Preplata je veća od rate.

Because preplata is a feminine singular noun, and the adjective has to agree with it in gender and number.

• preplata = feminine singular
• veća = feminine singular comparative form of velik (big / large / greater)

Compare:

• veći = masculine singular
• veća = feminine singular
• veće = neuter singular

So Preplata je veća... means the adjective is matching preplata correctly.

Veća is the comparative form of velika / velik / veliko.

Basic idea:

• velik = big, large
• veći / veća / veće = bigger, larger, greater

In this sentence, veća means greater / bigger.

So the structure is:

• Preplata = subject
• je = is
• veća = greater / bigger
• od rate = than the installment

In Serbian, when you compare one thing directly with another after a comparative adjective like veći / manji / bolji / gori, you very often use od + genitive.

So:

• veća od rate = greater than the installment

This is a very common pattern:

• stariji od mene = older than me
• manji od kuće = smaller than the house
• bolji od drugih = better than others

So od here corresponds to English than.

Because od requires the genitive case.

The noun is:

• rata = installment, payment in installments

But after od, it changes to the genitive singular:

• od rate

So the sentence shows a standard case change:

• nominative: rata
• genitive: rate

That is why you get od rate, not od rata.

Rate is genitive singular.

That happens because the preposition od normally takes the genitive.

So:

• rata = nominative singular
• rate = genitive singular

A learner should notice that the second noun in comparisons with od usually appears in the genitive.

In a normal present-tense statement like this, yes.

• je is the 3rd person singular of biti = to be
• Preplata je veća od rate. = The overpayment is greater than the installment.

In colloquial speech, Serbian sometimes drops forms of jesam in certain contexts, but in a standard sentence like this, je should be there.

Yes, Serbian word order is more flexible than English, but the neutral, most natural order here is:

• Preplata je veća od rate.

Other orders may be possible for emphasis, for example:

• Veća je preplata od rate.
• Od rate je preplata veća.

But these sound more marked or context-dependent. For a learner, the safest version is the original one.

With a simple noun comparison like this, od + genitive is the standard and best choice:

• Preplata je veća od rate.

Nego is more commonly used in other comparison patterns, especially when what follows is more clause-like, or in some fixed expressions. For a straightforward X is bigger than Y structure with a noun, od is the form learners should use first.

So in this sentence, od rate is the correct and expected pattern.

No. Serbian does not have definite or indefinite articles like English the / a.

So:

• preplata can mean an overpayment or the overpayment
• rata can mean an installment or the installment

The exact interpretation depends on context.

That means Serbian learners coming from English have to get used to understanding definiteness from the situation, not from an article.

Because preplata is the singular nominative form of a feminine noun.

Even though it ends in -a, that does not make it plural. In Serbian, many feminine singular nouns end in -a.

So:

• preplata = singular
• preplate = plural

Likewise:

• rata = singular
• rate = plural nominative, but also genitive singular depending on context

In this sentence, rate is genitive singular, not plural, because it comes after od.

No. They only look similar.

• rat = war
• rata = installment

In this sentence, rate comes from rata (installment), not from rat (war).

This is a good example of why case forms can sometimes resemble other words and confuse learners.

The dictionary forms are:

• preplata
• biti → here it appears as je
• velik → here it appears as veća
• od
• rata → here it appears as rate

So if you look the words up, you would usually search for:

• preplata
• biti
• velik
• od
• rata

The pattern is:

noun + form of biti + comparative adjective + od + genitive

In this sentence:

• Preplata = noun / subject
• je = form of biti
• veća = comparative adjective
• od rate = comparison phrase

This is a very useful model you can reuse:

• Kuća je veća od stana. = The house is bigger than the apartment.
• On je stariji od mene. = He is older than me.
• Ova cena je niža od one. = This price is lower than that one.