Progressive, also known as continuous, is a verb tense in Croatian grammar that expresses ongoing or continuous actions. It is formed by combining the helping verb “biti” (to be) in the present tense with the present participle of the main verb.
For example, to express the ongoing action “I am reading” in Croatian, we use the present tense of “biti” (ja sam) and add the present participle of “čitati” (reading), resulting in “Ja čitam”.
The progressive tense is used to describe actions that are happening at the moment of speaking or actions that are in progress. It adds a sense of temporality and implies that the action is not yet completed.
In addition to the present progressive, Croatian also has past and future progressive tenses. The past progressive is formed by combining the past tense of “biti” with the present participle, while the future progressive uses the future tense of “biti” combined with the present participle.
Overall, progressive tense is an important aspect of Croatian grammar, allowing us to indicate ongoing or continuous actions in a more nuanced way.