Kavez je u sobi.

to be

Breakdown of Kavez je u sobi.

• u: in
• soba: room
• kavez: the cage

Questions & Answers about Kavez je u sobi.

What does each word in Kavez je u sobi. mean?

• kavez = cage
• je = is
• u = in
• sobi = room in the form used after u for location

So the structure is very close to English: Cage is in room, with the natural translation The cage is in the room.

Why is je used here?

Je is the 3rd person singular present tense of biti = to be.

So:

• ja sam = I am
• ti si = you are
• on/ona/ono je = he/she/it is

In this sentence, kavez is singular, so Serbian uses je:
Kavez je u sobi. = The cage is in the room.

Unlike in some Slavic languages, Serbian normally does use the present-tense form of to be in sentences like this.

Why is it u sobi and not u soba?

Because after u, Serbian changes the noun depending on the meaning.

Here, u means in, describing a location, so soba changes to the locative singular form: