Byti

Byti is a non-diacritic rendering of the infinitive of the verb "to be" in several Slavic languages. In standard orthography the infinitive is written biti, as in Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian, and Slovenian. The spelling byti may be encountered in texts that omit diacritics or in linguistic discussions that describe non-diacritic forms.

Etymology: The form is descended from Proto-Slavic *bytъ and is related to the broader Indo-European root for being or existence.

Grammar: The verb biti is irregular in many languages. It serves as the copular verb in the present tense and also functions as an auxiliary in forming certain perfective past tenses in these languages. Each language has its own set of conjugations.

Conjugation examples: In Croatian/Serbian/Bosnian (present): ja sam, ti si, on/ona je, mi smo, vi ste, oni su. The past participle for masculine is bio, feminine bila, neuter bilo; combined with the present forms of biti, they form the past tense. In Slovenian (present): sem, si, je, smo, ste, so; past participle bil, bila, bilo.

See also: Be (verb).