Knjiga koju tražim nije na polici u sobi.

The book that I am looking for is not on the shelf in the room.

Breakdown of Knjiga koju tražim nije na polici u sobi.

• biti: to be
• u: in
• ne: not
• soba: room

Questions & Answers about Knjiga koju tražim nije na polici u sobi.

Why is it koju and not koja after Knjiga?

Because koju is the accusative singular feminine form of the relative pronoun koji.

In Knjiga koju tražim..., the pronoun refers back to knjiga (book), so it must agree with knjiga in gender and number: feminine singular.

But its case is not chosen by knjiga. Its case depends on its role inside the relative clause:

• tražim koga/šta? = I am looking for what?
• answer: koju = which/that

So:

• knjiga = nominative, because it is the subject of the main sentence
• koju = accusative, because it is the object of tražim

That is why Serbian uses koju, not koja.

What exactly is koju doing in this sentence?

Koju introduces a relative clause, the part koju tražim = that I’m looking for.

So the structure is:

• Knjiga = the book
• koju tražim = that I’m looking for

Together:

• Knjiga koju tražim = The book that I’m looking for

English often uses that, , or even no pronoun at all: