Breakdown of Mobitel je nov, ali nema signala.
biti
to be (sam, si, je)
nov
new
mobitel
cellphone
ali
but (strong contrast)
Questions & Answers about Mobitel je nov, ali nema signala.
Why is it signala instead of just signal?
Because of the word nema. When nema is used to say that something does not exist or is not present, the noun that follows it must be in the genitive case. For the masculine noun signal, the genitive is formed by adding -a, making it signala.
Does nema here mean "there is no" or "it doesn't have"?
It can actually mean both, and the grammar works the same either way! You can think of it as an impersonal statement meaning "there is no signal" (negative existence) or as "it doesn't have a signal" (negative possession, referring to the cellphone). Both meanings use nema followed by the genitive case.
Where is the word for "there" in the second half of the sentence?
Croatian doesn't use "filler" words like "there" or "it" in sentences like this. The single verb nema completely covers the meaning of "there is no" all by itself.
Why is the word for new nov and not novi?
Because it is being used to state a fact about the subject across the verb "to be" ("The cellphone is new"). In these cases, Croatian usually uses the shorter, indefinite adjective form (nov). If you were directly describing the noun like "the new cellphone", you would use the longer, definite form: novi mobitel.