Film je zabavan.

to be

Breakdown of Film je zabavan.

• film: movie
• zabavan: fun

Questions & Answers about Film je zabavan.

Why is there je in Film je zabavan?

Je is the present-tense form of biti (to be) for he/she/it is.

So the sentence is literally structured like:

• Film = film / movie
• je = is
• zabavan = entertaining / fun

In Serbian, you normally do use the verb to be in sentences like this. Unlike in some Slavic languages, you cannot usually leave it out in standard Serbian.

Why is the adjective zabavan and not some other form?

Because adjectives in Serbian must agree with the noun they describe.

Here, film is:

• masculine
• singular
• nominative

So the adjective also has to be masculine singular nominative:

• zabavan

Compare:

• Film je zabavan. = The film is entertaining.
• Knjiga je zabavna. = The book is entertaining.
  (knjiga is feminine, so zabavna)
• Dete je zabavno. = The child is entertaining / fun.
  (dete is neuter, so zabavno)

Is film really masculine in Serbian?