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Questions & Answers about Ovo nema smisla.
Why is it nema and not ne ima?
In Serbian, the present-tense negative forms of imati are written as single words:
- nemam = I do not have
- nemaš = you do not have
- nema = he/she/it does not have
So ovo nema smisla is the normal form. Serbian does this with some very common verbs, so the negative is not always written as a separate ne + verb.
What exactly does ovo mean here?
Ovo means this.
It is the neuter singular form of the demonstrative pronoun. Serbian demonstratives change depending on gender:
- ovaj = this, masculine
- ova = this, feminine
- ovo = this, neuter
Here, ovo does not have to refer to a literal object. It can also refer to:
- a situation
- a statement
- an idea
- something happening right now
So ovo is often very broad, just like English this.
Why is it smisla instead of smisao?
The basic dictionary form is smisao, but after nema Serbian normally uses the genitive case, so it becomes smisla.
- = nominative singular