Imam tri jabuke.

Imam is the 1st person singular present tense of the verb imati (to have).

So:

• imati = to have
• imam = I have

The ending -am tells you the subject is I, which is why Serbian does not need a separate word for I here.

Serbian often drops the subject pronoun when it is already clear from the verb form.

So:

• Imam tri jabuke. = normal, natural, neutral
• Ja imam tri jabuke. = I have three apples

Adding ja usually gives emphasis, contrast, or clarity. For example:

• Ja imam tri jabuke, a on ima dve.
  I have three apples, and he has two.

So in an isolated sentence, Imam tri jabuke is the most natural version.

It is the present tense.

More specifically:

• imati = infinitive, to have
• imam = present tense, I have

Serbian present tense is also commonly used for a general current situation, so Imam tri jabuke simply means that at the moment or in general, you possess three apples.

Tri is the Serbian word for three.

It is the basic cardinal number used when counting:

• jedan = one
• dva / dve = two
• tri = three
• četiri = four
• pet = five

In this sentence, tri directly modifies jabuke, so the phrase tri jabuke means three apples.

This is one of the most common questions learners have.

The dictionary form is:

• jabuka = apple

But after the numbers 2, 3, and 4, Serbian usually uses a special counting form of the noun. With jabuka, that form is jabuke:

• jedna jabuka = one apple
• tri jabuke = three apples
• pet jabuka = five apples

So:

• after 1: jabuka
• after 2, 3, 4: jabuke
• after 5+: jabuka

This pattern is very important in Serbian.

In meaning, it is clearly plural: we are talking about three apples.

But grammatically, the form after tri is a special numeral/counting form that looks like genitive singular for many feminine nouns.

That is why learners often get confused:

• jabuke can look like genitive singular
• but in tri jabuke, it means three apples

So the safest way to think about it as a beginner is:

• tri jabuke = the normal pattern you memorize for three apples

Serbian does not have articles like English.

So jabuke can mean different things depending on context:

• apples
• the apples
• some apples

In Imam tri jabuke, the meaning is usually just I have three apples, and context decides whether those are specific apples or not.

This is completely normal in Serbian.

Yes. The whole phrase tri jabuke is the direct object of imam.

In English, the object is three apples.
In Serbian, it works the same way at the sentence level:

• Imam = I have
• tri jabuke = three apples

The only extra complication is that Serbian changes noun forms after numbers, which is why you see jabuke instead of just the basic form jabuka.

Yes, Serbian word order is more flexible than English.

The most neutral order is:

• Imam tri jabuke.

But other orders are possible for emphasis, such as:

• Tri jabuke imam.

That version sounds marked or emphatic, something like:

• Three apples is what I have
• I have three apples (with extra focus on three apples)

So for a beginner, the safest default is:

• Imam tri jabuke.

A simple English-friendly approximation is:

• EE-mahm tree YAH-boo-keh

Word by word:

• Imam ≈ EE-mahm
• tri ≈ tree
• jabuke ≈ YAH-boo-keh

A few helpful notes:

• j in Serbian is pronounced like English y in yes
• u is like oo in food
• r in tri is a rolled or tapped r if possible

You do not need perfect accent right away; being clear with the sounds is more important at first.

You make it negative by changing imam to nemam:

• Imam tri jabuke. = I have three apples.
• Nemam tri jabuke. = I do not have three apples.

Nemam is the negative form of imam.

This is a very useful pattern:

• imam = I have
• nemam = I don’t have

A natural way is:

• Da li imam tri jabuke?

You may also see:

• Imam li tri jabuke?

Both mean Do I have three apples?

For learners, da li + verb is often the easiest question pattern to use.