Moj brat je juče bio u bolnici.

to be

Breakdown of Moj brat je juče bio u bolnici.

• u: in
• moj: my
• brat: brother

Questions & Answers about Moj brat je juče bio u bolnici.

What case is brat in here?

Brat is in the nominative singular. It is the subject of the sentence, so Serbian uses the nominative case. This is also the basic dictionary form of the noun: brat = brother.

Why is it moj brat and not moja brat?

Because moj has to agree with brat in gender, number, and case.

• brat is masculine
• singular
• nominative

So the correct form is moj.

Compare:

• moj brat = my brother
• moja sestra = my sister
• moje dete = my child

What is je doing in this sentence?

Je is the 3rd person singular present form of biti = to be, and here it works as an auxiliary verb.

Serbian usually forms the past tense with:

present of biti + past participle

So:

• je bio = was / has been

In this sentence, English naturally translates it as was: Moj brat je juče bio u bolnici. = My brother was in the hospital yesterday.

Why is the past form bio?