Da li je ovo voz za centar?

this

Breakdown of Da li je ovo voz za centar?

• biti: to be
• da li: do
• voz: train

Questions & Answers about Da li je ovo voz za centar?

What does da li do in this sentence?

Da li is a standard way to make a yes/no question in Serbian.

So:

• Ovo je voz za centar. = This is a train for the center.
• Da li je ovo voz za centar? = Is this a train for the center?

It does not translate word-for-word very neatly into English; it is more like a question marker.

Why is it Da li je ovo... and not Da li ovo je...?

Because je is a short clitic form of to be, and in Serbian clitics usually go very early in the sentence, often in the second position.

So the normal order is:

• Da li je ovo...

not:

• Da li ovo je...

To an English speaker, this can feel unusual at first, but it is very normal in Serbian.

What is je here?

Je is the 3rd person singular present tense of biti = to be.

So here it means is.

• je = is

That is why the sentence means Is this a train for the center?

What does ovo mean exactly?