Sveće su male, ali torta sa čokoladom je velika.

to be

Breakdown of Sveće su male, ali torta sa čokoladom je velika.

• velik: big
• ali: but
• mali: small

Questions & Answers about Sveće su male, ali torta sa čokoladom je velika.

Why is it su in Sveće su male, but je in torta ... je velika?

These are present-tense forms of the verb biti (to be).

• je = is for he/she/it
• su = are for they

So:

• Sveće su male = The candles are small
• Torta sa čokoladom je velika = The cake with chocolate is big

Because sveće is plural, Serbian uses su. Because torta is singular, Serbian uses je.

Why are the adjectives male and velika different?

In Serbian, adjectives must agree with the noun in gender, number, and case.

Here:

• sveće is plural
• torta is singular feminine

So the adjective changes to match:

• male = feminine plural form of mali (small)
• velika = feminine singular form of velik (big)

A few examples:

• mala torta = small cake
• male sveće = small candles
• velika torta = big cake