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Learn Hardcore Serbian: Vijak je kriv. - The screw is crooked.

Hardcore Serbian
/Assembling furniture with a friend
/Vijak je kriv.

Vijak je kriv.

The screw is crooked.

Breakdown of Vijak je kriv.

crooked; guilty

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Questions & Answers about Vijak je kriv.

What does je mean here?

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

So:

vijak = screw / bolt
je = is
kriv = crooked / bent / at fault / guilty, depending on context

In this sentence, je simply links the subject and the description, just like is in English.

Why is it kriv and not kriva, krivo, or krivi?

Because kriv has to agree with vijak.

Vijak is masculine singular, so the adjective is also masculine singular:

masculine singular: kriv
feminine singular: kriva
neuter singular: krivo
plural masculine: krivi

So:

Vijak je kriv.
Matica je kriva.
Dete je krivo.
Vijci su krivi.

There is also a second point: after je in a sentence like this, Serbian normally uses the short adjective form. So kriv is the expected form here.

Is vijak masculine? How can I tell?

Yes, vijak is masculine.

A very useful beginner rule is:

nouns ending in a consonant are usually masculine
nouns ending in -a are usually feminine
nouns ending in -o or -e are usually neuter

Since vijak ends in a consonant (-k), it is treated as masculine.

This is why the sentence uses:

vijak
je
kriv

and not kriva or krivo.

What case is vijak in?

It is in the nominative, because it is the subject of the sentence.

In Vijak je kriv:

vijak = the thing being talked about → subject → nominative
kriv matches it as a predicate adjective

So this is the basic dictionary form of the noun.

Why is there no word for the or a?

Serbian does not have articles like English a/an/the.

So vijak can mean:

a screw
the screw

The exact meaning depends on context.

For example:

Vijak je kriv. could mean The screw is bent or A screw is bent, depending on the situation.

Serbian speakers rely on context, word order, and sometimes extra words to show definiteness if needed.

Can kriv mean more than one thing?

Yes. Kriv can mean different things depending on context.

Common meanings include:

crooked / bent / not straight
guilty
at fault / to blame

So with an object like vijak, the natural meaning is often something like crooked or bent.
With a person, it more often means guilty or at fault.

For example:

Vijak je kriv. = The screw is bent/crooked.
On je kriv. = He is guilty / It is his fault.

So context is very important.

Why is the adjective not placed directly before the noun?

Because this sentence is using a predicate adjective, not an adjective directly attached to the noun.

Compare:

kriv vijak = a crooked screw
Vijak je kriv. = The screw is crooked.

In the first example, the adjective is part of the noun phrase.
In the second, the adjective comes after je, because it is the description given about the subject.

This is very similar to English:

a crooked screw
the screw is crooked

Can I leave out je and just say Vijak kriv?

In standard Serbian, no—you normally need je here.

So the normal sentence is:

Vijak je kriv.

Leaving out je may sound incomplete, very colloquial, poetic, or headline-like, but it is not the standard beginner form you should use.

So unlike in some other Slavic languages, for ordinary modern Serbian, keep je.

Can the word order change?

Yes, but Vijak je kriv is the most neutral word order.

Serbian word order is more flexible than English. Different orders can change emphasis:

Vijak je kriv. = neutral statement
Kriv je vijak. = emphasizes kriv or contrasts vijak with something else
Je li vijak kriv? = Is the screw crooked / at fault?

So the words can move, but the basic learning pattern is:

subject + je + adjective

How do you pronounce Vijak je kriv?

A simple English-friendly approximation is:

VEE-yak yeh kreev

A few helpful points:

j in Serbian is pronounced like English y
vijak sounds roughly like VEE-yak
je sounds like yeh
kriv sounds like kreev

Also, Serbian spelling is very phonetic, so once you know the sounds, reading gets much easier.

How would the sentence change with other genders or with the plural?

The verb and adjective must match the subject.

Examples:

Vijak je kriv. — masculine singular
Šipka je kriva. — feminine singular
Crevo je krivo. — neuter singular
Vijci su krivi. — plural

Notice:

singular uses je
plural uses su

And the adjective changes too:

kriv
kriva
krivo
krivi

This kind of agreement is one of the most important patterns in Serbian grammar.

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