Poruka je prevara.

to be

Breakdown of Poruka je prevara.

• poruka: message
• prevara: a scam; fraud

Questions & Answers about Poruka je prevara.

What does je mean here?

Je is the 3rd person singular present tense of the verb biti (to be).

So:

• poruka = message
• je = is
• prevara = fraud / scam / deception

In this sentence, je works exactly like is in English.

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Why are both poruka and prevara in the same form?

Because both are in the nominative here.

In Serbian, when you make a basic X is Y sentence, the subject is in the nominative, and the noun after biti is also often in the nominative:

• Poruka je prevara.

Here:

• poruka = subject
• prevara = predicate noun / complement

English learners sometimes expect a different case after to be, but Serbian commonly keeps this kind of structure in the nominative.

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Why is there no word for a or the?

Serbian has no articles.

So Poruka je prevara could mean:

• The message is a scam
• This message is a scam
• A message is a scam

depending on context, though some interpretations are more natural than others.

If Serbian speakers want to be more specific, they often use a demonstrative such as:

• Ova poruka je prevara. = This message is a scam.

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