Zašto ste danas zatvoreni, a pekara je otvorena?

to be

Breakdown of Zašto ste danas zatvoreni, a pekara je otvorena?

• danas: today
• pekara: bakery
• otvoren: open

Questions & Answers about Zašto ste danas zatvoreni, a pekara je otvorena?

What does ste mean here?

Ste is the present-tense form of biti meaning to be.

Here it is the 2nd person plural form, so literally it means you are.

So:

• ste zatvoreni = you are closed

In Serbian, forms of to be are often very short and common:

• sam = I am
• si = you are, singular informal
• je = he/she/it is
• smo = we are
• ste = you are, plural or polite
• su = they are

Who is you in this sentence?

It could be:

• more than one person, such as shop workers, or
• one person addressed politely, or
• a business/store being addressed as you

In real life, this sentence would often be said to a shop, company, or staff member, for example in a message or comment online.

So even though English might say Why are you closed today?, Serbian uses the same structure naturally.

Why is there no word for you, like vi?