Zvezda je na ekranu.

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

So:

• zvezda = star
• je = is
• na ekranu = on the screen

A useful thing to know is that je is an unstressed form, so it usually appears near the beginning of the sentence.

Because after na in this sentence, Serbian uses the locative case to express location.

• base form: ekran = screen
• locative singular: ekranu = on the screen

So:

• na ekranu = on the screen

This is very common in Serbian:

• na stolu = on the table
• na zidu = on the wall
• na ekranu = on the screen

If you said na ekran, that would sound wrong for this meaning.

Yes, here na means on.

Serbian often uses na for surfaces, places, and things viewed as platforms or display areas, so na ekranu is the normal way to say on the screen.

Compare:

• na stolu = on the table
• na slici = in/on the picture
• na ekranu = on the screen

English sometimes says on and sometimes in, but Serbian has its own patterns. With screen, Serbian normally uses na.

Zvezda is in the nominative case, because it is the subject of the sentence.

The basic dictionary form is also zvezda.

In this sentence:

• Zvezda = the subject
• je = the verb
• na ekranu = a location phrase

So the structure is basically:

Subject + is + location

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

So zvezda can mean:

• a star
• the star

and ekranu can mean:

• on a screen
• on the screen

The exact meaning depends on context.

This is something English speakers often need time to get used to: Serbian usually leaves definiteness unstated unless the situation makes it clear.

Because je is a clitic. In Serbian, clitics are short unstressed words that usually go in the second position of the sentence or clause.

So in:

Zvezda je na ekranu.

• Zvezda comes first
• je comes right after it

This is very normal Serbian word order.

You will see the same pattern in many sentences:

• Ana je ovde. = Ana is here.
• Kuća je velika. = The house is big.

Yes, Serbian word order is more flexible than English word order.

For example, you can also say:

• Na ekranu je zvezda.

This still means essentially the same thing, but the focus changes a little.

• Zvezda je na ekranu. puts zvezda first.
• Na ekranu je zvezda. puts more attention on the location: on the screen.

Even when the order changes, je still tends to stay in second position.

Yes, zvezda is a feminine noun.

In this particular sentence, that does not change the form of je, because je is the same for all genders in the singular:

• on je = he is
• ona je = she is
• ono je = it is

But gender matters elsewhere in Serbian, especially with:

• adjectives
• past tense forms
• pronouns
• numerals

So it is useful to learn zvezda as a feminine noun from the start.

A simple pronunciation guide is:

ZVEZ-da ye na e-KRA-nu

A few details:

• z sounds like the z in zoo
• v sounds like English v
• e is like e in met, but cleaner and shorter
• j in Serbian sounds like English y in yes
• r in ekranu is a tapped or rolled r

So je is pronounced roughly like ye, not like English jee.

Yes, ekran is a masculine noun.

Its base form is ekran, and in the locative singular it becomes ekranu.

This pattern is common for many masculine nouns:

• grad → u gradu = in the city
• park → u parku = in the park
• ekran → na ekranu = on the screen

So the -u ending is a good clue that you are looking at a case form of a masculine noun.

In a normal present-tense statement like this, je should be there.

So:

• Zvezda je na ekranu. = correct

Leaving out je would sound incomplete in standard Serbian.

Serbian can sometimes omit forms of to be in certain styles, headlines, or special expressions, but not in an ordinary sentence like this one.