Questions & Answers about Ovaj znak je važan.
Why is it ovaj and not ovo or ova?
Because znak is a masculine singular noun in Serbian.
The demonstrative this changes to match the noun’s:
- gender
- number
- case
In the nominative singular:
- ovaj = this (masculine)
- ova = this (feminine)
- ovo = this (neuter)
So:
- ovaj znak = this sign
- ova knjiga = this book
- ovo selo = this village
How do I know that znak is masculine?
In this sentence, you can tell from the form of the words around it:
- ovaj is masculine singular
- važan is also masculine singular
So they both agree with znak.
More generally, many Serbian nouns ending in a consonant are masculine, and znak ends in a consonant. That is a very common pattern:
- grad = city
- pas = dog
- znak = sign
But agreement in the sentence is often the safest clue.
Why is there je in the sentence? Can it be left out?