Prilaz je slobodan.

to be

Breakdown of Prilaz je slobodan.

• slobodan: free
• prilaz: an access way; approach

Questions & Answers about Prilaz je slobodan.

Why is there no word for the in Prilaz je slobodan?

Serbian does not have articles like a or the.

So prilaz can mean access, the access, or an approach/access, depending on context. In a real situation, the listener understands from the context which one is meant.

That is very normal in Serbian:

• Kuća je velika. = The house is big / A house is big depending on context
• Prilaz je slobodan. = The access is clear/open

What does je do in this sentence?

Je is the 3rd person singular present form of the verb biti = to be.

So the structure is:

• Prilaz = subject
• je = is
• slobodan = adjective describing the subject

Literally, it is:

Access is free/open/clear.

This is a very common Serbian sentence pattern:

• Grad je velik. = The city is big.
• Soba je čista. = The room is clean.

Why is it slobodan and not slobodna or slobodno?