Rep je mali.

to be

Breakdown of Rep je mali.

• mali: small
• rep: the tail

Questions & Answers about Rep je mali.

What does rep mean, and what gender is it?

Rep means tail. It is a masculine noun in Serbian.

You can tell that mali is also in the masculine form here, because adjectives must agree with the noun they describe.

Why is je used in the sentence?

Je means is. It is the 3rd person singular present form of the verb biti (to be).

So:

• Rep = tail
• je = is
• mali = small

Together: The tail is small or A tail is small, depending on context.

Why is it mali and not some other form of mali?

Serbian adjectives change form to match the noun in:

• gender
• number
• case

Here, rep is:

• masculine
• singular
• nominative (because it is the subject)

So the adjective also appears in the masculine singular nominative form: mali.

Compare:

• mali rep = small tail (masculine)
• mala kuća = small house (feminine)