Pas je živ.

Pas is the nominative singular form, which is the form used for the subject of the sentence.

• pas = the dog, as the subject
• psa = a different case form, used in other roles, such as the direct object in some contexts

Since the dog is the one being described, Serbian uses pas.

Je is the 3rd person singular present tense of the verb biti (to be).

So in Pas je živ, je means is.

A quick comparison:

• ja sam = I am
• ti si = you are
• on/ona/ono je = he/she/it is

So je matches the singular subject pas.

Serbian adjectives change form to match the noun in gender, number, and case.

Here:

• pas is masculine
• pas is singular
• pas is in the nominative

So the adjective must also be masculine singular nominative:

• masculine: živ
• feminine: živa
• neuter: živo

That is why the sentence uses živ.

Serbian normally does not use articles like English the and a/an.

So pas can mean:

• a dog
• the dog

The exact meaning depends on context.

This is very common in Serbian, so learners need to get used to understanding definiteness from the situation rather than from an article.

In standard Serbian, Pas je živ is the normal form.

You usually need je here because Serbian normally keeps the present tense of to be in this kind of sentence.

Leaving it out would sound incomplete or nonstandard in ordinary modern Serbian.

In normal Serbian word order, je is a clitic, which means it tends to appear in the second position of the sentence or clause.

So:

• Pas je živ. = normal

But:

• Je pas živ? = not the normal neutral way to say it

For a yes/no question, Serbian usually keeps the clitic behavior and uses other patterns, for example:

• Da li je pas živ?
• Je li pas živ?

So je has special placement rules that are important to learn.

The letter ž is pronounced like the s in English measure or the g in genre for many speakers.

So živ begins with that sound:

• ž ≈ zh

A rough English-style approximation of živ is zheev, though that is only approximate.

Also:

• i is like ee in see
• v is a normal v sound

So živ sounds roughly like zheev.

Usually živ means alive when talking about people or animals, but it can also have related meanings depending on context, such as lively or vivid.

In this sentence, with pas, the basic meaning is clearly alive.

So this is a very straightforward use of the adjective.

Yes, Serbian word order is more flexible than English, and Živ je pas is grammatically possible.

However, changing the word order changes the focus or emphasis.

• Pas je živ. = neutral statement
• Živ je pas. = emphasizes alive
• Pas živ. = not standard as a complete sentence in normal usage

So the original sentence is the best basic form for learners to remember first.

The plural is:

• Psi su živi. = Dogs are alive.

Here you can see all the matching changes:

• pas → psi = singular to plural noun
• je → su = singular to plural form of to be
• živ → živi = masculine plural adjective

This is a good example of agreement in Serbian.

Yes. The noun pas is a masculine noun in Serbian.

That grammatical gender affects:

• adjective forms: živ
• pronouns referring to it
• some past-tense forms and other agreement patterns

Even though the real dog could be female, the word pas itself is grammatically masculine. If you want to specify a female dog, Serbian may use a different word depending on context.

Živ is in the nominative singular masculine, matching pas.

In sentences with to be, predicate adjectives normally agree with the subject, so:

• subject: pas → nominative masculine singular
• adjective: živ → nominative masculine singular

This is why both words appear in forms that match each other.