Questions & Answers about Ovo je moja porodica.
Ovo is the Serbian word for this. In this sentence, it is used to introduce or point something out, like when you show a photo and say This is my family.
A useful thing to know is that ovo is the neuter singular form of the demonstrative pronoun. Serbian demonstratives change for gender, but in sentences like this, ovo je... is the normal and very common way to introduce something.
Je is the 3rd person singular present tense of biti (to be).
So:
- ja sam = I am
- ti si = you are
- on/ona/ono je = he/she/it is
In Ovo je moja porodica, je means is.
Unlike some other Slavic languages, Serbian normally does use the present tense of to be, so you should not leave je out in a standard sentence like this.
Because moja must agree with porodica.
In Serbian, possessive words like my change form depending on the gender, number, and case of the noun they describe.