hvatati

Hvatati is a verb used in several South Slavic languages, notably Croatian, Bosnian, and Serbian, meaning to catch, seize, or grab. It is the imperfective, transitive form and is used for ongoing or repeated catching, such as catching a ball or catching someone in the act.

The perfective counterpart is uhvatiti, which emphasizes a completed act of catching. In standard usage, present tense forms vary by language, but common Croatian/Serbian patterns include hvatam, hvataš, hvata, hvataju for “I catch,” “you catch,” “he/she catches,” and “they catch.” Past tense is typically formed directly or with auxiliary verbs, for example, uhvatio/uhvatila for “caught.”

Etymology and cognates: hvatati shares a common Slavic root related to seizing or grasping and has cognates in other Slavic languages, such as Russian хватать. The precise historical development varies between Croatian, Serbian, and Bosnian, but the core meaning remains consistent across them.

Usage notes: hvatati covers literal catching (hvatanje lopte, catching the ball; hvatanje lopova, catching criminals) and figurative senses (hvatanje ritma, to catch the rhythm; hvatanje prilike, to seize an opportunity). As with many Slavic verbs, the aspect pair hvatati (imperfective) and uhvatiti (perfective) guide how the action is framed in time, whether as an ongoing process or a completed event.