Kupac je pametan.

to be

Breakdown of Kupac je pametan.

• kupac: a buyer
• pametan: smart; clever

Questions & Answers about Kupac je pametan.

What does je mean here?

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

So:

• kupac = customer / buyer
• je = is
• pametan = smart / clever

That is why Kupac je pametan. means The customer is smart or A customer is smart, depending on context.

Why is there no word for the or a?

Serbian does not have articles like English a/an and the.

So kupac can mean:

• a customer
• the customer
• sometimes even customer(s) in a more general sense, depending on context

You usually understand which meaning is intended from the situation, not from a separate article word.

Why is the adjective pametan and not some other form?

Because pametan must agree with kupac in:

• gender
• number
• case

Here, kupac is masculine singular nominative, so the adjective also appears in the masculine singular nominative form: pametan.

Compare:

• On je pametan. = He is smart.
• Ona je pametna. = She is smart.
• Ono je pametno. = It is smart.