Gume su nove.

• gume = tires
• su = are
• nove = new

So the whole sentence means The tires are new or Tires are new, depending on context.

Here, gume is plural: tires.

The singular is guma = tire.

A learner may notice that gume can also be another case form in other contexts, but in this sentence it is clearly nominative plural because:

• it is the subject of the sentence
• the verb su is plural
• the adjective nove is also plural

Because adjectives in Serbian must agree with the noun in gender, number, and case.

Here:

• gume is feminine plural
• so the adjective must also be feminine plural
• therefore: nove

Comparison:

• nova guma = a new tire / the new tire
• nove gume = new tires / the new tires

Su is the 3rd person plural present tense of biti = to be.

So:

• ja sam = I am
• ti si = you are
• on/ona/ono je = he/she/it is
• mi smo = we are
• vi ste = you are
• oni/one/ona su = they are

Since gume is plural, Serbian uses su = are.

In standard Serbian, you normally need su in this kind of sentence.

So the standard form is:

• Gume su nove.

You may sometimes hear shortened or more elliptical speech in casual contexts, but for learners, Gume su nove is the correct model to use.

Because su is a clitic in Serbian. Clitics are short unstressed words that usually go in second position in the sentence or clause.

So:

• Gume su nove. = normal order

You can also change the order for emphasis:

• Nove su gume. = The tires are new / It’s the tires that are new

But you would not normally place su just anywhere. Its position is more restricted than English are.

No. Serbian does not have articles.

So gume can mean:

• tires
• the tires
• sometimes some tires

The exact meaning depends on context.

That is why Gume su nove can be translated as:

• The tires are new
• Tires are new

In natural English, The tires are new is often the best translation.

A simple English-friendly approximation is:

GOO-meh soo NOH-veh

A few notes:

• g is always a hard g, like in go
• u sounds like oo in food
• e is usually like e in met, but cleaner and shorter
• v is a normal v

So:

• gume ≈ GOO-meh
• su ≈ soo
• nove ≈ NOH-veh

Yes. Serbian word order is more flexible than English, although not completely free.

Neutral statement:

• Gume su nove.

With emphasis on new:

• Nove su gume.

Both are grammatical, but they do not sound exactly the same in terms of emphasis.

For a beginner, Gume su nove is the safest neutral pattern.

You say:

Gume nisu nove. = The tires are not new.

Here:

• nisu = are not

So:

• su = are
• nisu = are not

The basic adjective is nov = new.

Because Serbian adjectives change form, you will see different endings:

• nov = masculine singular
• nova = feminine singular
• novo = neuter singular
• nove = feminine plural, or some other forms depending on case

In this sentence, you need nove because it agrees with gume.

Yes. Guma can also refer more generally to rubber, and in some contexts it can mean an eraser.

But in everyday usage, especially in a sentence like Gume su nove, it very naturally means tires.

So the sentence is normally understood as:

• The tires are new.