Breakdown of U ormaru su pantalone, a na polici su knjige koje često čitam.
biti
to be
u
in
a
and
knjiga
book
Questions & Answers about U ormaru su pantalone, a na polici su knjige koje često čitam.
Why are ormaru and polici not in their basic dictionary forms ormar and polica?
Because they are in the locative case, which Serbian uses after u and na when talking about a location.
- u ormaru = in the closet / wardrobe
- na polici = on the shelf
Compare:
- u ormaru = in the closet
u ormar = into the closet
- na polici = on the shelf
- na policu = onto the shelf
So the sentence is describing where things are, not where they are going.
Why does the sentence begin with U ormaru instead of Pantalone?
Serbian word order is much more flexible than English word order. Starting with U ormaru puts the location first, as if setting the scene:
- U ormaru su pantalone = In the closet are the pants
- Pantalone su u ormaru = The pants are in the closet
Both are grammatical. The version in your sentence sounds natural when the speaker wants to focus on where things are.
Why is su before pantalone and knjige?