The Simple Past Tense
Talking about actions that happened and finished in the past uses the simple past tense. This is formed using the past active participle of the verb, which ends in -l (for masculine singular), -la (for feminine singular), -lo (for neuter singular), -la (for dual masculine), -li (for dual feminine/neuter), or -li (for plural of all genders). The ending of this form changes to match the gender and number of the subject. The corresponding present tense form of the verb biti is used for all persons except the third person singular and plural, where it is often omitted.
Subject Gender/Number determines ending:
- Masculine Singular: -l (followed by appropriate form of biti) - On bral (He read)
- Feminine Singular: -la (followed by appropriate form of biti) - Ona brala (She read)
- Neuter Singular: -lo (followed by appropriate form of biti) - Ono bralo (It read)
- Dual Masculine: -la (followed by appropriate form of biti) - Midva brala (We two read)
- Dual Feminine/Neuter: -li (followed by appropriate form of biti) - Midve brali, Mesti brali (We two read, Two cities read)
- Plural (all genders): -li (followed by appropriate form of biti) - Mi brali, Oni brali (We read, They read)
Examples: Včeraj sem delal (masc.) (Yesterday I worked). Včeraj ona je delala (fem.) (Yesterday she worked). Midva sva videla film (We two saw a film). Oni so prišli pozno (They arrived late).