• Stanovanje je bilo prazno.The flat was empty.

• Včeraj je bila Maja tukaj.Maja was here yesterday.

• Včeraj sem bil doma.I was at home yesterday.

  Včeraj sem bila doma.I was at home yesterday.

• Nisem bil lačen.I was not hungry.

  Nisem bila lačna.I was not hungry.