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Questions & Answers about Ovdje ima reda.
Why is ima used here if it usually means "has"?
In Croatian, the 3rd person singular verb ima (from imati, to have) is commonly used to say "there is" or "there are". While it literally translates to "it has", in this sentence it functions exactly like the English phrase "there is".
Why is the word for order reda instead of just red?
When ima is used to mean "there is" or "there are", the noun that follows it typically must be in the genitive case to express a quantity or an uncountable concept. For the masculine noun red, adding an -a makes it reda. You can think of it as literally saying "there is some of order".
Does the word red have other common meanings?
Yes! Besides meaning "order" (as in tidiness or an organized state), red is the everyday word for a "line" or "queue", like when you are waiting your turn at a supermarket.
Could I change the word order and say Ima reda ovdje?
Yes, Croatian word order is very flexible. Ovdje ima reda sounds perfectly natural and slightly emphasizes the location ("Here, there is order"), but saying Ima reda ovdje is also completely correct.