No Articles

Level 1

Just say the noun: Pijem kafu. means both "I drink coffee" and "I am drinking a coffee".

How It Works

English needs "a", "an" and "the". Bosnian has no such words at all. One noun does the job of three English phrases.

BosnianEnglish
Imam sestru.I have a sister.
Sestra je kod kuće.The sister is at home.
Kafa je vruća.Coffee is hot / The coffee is hot.

Usually the situation is clear. When it is not, you can point with ovaj or taj: Ova kafa je vruća means "this coffee". You can also use jedan to stress "a certain one": Jedan prijatelj radi u Tuzli. Do not translate every English "the". In Bosnian the plain noun is correct and complete.

Examples (4)

  1. Pijem kafu.

    I drink coffee. / I am drinking a coffee.

    There is no word for "a".

  2. Kafa je vruća.

    The coffee is hot.

    There is no word for "the" either.

  3. Imam sestru.

    I have a sister.

    One noun covers "a sister".

  4. Ova kafa je vruća.

    This coffee is hot.

    Ova points at one cup when needed.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

No ArticlesLevel 1

Learn This First

Bosnian has no article, which is clearest after meeting nouns.

Words in This Pattern

član