Kandidat čeka u kancelariji.

Kandidat is in the nominative singular because it is the subject of the sentence, the person doing the action.

• basic form: kandidat
• gender: masculine
• number: singular

In Serbian, the subject is usually in the nominative case, just like in this sentence.

Čekati is the infinitive, meaning to wait.
In the sentence, you need a conjugated verb, so Serbian uses čeka, which means he/she waits or is waiting.

This is the 3rd person singular present tense form:

• ja čekam = I wait / am waiting
• ti čekaš = you wait / are waiting
• on/ona čeka = he/she waits / is waiting

Because kandidat is singular, the verb is also singular: čeka.

It can mean both, depending on context.

Serbian present tense often covers both:

• he waits
• he is waiting

So Kandidat čeka u kancelariji can describe:

• a general present situation, or
• something happening right now

Serbian does not need a separate form like English is waiting.

Kancelariji is in the locative singular.

The basic noun is kancelarija = office.
After the preposition u when it means in a place, Serbian usually uses the locative case for location.

So:

• nominative: kancelarija
• locative: u kancelariji

The ending changes because Serbian nouns change form depending on their role in the sentence.

U usually means in or inside.

In this sentence, it shows location:

• u kancelariji = in the office

A very important pattern is:

• u
  • locative = being in a place
• u
  • accusative = movement into a place

Compare:

• Kandidat čeka u kancelariji. = The candidate is waiting in the office.
• Kandidat ulazi u kancelariju. = The candidate is going into the office.

Serbian normally has no articles.

So kandidat can mean:

• a candidate
• the candidate

And u kancelariji can mean:

• in an office
• in the office

The exact meaning depends on context. This is very normal in Serbian.

No, Serbian word order is fairly flexible because cases show the grammatical roles.

Kandidat čeka u kancelariji is a very neutral, natural order.

But other orders are possible, for example:

• U kancelariji kandidat čeka.
• Čeka kandidat u kancelariji.

These may sound more marked or emphasize a different part of the sentence.
For a learner, Kandidat čeka u kancelariji is the safest neutral version.

The letter č is pronounced like the ch in chocolate, but usually a bit firmer.

So:

• čeka sounds roughly like CHEH-kah

Also:

• kandidat = KAN-dee-daht
• kancelariji ≈ kan-tse-la-REE-yee

A useful thing to remember is that Serbian spelling is very phonetic: words are usually pronounced close to how they are written.

The dictionary form is kancelarija.

That is the nominative singular, the form you would normally find in a vocabulary list or dictionary.

In the sentence, it changes to kancelariji because it follows u in a location meaning, which requires the locative.

Grammatically, kandidat is a masculine noun, so in its literal form it refers to a male candidate.

If you specifically want to say female candidate, Serbian often uses:

• kandidatkinja

So:

• Kandidatkinja čeka u kancelariji. = The female candidate is waiting in the office.

That said, in some contexts masculine forms can be used generically, but for clear learning purposes, kandidat is masculine and kandidatkinja is feminine.

Yes, kancelarija is a common and standard word for office, especially meaning a room or workspace.

Depending on region and context, you may also see ured, especially in Croatian and in some formal usage. But in Serbian, kancelarija is very normal and natural.

Yes. The verb čekati is imperfective.

That makes sense because waiting is viewed as an ongoing action or state. In a simple present sentence like this, Serbian normally uses the imperfective verb.

So čeka presents the action as in progress or generally happening, not as a completed event.

Yes, very often.

Because čeka already tells you it is he/she/it singular, Serbian can say:

• Čeka u kancelariji.

This can mean He/She is waiting in the office, if the person is clear from context.

However, including kandidat makes the sentence clearer and more explicit.