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Questions & Answers about Šteta je strašna.
What is je doing in this sentence?
Je is the 3rd person singular present tense of the verb biti (to be).
So in Šteta je strašna, je means is.
A very literal breakdown is:
- šteta = damage / shame / pity
- je = is
- strašna = terrible / awful
In Serbian, forms of biti are often short clitic forms in the present tense, and je is one of them.
Why does šteta end in -a? Is it feminine?
Yes. Šteta is a feminine noun.
In Serbian, many feminine nouns in the nominative singular end in -a, and šteta follows that common pattern.
Because it is feminine, any adjective describing it also has to be feminine. That is why the adjective is strašna, not some other form.
Why is it strašna and not strašan or strašno?