Ova priča je smešna.

to be

Breakdown of Ova priča je smešna.

• ovaj: this
• smešan: funny
• priča: a story

Questions & Answers about Ova priča je smešna.

Why is it ova, not ovaj or ovo?

Because ova has to agree with priča in gender, number, and case.

• ovaj = masculine singular
• ova = feminine singular
• ovo = neuter singular

Since priča is a feminine singular noun, the correct form is ova.

A few parallel examples:

• ovaj grad = this city
• ova knjiga = this book
• ovo selo = this village

How do I know that priča is feminine?

In Serbian, many nouns ending in -a are feminine, and priča is one of them.

So:

• priča = feminine singular noun
• nominative singular form = priča

That feminine gender affects the words around it, which is why you get:

• ova priča
• smešna priča
• ova priča je smešna

There are exceptions to the -a = feminine pattern, but it is still a very useful rule for beginners.

Why is it smešna and not smešan?