Policajac je na raskrsnici.

to be

Breakdown of Policajac je na raskrsnici.

• na: on
• raskrsnica: an intersection; junction
• policajac: a police officer

Questions & Answers about Policajac je na raskrsnici.

Why is there no word for the or a in this sentence?

Serbian does not have articles, so there is no separate word for the or a/an.

Because of that, policajac can mean either:

• the police officer
• a police officer

The context tells you which one is meant. So Policajac je na raskrsnici could be understood as either The police officer is at the intersection or A police officer is at the intersection.

What is je here?

Je is the 3rd person singular present tense of biti, which means to be.

So:

• policajac = police officer
• je = is
• na raskrsnici = at the intersection

In this sentence, je simply means is.

Can je be omitted?

Normally, no. In standard Serbian, you keep je in a sentence like this.

So:

• Policajac je na raskrsnici. = correct
• Policajac na raskrsnici. = not a normal full sentence in standard Serbian

This is different from some other Slavic languages where the present tense of to be is often omitted.