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?

Because Serbian often drops subject pronouns when they are already clear from the verb form.

Since already tells you the subject is , Serbian does not need to say .