Увод у падеже
Overview
A case is a form of the noun and its adjective that shows their role in a sentence - subject, object, possession, address. Serbian has seven cases. This lesson only introduces the system - the seven names and the question each answers. Full declension tables come later, in an A2 lesson.
The seven cases
Serbian has seven cases. The table lists each case and its question.
Nominative vs. accusative - the pair you need now
The nominative is the subject and dictionary form. The accusative marks a direct object: feminine nouns in -а change to -у (кућа → кућу). In the singular, inanimate masculine and neuter nouns keep the nominative form; animate masculine nouns are covered later.
Special cases
Use the vocative to address someone: many masculine names stay unchanged (Марко!), while many feminine nouns change (мама → Мамо!). With имати meaning ‘have’, the object is accusative (Шта имаш?). In existential има clauses, use genitive with mass nouns or plurals (Има воде, Има људи), but nominative with an affirmative countable singular (Има један проблем).
Tables
| Case | Question | Use |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | ко? шта? | subject of the sentence |
| genitive | кога? чега? | belonging, од |
| dative | коме? чему? | indirect object, ка |
| accusative | кога? шта? | direct object |
| vocative | - | direct address |
| instrumental | (с) ким? чим? | means, company |
| locative | о коме? о чему? | place, topic (always with a preposition) |
Examples
Compared with…
English lost case endings; word order and prepositions carry the role instead (the house stays the house as subject or object). Serbian marks the role on the noun itself, so word order is freer - the ending tells you who did what to whom.
Common mistakes
Tips & exceptions
- Learn every new feminine -а noun with both its nominative and accusative forms together (кућа/кућу) - that single ending swap is the one rule that pays off immediately.
- Masculine and neuter nouns for things don't change between nominative and accusative singular - resist the urge to add an ending.
- Don't try to memorize the full seven-case paradigm yet; for now it's enough to recognize that Serbian marks grammatical role on the noun, and to handle nominative vs. accusative for feminine -а nouns.
- Only masculine nouns referring to people or animals change in the accusative singular, unlike inanimate ones - that distinction and its ending are introduced in a later lesson. Neuter nouns never change between nominative and accusative singular, animate or not: дете (child) stays дете.
- There is no single vocative rule at this stage: some nouns keep the nominative form unchanged (many masculine names), others change (мама → мамо, most feminine -а nouns) - full vocative endings are covered later.
- A handful of very common feminine nouns don't end in -а at all (see the consonant-feminine exceptions in the lesson on noun gender) and decline differently again - not covered here.
Summary
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This lesson is the unit's first step. The grammar, the words and the first guided lesson are open to everyone; the rest of the unit's lessons and its text, dialogue and tasks come with Premium.