Ova torba je puna papira, ali ona mala torba je prazna.

to be

Breakdown of Ova torba je puna papira, ali ona mala torba je prazna.

• ali: but
• mali: small
• ovaj: this

Questions & Answers about Ova torba je puna papira, ali ona mala torba je prazna.

Why do ova, mala, puna, and prazna all end in -a?

Because they all agree with torba, which is a feminine singular noun in the nominative case.

In Serbian, words like demonstratives and adjectives usually match the noun they describe in:

• gender
• number
• case

So with torba:

• ova torba = this bag
• mala torba = small bag
• torba je puna = the bag is full
• torba je prazna = the bag is empty

If the noun were masculine or neuter, the forms would change.

What is the difference between ova and ona?

They are both demonstratives, but they point to different things:

• ova = this (near the speaker)
• ona = that (farther away)

So:

• ova torba = this bag
• ona mala torba = that small bag

A useful extra note: Serbian often has a three-way distinction:

• ovaj / ova / ovo = near me
• taj / ta / to = near you or already mentioned
• = over there, farther away