Posjedovati

Posjedovati is a verb used in Croatian, Serbian and Bosnian to express the act of possessing or owning something. It denotes formal or legal ownership and is often used in contexts ranging from property and assets to items in one’s possession.

Etymology and meaning: the word is built from the noun posjed, meaning possession or property, with the suffix -ovati to form a verb. As such, posjedovati indicates active ownership rather than merely having something temporarily.

Usage and grammar: posjedovati is a transitive verb and typically takes a direct object in the accusative case, for example, posjeduje nekretnine or posjedovati automobil. It is used in official, legal, or formal discourse, but also appears in everyday language when emphasizing ownership. The verb is conjugated like other imperfective -ovati verbs in Croatian and related languages.

Conjugation (present, past and future tendencies): in the present tense the forms are ja posjedujem, ti posjeduješ, on posjeduje, mi posjedujemo, vi posjedujete, oni posjeduju. The past tense is formed with biti plus the past participle (posjedovao posjedovala posjedovalo, depending on gender and number). The future can be rendered as posjedovaću, posjedovaćeš, posjedovaće, posjedovaćemo, posjedovaćete, posjedovaće. The imperative forms include posjeduj (singular), posjedujmo (plural), and posjedujte (formal/plural).

Related terms: posjed (possession, property) and vlasništvo (ownership) are closely connected; imovina denotes assets. In context, posjedovati often overlaps with these terms but emphasizes the act or state of owning.

See also: posjed, vlasništvo, imovina.