Flaša ima pola litra.

to have

Breakdown of Flaša ima pola litra.

• litar: litre
• flaša: bottle
• pola: half

Questions & Answers about Flaša ima pola litra.

Does Flaša ima pola litra describe the bottle’s capacity, or the amount inside it?

It can suggest either one from context, but most often it sounds like the bottle contains / holds half a liter.

If you want to be very clear:

• U flaši ima pola litra. = There is half a liter in the bottle.
• Flaša od pola litra = a half-liter bottle / a bottle with a 0.5 L capacity

So your sentence is understandable, but for pure capacity, Serbian often prefers flaša od pola litra.

Why is ima used here? Doesn’t it literally mean has?

Yes. Ima is the 3rd person singular of imati, meaning to have.

In Serbian, just like in English, have can be used for possession, but also for what something contains or holds:

• Kuća ima tri sobe. = The house has three rooms.
• Boca ima litar vode. = The bottle has / contains a liter of water.

So Flaša ima pola litra is literally The bottle has half a liter, but in natural English that is often better translated as The bottle holds/contains half a liter.

Why is it pola, not polovina?