Lesson 102. Short and long forms
In the masculine singular nominative, many adjectives have two forms:
dobar brat (добар брат)
— a good brother (some brother)
dobri brat (добри брат)
— the good brother (that particular one)
- Short form (
dobar, velik, crn, plav) — indefinite meaning: “some kind of”. - Long form (
dobri, veliki, crni, plavi) — definite meaning: “that particular one”.
Only the short form after biti
On je dobar. (Он је добар.)
— He is good. (after 'to be' — short form)
Ona je lepa. (Она је лепа.)
— She is beautiful.
But in other cases there is no difference — both short and long endings work.