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Questions & Answers about On ima auto.
What does On mean?
On means he.
It is capitalized here only because it starts the sentence. In the middle of a sentence, it would normally be written on.
What does ima mean?
Ima means has.
It is the 3rd person singular present tense form of imati, which means to have.
For example:
- ja imam = I have
- ti imaš = you have
- on/ona/ono ima = he/she/it has
Why is there no word for a or the?
Because Serbian does not have articles.
So auto can mean:
- a car
- the car
The context tells you which meaning is intended.
Can I leave out On?
Yes. Serbian often leaves out subject pronouns when they are already understood.
So Ima auto is also a normal sentence.
However, if you omit on, then the sentence could mean:
- he has a car
- she has a car
- it has a car
The verb form ima does not show gender, so the context has to do that.