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Learn Hardcore Serbian: Njegov posao je važan. - His work is important.

Hardcore Serbian
/Correcting an electricity bill
/Njegov posao je važan.

Njegov posao je važan.

Njegov posao je važan.

His work is important.

Breakdown of Njegov posao je važan.

Questions & Answers about Njegov posao je važan.

What does each word in Njegov posao je važan mean?

Njegov = his
posao = job / work
je = is
važan = important

So the sentence is literally structured as His job is important.

Why is njegov used here? Is it like his in English?

Yes. Njegov is the Serbian possessive adjective meaning his.

It agrees with the noun it describes. Since posao is:

masculine
singular
nominative

the form is njegov.

You will see other forms in other situations, for example:

njegova kuća = his house
njegovo dete = his child

So unlike English his, Serbian possessives change form to match the noun.

Why is it posao and not some simpler-looking form? What kind of noun is it?

Posao means job, work, or occupation, depending on context.

It is a masculine noun, and in the nominative singular its form is posao. This is a very common Serbian noun, but its declension can look a little irregular to learners because some forms lose the :

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-a-

nominative: posao
genitive: posla
dative: poslu

So in this sentence, posao is just the normal dictionary form because it is the subject of the sentence.

What is je? Is it always translated as is?

Je is the 3rd person singular present tense of biti (to be), so here it means is.

Examples:

On je ovde. = He is here.
Kuća je velika. = The house is big.

In Serbian, je is a clitic, which means it often takes a fixed position in the sentence, usually near the beginning or after the first stressed element. In a simple sentence like this, Njegov posao je važan, it works just like is in English.

Why is the adjective važan and not važna or važno?

Because adjectives in Serbian must agree with the noun they describe.

Here, važan describes posao, which is:

masculine
singular
nominative

So the adjective must also be masculine singular nominative:

važan for masculine
važna for feminine
važno for neuter

Compare:

Njegov posao je važan. = His job is important.
Njegova odluka je važna. = His decision is important.
Njegovo pismo je važno. = His letter is important.

Why are both posao and važan in the nominative?

Because this is a sentence with to be: X is Y.

In Serbian, the subject is in the nominative, and when an adjective describes that subject after je, it also appears in nominative agreement with the subject.

So:

posao is nominative because it is the subject
važan is nominative because it agrees with posao

This is similar to saying:

The job is important where important describes the job.

Can the word order change? Could I say Važan je njegov posao?

Yes, Serbian word order is more flexible than English word order.

You can say:

Njegov posao je važan.
Važan je njegov posao.

Both are grammatical, but they differ in emphasis.

Njegov posao je važan is neutral and straightforward.
Važan je njegov posao puts more focus on important.
Njegov je posao važan is also possible in some contexts, often with contrast or emphasis.

Serbian often uses word order to highlight what is new, important, or contrasted in the sentence.

How do I pronounce Njegov posao je važan?

A rough English-friendly guide:

Njegov ≈ NYEH-gov
posao ≈ po-SAH-o
je ≈ yeh
važan ≈ VAH-zhan

A few useful pronunciation notes:

nj is like the ny sound in canyon
j is like English y
ž sounds like the s in measure

So the full sentence sounds roughly like:

NYEH-gov po-SAH-o yeh VAH-zhan

What does the letter ž sound like in važan?

ž is pronounced like the sound in:

measure
vision
the g in mirage

It is the voiced version of š.

So:

š sounds like sh
ž sounds like the sound in measure

This letter is very common in Serbian, so it is worth getting used to early.

Can posao mean both job and work?

Yes, depending on context.

Posao often means:

job
work
task
business / matter

In Njegov posao je važan, the most natural translation is usually His job is important, but in some contexts it could also be understood more broadly as His work is important.

Serbian often relies on context, just as English does.

Could Serbian leave out njegov and just say Posao je važan?

Yes.

Posao je važan means The job is important or Work is important, depending on context.

Adding njegov makes it specifically his job. Serbian can often omit possessive words if the context already makes ownership clear, but if you want to emphasize whose job it is, njegov is the natural choice.

Is važan only used for things like jobs, or can it describe people too?

It can describe both things and people.

Examples:

To je važan sastanak. = That is an important meeting.
On je važan čovek. = He is an important man.

So važan works much like English important. As always, its form changes to match the noun:

važan (masculine)
važna (feminine)
važno (neuter)

Is this sentence formal, informal, or neutral?

It is neutral standard Serbian.

Nothing in Njegov posao je važan is especially formal or informal. It would sound normal in everyday speech, writing, and textbook examples.

It is a very useful model sentence because it shows:

a possessive adjective
a noun
the verb je
an agreeing adjective

So it is a good example of a basic Serbian sentence pattern.

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