# Croatian: bio?



## wanipa

Bok!

Tried to search and look up, with no result.

What does "bio" mean in the sentence

Tko je to bio?

Hvala!


----------



## Panceltic

It is the past participle of the verb *biti* (_to be_), masculine singular.

Past (perfect) tense is formed with the verb _to be_ in present and the past participle of the wanted verb.

So, _I have been/I was_ is *Ja sam bio*,_ He has been/He was_ is *On je bio*.

*Tko je to bio* is a question meaning _Who was this?_

Hope that helps.


----------



## kloie

Yes bio comes from biti to be.
On je bio
Ja sam bio
Ti si bio


----------



## wanipa

That's funny! I thought "bilo" is ought bo be the past participle of biti. ;-)

Have we really got two forms or is one of them old fashioned?


----------



## Hachi25

It is, but past participle in Serbo-Croatian has genders, three in singular and three in plural.

Sg. bio, bila, bilo
Pl. bili, bile, bila

When using it with the pronoun "tko/ko", it is always in the masculine gender singular. When using it with the pronoun "što/šta", it is always in the neuter gender singular:
Tko je to bio?
Šta je to bilo?


----------



## wanipa

Fantastic!

That makes sense to what I've learned:

Bilo je tako lijepo!

Thanks again!


----------



## wanipa

Attached question:

What is the difference between 
što and šta?
(Are they totally interchangeable?)


----------



## kloie

Yes they are the same sto is for Croatian and Bosnian and Sta is for Serbian.


----------



## wanipa

Great.

Thanks!


----------

