Beba spava.

Serbian does not normally use a separate to be + -ing structure the way English does in is sleeping.

Instead, it simply uses the present tense of the main verb:

• spavati = to sleep
• spava = sleeps / is sleeping

So Beba spava. is literally something like Baby sleeps, but in natural English it is often understood as The baby is sleeping.

Spava is the 3rd person singular present tense form of the verb spavati (to sleep).

It matches subjects like:

• on spava = he is sleeping / sleeps
• ona spava = she is sleeping / sleeps
• ono spava = it is sleeping / sleeps
• beba spava = the baby is sleeping / sleeps

In the present tense, Serbian does not change the verb for gender in the 3rd person singular.

Yes. Beba is the subject of the sentence, so it is in the nominative singular.

Dictionary form:

• beba = baby

Since it is the one doing the action of sleeping, nominative is exactly what you would expect here.

Serbian has no articles like English a / an / the.

So beba can mean:

• a baby
• the baby

Which one is meant depends on context. In a simple sentence like Beba spava., English will often translate it as The baby is sleeping, but Serbian itself does not mark that with an article.

Grammatically, yes: beba is a feminine noun.

You can often tell because it ends in -a, which is a very common feminine ending in Serbian.

For example:

• ova beba = this baby (feminine form ova)
• mala beba = small baby (feminine form mala)

However, in Beba spava., the verb spava does not show feminine gender. The same verb form would be used with masculine or neuter singular subjects too.

Yes. Serbian present tense often covers both meanings.

So depending on context, Beba spava. can mean:

• The baby sleeps (habitual/general)
• The baby is sleeping (right now)

In real life, context usually makes it clear. If someone is pointing at a sleeping baby, the natural English translation is The baby is sleeping.

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

• Beba spava. = neutral, straightforward order
• Spava beba. = also possible, but with different emphasis or style

The version with the subject first, Beba spava., is the most basic and learner-friendly form.

No. Serbian often leaves out subject pronouns when they are not needed.

So you would normally say:

• Beba spava.

not:

• Ona spava.

unless you specifically want to emphasize she or contrast the subject with someone else.

This is because the verb form already tells you the person and number, and the noun beba is already present as the subject.

A simple approximate pronunciation is:

• Beba ≈ BEH-bah
• spava ≈ SPAH-vah

A few helpful points:

• Serbian e is usually like e in met, not like English ee
• a is usually like a in father
• every letter is pronounced clearly
• v is a true v sound

So the whole sentence sounds roughly like:

• BEH-bah SPAH-vah

The infinitive is spavati, meaning to sleep.

A useful mini-pattern is:

• spavati = to sleep
• spavam = I sleep / am sleeping
• spavaš = you sleep / are sleeping
• spava = he/she/it sleeps / is sleeping

So spava is the basic 3rd person singular present form of spavati.

Spavati is imperfective.

That matters because imperfective verbs are the normal choice for:

• ongoing actions
• repeated actions
• general states or habits

So Beba spava. is perfectly natural for The baby is sleeping.

A related perfective verb is zaspati, which means to fall asleep, not to be sleeping.

Compare:

• Beba spava. = the baby is sleeping
• Beba je zaspala. = the baby fell asleep / has fallen asleep

Because the noun beba is grammatically feminine regardless of whether the baby is male or female.

This is a common feature in many languages: grammatical gender and real-life sex are not always the same thing.

So even if you are talking about a baby boy, you can still say:

• beba
• ova beba
• mala beba

But in a sentence like Beba spava., the verb form itself does not show gender anyway, so there is no visible issue here.

Yes. Beba spava. is a fully complete, natural Serbian sentence.

It has:

• a subject: beba
• a verb: spava

Serbian does not require articles, and it does not need an extra word for is here, so nothing is missing.