Zub je oštećen.

to be

Breakdown of Zub je oštećen.

• oštećen: damaged
• zub: a tooth

Questions & Answers about Zub je oštećen.

What does each word do in Zub je oštećen?

• zub = tooth
• je = is (3rd person singular present of biti, to be)
• oštećen = damaged

So grammatically, zub is the subject, je is the verb, and oštećen describes the state of the tooth.

Why is it zub and not some other form like zuba?

Because zub is the subject of the sentence, it appears in the nominative singular.

• zub = nominative singular, tooth
• zuba can be genitive singular or accusative plural in other contexts

In Zub je oštećen, the sentence is simply stating something about the tooth, so nominative is the correct case.

Why is je used here?

Je is the present-tense form of biti (to be) for he/she/it is.

Serbian often forms sentences like this the same way English does:

• Zub je oštećen = The tooth is damaged

Without je, the sentence would sound incomplete in standard Serbian.

What exactly is oštećen?