Imam četiri knjige.

Imam means I have. Its dictionary form is imati, which means to have.

Here, imam is the 1st person singular present tense form:

• ja imam = I have
• ti imaš = you have
• on/ona/ono ima = he/she/it has

Because Serbian usually drops subject pronouns when they are not needed.

The verb form imam already tells you the subject is I, so ja is normally unnecessary.

• Imam četiri knjige. = normal, neutral
• Ja imam četiri knjige. = also correct, but more emphatic, like I have four books

Četiri means four. It is the cardinal number used for counting things.

Examples:

• jedna knjiga = one book
• dve knjige = two books
• tri knjige = three books
• četiri knjige = four books

After the numbers 2, 3, and 4, Serbian uses a special counting form of the noun.

So:

• jedna knjiga = one book
• dve knjige = two books
• tri knjige = three books
• četiri knjige = four books
• pet knjiga = five books

With knjiga, the form after četiri is knjige.

A very useful pattern to remember is:

• after 1: singular
• after 2, 3, 4: special counting form
• after 5 and up: usually genitive plural

In meaning, yes: it clearly refers to more than one book.

Grammatically, after dva/dve, tri, četiri, Serbian uses a special number-related form. For knjiga, that form is knjige, which happens to look like the regular plural form in some contexts.

So for a learner, the safest practical idea is:

• it means books
• after četiri, you say četiri knjige

The dictionary form is knjiga, meaning book.

Some forms:

• knjiga = book
• knjige = books / also a counting-related form after 2, 3, 4
• knjigu = book (used in some object contexts, such as Vidim knjigu = I see a book)

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

So knjiga can mean:

• a book
• the book

The exact meaning depends on context.

That means Imam četiri knjige can mean:

• I have four books
• or, depending on context, I have the four books

Usually context makes it clear.

The whole phrase četiri knjige is the direct object of imam, since it tells what the speaker has.

With imati, English speakers often expect a simple accusative form, but numbers make Serbian grammar a bit special. After četiri, the noun appears in the counting form knjige.

So the important learner takeaway is:

• imati takes an object
• with numbers, noun forms follow number rules
• after četiri, say četiri knjige

Yes. Serbian word order is more flexible than English word order.

The neutral order here is:

• Imam četiri knjige.

But other orders are possible for emphasis or style, for example:

• Četiri knjige imam.

That sounds more marked, as if you are emphasizing four books.

For beginners, it is best to use:

• Imam četiri knjige.

A simple approximation for English speakers is:

EE-mahm CHEH-tee-ree KNYEE-gheh

A few notes:

• č sounds like ch in church
• knj is tricky; the nj sounds like ny in canyon
• g is always a hard g, as in go

So knjige is roughly: KNYEE-gheh

Yes, absolutely.

• Imam četiri knjige. = neutral, everyday
• Ja imam četiri knjige. = correct, but with extra emphasis on I

You might use ja if you are contrasting:

• Ja imam četiri knjige, a on ima dve.
• I have four books, and he has two.

The noun form changes depending on the number.

With knjiga:

• jedna knjiga = one book
• dve knjige = two books
• tri knjige = three books
• četiri knjige = four books
• pet knjiga = five books
• šest knjiga = six books

This is one of the most important number patterns to learn in Serbian.