Ovo je škola.

This is one of the most common questions, and it is very important.

In Ovo je škola., ovo does not directly modify the noun škola. It means something like this thing / this here and is used to identify what something is.

So the structure is:

• ovo = this
• je = is
• škola = school

Even though škola is feminine, ovo is neuter because it refers to an unspecified thing being pointed out.

Compare:

• Ovo je škola. = This is a school / This is the school.
• Ova škola = this school

So:

• ovo = this (thing)
• ova = this before a feminine noun

Word by word:

• ovo = this
• je = is
• škola = school

So the sentence literally means:

• This is school
• More natural English: This is a school or This is the school, depending on context

Serbian usually does not use articles like a and the, so context tells you which English version fits best.

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

So:

• ja sam = I am
• ti si = you are
• on/ona/ono je = he/she/it is

In Ovo je škola., je means is.

A useful thing to know: je is a short clitic form, so it often appears in second position in the sentence.

The neutral, standard order is:

• Ovo je škola.

Serbian word order is more flexible than English, but not completely free. In this sentence, je usually stays in second position because it is a clitic.

So Ovo je škola. is the normal version.

Other orders may appear in special contexts, but they can sound marked, poetic, or contrastive. For a learner, the best pattern to remember is:

• Ovo je + noun

Serbian does not have articles.

English says:

• a school
• the school

Serbian simply says:

• škola

Context tells you whether the meaning is indefinite or definite.

So Ovo je škola. can mean:

• This is a school.
• This is the school.

The exact meaning depends on the situation.

Here škola is in the nominative singular.

That is the basic dictionary form of the noun.

In a sentence like Ovo je škola., the noun after je is normally in the nominative because it is identifying what something is.

So:

• dictionary form: škola
• in this sentence: still škola

Yes, škola is feminine singular.

A very common pattern in Serbian is that nouns ending in -a are feminine, although there are exceptions.

Because škola is feminine, words that directly describe or modify it must agree with it:

• ova škola = this school
• dobra škola = a good school
• ta velika škola = that big school

But in Ovo je škola., ovo is not directly modifying škola, which is why it stays ovo, not ova.

A simple learner-friendly pronunciation is:

• ovo ≈ OH-vo
• je ≈ yeh
• škola ≈ SHKO-la

A few details:

• š sounds like sh in shoe
• j sounds like y in yes
• o is usually a clear o, not a diphthong like in some English accents

So the whole sentence sounds roughly like:

• OH-vo yeh SHKO-la

Because š is a separate letter in Serbian, not just a decorated s.

It represents the sound sh, like in English shoe.

So:

• š = sh
• s = a plain s sound, like in see

That means škola is pronounced with sh, not s.

This spelling is completely normal in Serbian and should be learned as part of the alphabet.

Yes, you can, and it is very common.

The difference is roughly:

• ovo = this (something near the speaker, or being directly presented)
• to = that / it

So:

• Ovo je škola. = This is a school.
• To je škola. = That is a school. or sometimes It is a school.

In real speech, to je is extremely common for identifying things. But ovo je is especially natural when you are pointing to something close or introducing it directly.

In a normal full sentence, no—you should keep it:

• Ovo je škola.

Leaving out je would sound incomplete in standard Serbian.

In some very informal contexts, headings, labels, or note-style writing, parts of sentences can be omitted, but as a learner you should treat je as necessary here.

Because Serbian structures this kind of sentence differently.

English often uses:

• This is a school.
• It is a school.

In Serbian, ovo or to can do that job when pointing something out or identifying it.

So instead of needing a separate dummy pronoun, Serbian uses demonstratives naturally:

• ovo = this
• to = that / it

That is why Ovo je škola. is complete by itself.

You should say:

• ova škola

Here ova is the feminine form of this, and it agrees with škola.

Compare carefully:

• Ovo je škola. = This is a school.
• Ova škola = this school

This difference is very important:

• ovo = standalone this
• ova = this before a feminine noun

So if the noun is actually present right after this, you need agreement:

• ova škola
• not ovo škola