Ovo je svijeća.

to be

Breakdown of Ovo je svijeća.

• ovo: this
• svijeća: candle

Questions & Answers about Ovo je svijeća.

What does ovo mean here?

Here, ovo means this.

In Ovo je svijeća., Croatian uses ovo je ... very naturally for identifying something: This is a candle.

A useful distinction is:

• ovo je svijeća = this is a candle
• ova svijeća = this candle

So ovo is standing on its own as a pronoun, not directly attached to the noun.

Why is it ovo, not ova, if svijeća is feminine?

That is a very common question.

Even though svijeća is feminine, Croatian often uses ovo je ... when pointing to or identifying something: this is ...

So:

• Ovo je svijeća. = This is a candle.
• Ova svijeća = this candle

In other words:

• ovo = this as a standalone pronoun
• ova = this before a feminine noun

Because svijeća is not being directly modified by ovo, the sentence uses ovo je, not ova je.

What does je mean?