Breakdown of Oprostite, je li ovo Vaša torba?
biti
to be (sam, si, je)
ovaj
this (m) / ova (f), ovo (n)
torba
bag
li
question particle
Questions & Answers about Oprostite, je li ovo Vaša torba?
Why use Vaša instead of tvoja, and why is it capitalized?
Vaša is the formal word for "your", used when speaking respectfully to an adult you don't know well (using Vi). The capital V is a traditional way to show respect in written Croatian. If you were asking a friend or a child (using ti), you would use the informal tvoja.
Is Oprostite also formal? How do I say it to a friend?
Yes! The -te at the end of Oprostite shows that it matches the formal Vi (it is also used when addressing multiple people). If you accidentally bumped into a close friend, you would use the informal version: Oprosti.
Why do we need the word li in je li ovo...?
In English, you can just move the verb to the front to ask a question ("Is this...?"). In Croatian, you usually add the question particle li right after the verb to turn a statement into a yes/no question. So, je li simply means "Is...?".
Why does Vaša end in 'a' while ovo ends in 'o'? Shouldn't they match?
Vaša changes to match torba (bag), which is a feminine noun, so it gets the feminine -a ending. However, ovo ("this") is acting as a general pointer here, meaning "this thing in general", so it stays in its default neutral form (neuter) rather than matching the bag.