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Learn Hardcore Serbian: Ovo je voda. - This is water.

Hardcore Serbian
/Lesson 1
/Ovo je voda.

Ovo je voda.

Word

Ovo je voda.

Meaning

This is water.

Part of speech

sentence

Pronunciation

Course

Hardcore Serbian

Lesson

Breakdown of Ovo je voda.

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Questions & Answers about Ovo je voda.

What does each word in Ovo je voda. do?

ovo = this
je = is
voda = water

So the structure is literally this is water.

Why is it ovo and not ova, since voda is feminine?

This is a very common question.

In Ovo je voda., ovo is a standalone demonstrative pronoun meaning this. In this kind of identifying sentence, Serbian very often uses the neuter singular form ovo, even if the noun after it is masculine or feminine.

So:

Ovo je voda. = This is water.
Ovo je Ana. = This is Ana.
Ovo je moj brat. = This is my brother.

But when the demonstrative directly modifies a noun, it agrees with that noun:

ova voda = this water
ovaj čovek = this man
ovo dete = this child

So:

Ovo je voda. = This is water.
Ova voda je hladna. = This water is cold.

What exactly is ?

je

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

So here it simply means is.

A useful mini-paradigm:

sam = I am
si = you are
je = he/she/it is
smo = we are
ste = you are
su = they are

In normal speech, je is a short clitic form, so it usually appears near the beginning of the sentence.

Can je be omitted?

In a normal sentence like this, no. You should keep it:

Ovo je voda.

Leaving it out would sound incomplete or non-standard.

What gender and number is voda?

Voda is a feminine singular noun.

You can see that in agreement:

hladna voda = cold water
čista voda = clean water

Both adjectives are in the feminine singular form because voda is feminine singular.

What case is voda here?

Here voda is in the nominative singular.

In simple identification sentences with to be, the noun after the verb is commonly in the nominative:

Ovo je voda.
To je kuća.
Ovo je Ana.

So the dictionary form voda is exactly the form used here.

Why is there no word for a or the?

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

So voda can mean:

water
the water

The exact meaning depends on context.

In this sentence, English would usually translate it as This is water.

How do you pronounce Ovo je voda.?

A simple beginner-friendly pronunciation is:

OH-vo yeh VO-da

A few key points:

o is a clear o
v is like English v
j is pronounced like English y in yes
a is a clear a

So je sounds like yeh, not like English jee.

Is the word order fixed?

Ovo je voda. is the normal, neutral order.

Serbian word order is more flexible than English, but not completely free. In particular, je is a clitic, so it usually goes in second position in the clause.

That is one reason Ovo je voda. sounds natural.

Other orders may be possible in special contexts, but they usually sound marked or emphatic rather than neutral.

Could I say To je voda. instead?

Yes, but the meaning changes slightly.

ovo = this
to = that
ono = that over there / that yonder

So:

Ovo je voda. = This is water.
To je voda. = That is water.

The choice depends on whether the thing is near you, farther away, or already being referred to.

How would this sentence be written in Cyrillic?

In Serbian Cyrillic, it is:

Ово је вода.

Serbian normally uses both scripts, Latin and Cyrillic, and this sentence means the same in either one.

How would I make this sentence negative or turn it into a question?

Negative:

Ovo nije voda. = This is not water.

Question:

Da li je ovo voda? = Is this water?
Je li ovo voda? = Is this water?

Both question forms are common. For a beginner, Da li je ovo voda? is especially clear and easy to use.

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