Participles at Work
Глаголски придеви у употреби — Recognise the forms behind past tense, passive voice and future II.
The past-tense building block
The active verbal adjective — радни глаголски придев — carries gender and number: радио, радила, радило, радили. The present-tense clitic supplies person: сам, си, је, смо, сте, су.
Они су радили до касно.
They worked until late.
The passive form agrees
The passive verbal adjective — трпни глаголски придев — agrees with the affected noun: написан извештај, написана књига, написано писмо.
Писмо је написано јуче.
The letter was written yesterday.
Short public notices
Signs often omit what context makes obvious: «Забрањено пушење», «Затворено», «Улаз дозвољен». The participle or adjective still matches the understood expression.
Забрањено пушење.
No smoking.
Passive or reflexive se
A passive names a result: «Књига је продата.» A se-construction presents a general activity: «Књига се продаје овде.» The doer may remain unmentioned in both.
Карте се продају на улазу.
Tickets are sold at the entrance.
Future II and a useful relative clause
In dependent clauses, будем + active verbal adjective can mark a future action completed first: «Кад будем завршио…» Serbian normally says «човек који ради», using a relative clause rather than an English-style present participle before the noun.
Кад будем завршила, јавићу ти се.
When I have finished, I will contact you. (female speaker)
Put It Together
Keep the lesson goal in view: Recognise the forms behind past tense, passive voice and future II. Revisit the examples, then test yourself in practice.