Ovaj prsten je nov.

to be

Breakdown of Ovaj prsten je nov.

• ovaj: this
• nov: new
• prsten: a ring

Questions & Answers about Ovaj prsten je nov.

What does ovaj mean here?

Ovaj means this.

In Ovaj prsten je nov., it points to a specific ring that is near the speaker or being talked about directly.

Serbian has different forms of this depending on gender and case. Here, prsten is masculine singular, so ovaj is the correct form.

For comparison:

• ovaj = this (masculine)
• ova = this (feminine)
• ovo = this (neuter)

So:

• ovaj prsten = this ring
• ova knjiga = this book
• ovo selo = this village

Why is it ovaj and not ova or ovo?

Because prsten is a masculine noun.

In Serbian, demonstratives like ovaj must agree with the noun they describe in:

• gender
• number
• case

Since prsten is:

• masculine
• singular
• nominative

the matching form is ovaj.

What gender is prsten, and how can I tell?

Prsten is masculine.

A lot of Serbian masculine nouns end in a consonant in the dictionary form, and prsten does too. That is a very common pattern:

• grad = city
• pas = dog
• prsten = ring

This is not an absolute rule for every noun in the language, but it is a strong and useful pattern for learners.