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Questions & Answers about Pas ima buvu.
What is ima here?
Ima is the 3rd person singular present tense of the verb imati, which means to have.
So:
- ja imam = I have
- ti imaš = you have
- on/ona/ono ima = he/she/it has
Since pas is singular, Serbian uses ima: Pas ima buvu.
Why is it buvu and not buva?
Because buvu is in the accusative case, which is the case used for a direct object.
In this sentence:
- pas = the subject, the one doing the having
- buvu = the thing being had, so it is the direct object
The noun buva is a feminine noun, and in the singular its forms are:
- buva = nominative
- buvu = accusative
So:
- Buva je mala. = The flea is small.
- Pas ima buvu. = The dog has a flea/flea.
Why does pas stay pas?
Because pas is the subject of the sentence, so it is in the nominative case, and the nominative singular form is pas.