# BCS: -avati versus -ivati verbs



## QuasiTriestino

In my quest to learn BCS verbs, I keep bumping into a problem: Namely, knowing (or being able to reason) if a perfective verb takes _-avati_ or _-ivati _when it becomes imperfective.

Some examples: The perfective verb _proveriti_ becomes _proveravati _in its imperfective form. _Suočiti _becomes _suočavati_. _Naseliti_ becomes _naseljavati_. Great. All good up to this point.

However, then I come across the perfective verb _zaraditi_, which becomes _zarađivati_ in its imperfective form. Or _preliti_ and _prelivati_. Or_ dokazati_ and _dokazivati_.

When I'm going through my flashcards like the good little BCS student I am, I find it hard to remember which verbs takes either -_avati _or _-ivati _as an ending. Try as I might, I've been unable to locate any kind of regular pattern here.

Thus, my question: Is there some rule in BCS that governs these endings? And if so, could someone please lead me to hidden treasure?

Hvala najlepše, prijatelji!


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## bibax

Interesting question. In Czech we have only *-ovati* and *-vati* (if the root ends in a vowel):

prověřiti > prověřovati;
zařaditi > zařazovati (d > z);
dokázati > dokazovati (_dokazujeme_ in 1st pers. plur. pres.);

but

umýti > umývati (_umýváme_);

*preliti* is clear, the first *i* is a part of the root: pre-*li*-ti > pre-*li*-va-ti;
similarly *umiti* (u-mi-ti) > umivati;


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## QuasiTriestino

bibax said:


> *preliti* is clear, the -i- is a part of the stem: pre-li-ti > pre-li-va-ti


Mmmmm.... you're right. That's not the best example because it becomes _prelivam _in 1st singular present. But another example would be _ispitati _becoming _ispitivati _(_ispitujem _in 1st singl present).


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## bibax

In pro-ver-*i*-ti and za-rad-*i*-ti, the *i* is the so called _*thematic vowel*_ (not a part of the root).
In do-kaz-*a*-ti and is-pit-*a*-ti, the thematic vowel is *a*.

So, it is mystery for me, why the use of -*i*-va-ti and -*a*-va-ti is so inconsistent in BCS. One would expect prover*i*vati and dokaz*a*vati, with the proper thematic vowels. Maybe there is a rule (with possible exceptions?).


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## nimak

From what I know, according to the ending vowel of the 3rd person singular present tense form, all verbs in BCMS belong to one of the 3 groups: *-a*, *-e*, *-i*.

*-a*: gleda, čita
*-e*: piše, jede
*-i*: uči, radi

So, I guess it is related to this.


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## bibax

^^ IMHO it is a somewhat simplified classification, it may work for the present stem forms, but not too convenient for accurate analysis.

I am able to formulate only the following simple rule, applicable for only few verbs:

RULE: if the root ends in a vowel, the suffix is _*-vati* _(both in BCSM and Czech).

u-mi-ti > u-mi-vati (umivam, ...) ~ in Czech umýti > umývati (umývám, umýváš, umývá, umýváme, umýváte, umývají);

_You can also see how the Slavic languages are similar in their basic morphology.  _


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## QuasiTriestino

Theme vowels (at least from how I understand it) can change and often do in BCS. So for example _*pisati *_has an *-a-* theme vowel in the infinitive but an *-e-* theme vowel in the present (*pišem*).

drž*a*ti → drž*i*m
vid*e*ti → vid*i*m

etc. etc.... It's super nice when this _doesn't _happen, however, for us learners, cause it makes things much easier.

govor*i*ti → govor*i*m
prič*a*ti → prič*a*m

Maybe there's just no predicting which *-avati* / _*-ivati*_ endings will happen in what verbs for the perfective-to-imperfective transition in BCS... but I was kinda hoping so


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## bibax

Similarly in Czech:

drž*e*ti → drž*í*m;
vid*ě*ti → vid*í*m;

hovoř*i*ti → hovoř*í*m;
děl*a*ti → děl*á*m; (= raditi)

All mentioned verbs are in fact of different classes (in a precise classification used by linguists).

Generally in the Slavic languages, the present theme vowel and the infinitive theme vowel can differ in some cases (that are limited in numbers). There are certainly more than 3 verbal types (classes). However, some classes are already closed (non-productive), some are still productive.


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