Prodavac ima piletinu.

Because piletinu is in the accusative case, which is the case used for the direct object of the verb.

• Base form: piletina
• Accusative singular: piletinu

In this sentence, piletinu is the thing being had, so it must be in the accusative.

A very common pattern is:

• nominative for the subject
• accusative for the direct object

So:

• Prodavac = subject
• ima = verb
• piletinu = direct object

Ima is the 3rd person singular present tense of the verb imati, which means to have.

Present tense of imati:

• ja imam = I have
• ti imaš = you have
• on/ona/ono ima = he/she/it has
• mi imamo = we have
• vi imate = you all / you formal have
• oni/one/ona imaju = they have

So Prodavac ima piletinu literally follows the pattern:

seller + has + chicken

Prodavac means seller, salesman, shop assistant, or sometimes clerk, depending on context.

It is a masculine singular noun. If you want to refer specifically to a female seller, Serbian often uses:

• prodavačica = saleswoman / female shop assistant

In many everyday situations, prodavac can be understood more broadly as the person working in the shop who sells things.

Serbian does not have articles like English a/an/the.

So Prodavac ima piletinu could mean, depending on context:

• The seller has chicken
• A seller has chicken
• The shop assistant has the chicken
• The seller has some chicken

Context tells you which interpretation is most natural.

This is something English speakers often need time to get used to, because Serbian leaves definiteness unstated unless something else makes it clear.

Yes. Serbian word order is more flexible than English because case endings help show what each word is doing.

The most neutral order here is:

• Prodavac ima piletinu.

But other orders are possible, for example to change emphasis:

• Piletinu ima prodavac.
• Ima prodavac piletinu.

These versions are not all equally neutral. The original sentence is the most straightforward and natural for a basic statement.

For learners, it is best to start with:

subject + verb + object

Usually piletina means chicken meat, not a live chicken.

So this sentence is normally understood as talking about chicken as food.

If you mean a live chicken, Serbian would usually use a different word, such as:

• kokoška = hen
• pile = chick / young chicken

So piletina is more like chicken in the sense of food.

Yes. Serbian nouns have grammatical gender, and it matters for case endings and agreement.

In this sentence:

• prodavac is masculine
• piletina is feminine

That is why the object changes from piletina to piletinu in the accusative singular.

Gender becomes especially important when you add adjectives, pronouns, or past tense forms.

For example:

• dobar prodavac = a good seller
• sveža piletina = fresh chicken

So yes, gender is a basic part of how Serbian grammar works.

In this sentence, prodavac is in the nominative case, which is the case normally used for the subject.

Also, ima is singular, which matches prodavac as a singular noun.

Meanwhile, piletinu is in the accusative, which marks it as the direct object.

So even if word order changes, the case forms help you identify the roles:

• prodavac = the one doing the having
• piletinu = the thing being had

Usually, no. Serbian often omits subject pronouns when they are not needed.

So instead of saying:

• On ima piletinu. = He has chicken.

Serbian very often just says:

• Ima piletinu.

Or, if the noun is stated:

• Prodavac ima piletinu.

Because the verb form already shows the person and number, pronouns are often left out unless you want emphasis or contrast.

A rough pronunciation is:

• Prodavac ≈ pro-DA-vats
• ima ≈ EE-ma
• piletinu ≈ pee-leh-TEE-noo

A few useful sound notes:

• c in Serbian is pronounced like ts
• č and ć are different letters, but there is no č/ć in this sentence
• Serbian spelling is very phonetic, so words are usually pronounced much the way they are written

So the whole sentence is approximately:

pro-DA-vats EE-ma pee-leh-TEE-noo

In standard Serbian, the usual form is prodavac.

You may also see prodavač in some contexts or related usage, but prodavac is the standard common word for seller/shop assistant in this kind of sentence.

For a learner, the safest choice here is:

Prodavac ima piletinu.