Ona je juče pisala pismo u sobi.

She wrote a letter in the room yesterday.

Breakdown of Ona je juče pisala pismo u sobi.

• ona: she
• u: in
• soba: room
• juče: yesterday

Questions & Answers about Ona je juče pisala pismo u sobi.

Why is je used here?

Je is the auxiliary verb to be used to form the past tense in Serbian.

In Ona je juče pisala pismo u sobi, the past tense is made with:

• the auxiliary je
• the past participle pisala

So the pattern is:

• ona je pisala = she wrote / she was writing

This is the normal way to form the past tense in Serbian.

---

Why is it pisala and not pisao?

Because the subject is ona, which means she.

In the Serbian past tense, the participle agrees with the subject in gender and number:

• pisao = masculine singular
• pisala = feminine singular
• pisalo = neuter singular
• pisali / pisale = plural

So:

• On je pisao = he wrote
• Ona je pisala = she wrote

Since the subject is female, pisala is the correct form.

---

What tense is ona je pisala?

This is the past tense, often called the perfect in Serbian grammar.

It is built like this: