Questions & Answers about Ove banane su jeftine, ali ova jabuka nije jeftina.
Why do we say ove banane but ova jabuka?
Because ova/ove must agree with the noun in gender, number, and case.
Here both nouns are feminine, but:
- jabuka is singular → ova jabuka
- banane is plural → ove banane
The dictionary form of this demonstrative is ovaj, but it changes shape depending on the noun it goes with.
Why is the adjective jeftine with banane, but jeftina with jabuka?
For the same reason: adjectives in Serbian also agree with the noun in gender, number, and case.
So here we get:
- jabuka = feminine singular → jeftina
- banane = feminine plural → jeftine
The basic dictionary form is usually jeftin (masculine singular), but in real sentences you often see other forms.
What case are banane and jabuka in here?
They are in the nominative case, because they are the subjects of the sentence:
- Ove banane su jeftine
- ova jabuka nije jeftina
The words meaning and are the things being talked about, so nominative is used.