Pas ima malu šapu.

It breaks down like this:

• pas = dog

  • This is the subject of the sentence.
  • It is in the nominative singular.

• ima = has

  • This is the 3rd person singular present tense of imati (to have).

• malu šapu = small paw

  • This is the direct object.
  • Both words are in the accusative singular.

So the structure is basically:

subject + verb + object
Pas + ima + malu šapu

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

So pas can mean:

• a dog
• the dog

and the context tells you which meaning is intended.

That means Pas ima malu šapu could mean:

• A dog has a small paw
• The dog has a small paw

depending on the situation.

Because šapu is the accusative singular form of šapa.

• šapa = nominative singular
• šapu = accusative singular

Here, šapa is the direct object of ima, and after imati (to have), the thing being had normally goes in the accusative.

So:

• šapa = paw as a subject or dictionary form
• šapu = paw as the object in this sentence

Example:

• Šapa je mala. = The paw is small.

  • subject, so šapa

• Pas ima malu šapu. = The dog has a small paw.

  • object, so šapu

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

• gender
• number
• case

The noun šapa is:

• feminine
• singular
• accusative in this sentence

So the adjective mali (small) must match that form:

• mala šapa = nominative singular feminine
• malu šapu = accusative singular feminine

That is why both words change:

• mala → malu
• šapa → šapu

Because pas is the subject of the sentence, and subjects are normally in the nominative case.

The nominative singular form is pas.

So in this sentence:

• pas stays pas
• the object changes instead: šapa → šapu

A useful comparison:

• Pas ima malu šapu. = The dog has a small paw.

  • pas is the subject

• Vidim psa. = I see the dog.

  • here pas is the object, so it changes to psa

The base form is imati, which means to have.

Ima is:

• 3rd person
• singular
• present tense

So it matches pas (the dog / he/she/it).

A few present-tense forms of imati:

• ja imam = I have
• ti imaš = you have
• on/ona/ono ima = he/she/it has
• mi imamo = we have
• vi imate = you (plural/formal) have
• oni/one/ona imaju = they have

Yes. This is a very normal, neutral Serbian word order:

subject + verb + object

So Pas ima malu šapu sounds natural and straightforward.

However, Serbian word order is more flexible than English, because case endings show what each word is doing. You can move words around for emphasis, contrast, or style.

For example, other orders may be possible in context, but Pas ima malu šapu is the best basic version for a learner.

Yes. Pas is a masculine noun.

That is its grammatical gender. In many contexts, pas can mean a dog in general, but it is grammatically masculine. A specifically female dog is kuja.

This matters because grammatical gender affects things like:

• adjective forms
• pronouns
• some past-tense forms

In this sentence, though, the adjective is not matching pas. It is matching šapu, which is feminine.

The letter š is pronounced like sh in English shoe.

So:

• šapa sounds roughly like SHA-pa
• šapu sounds roughly like SHA-poo

A rough English-style pronunciation of the whole sentence is:

pahs EE-mah MAH-loo SHAH-poo

That is only approximate, but it gives the basic idea.

Mala šapa is a correct phrase, but only when the noun phrase is in the nominative.

For example:

• Mala šapa je slatka. = The small paw is cute.

But in your sentence, small paw is the object of has, so Serbian needs the accusative:

• mala šapa → nominative
• malu šapu → accusative

So in Pas ima malu šapu, the accusative is required.

You would usually say:

Pas ima male šape.

Here:

• šape = plural of šapa
• male = plural form of mali agreeing with šape

So the singular/plural contrast is:

• Pas ima malu šapu. = The dog has a small paw.
• Pas ima male šape. = The dog has small paws.

This is a useful way to see how both the noun and adjective change together.