Lesson Goals
By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:
- Understand what grammatical cases are in Serbian
- Know the seven cases and their core functions
- Recognize case endings for singular and plural nouns (basic patterns)
- Identify which case to use in common sentence situations
1. What Are Cases?
Serbian is a case language — nouns, pronouns, and adjectives change their form (ending) depending on their grammatical role in the sentence.
The base form in the dictionary is Nominative singular.
2. The 7 Serbian Cases
Case | Serbian Name | Main Question(s) | Core Function |
1. Nominative | Nominativ | ko? šta? (who? what?) | Subject of the sentence |
2. Genitive | Genitiv | koga? čega? (of whom? of what?) | Possession, quantity, absence |
3. Dative | Dativ | kome? čemu? (to whom? to what?) | Indirect object, giving/receiving |
4. Accusative | Akuzativ | koga? šta? (whom? what?) | Direct object, movement towards |
5. Vocative | Vokativ | — | Addressing someone/something |
6. Instrumental | Instrumental | s kim? s čim? (with whom? with what?) | Means, accompaniment |
7. Locative | Lokativ | o kome? o čemu? (about whom? about what?) | Location, topics (always with prepositions) |
3. Core Meanings & Examples
1. Nominative — Subject
- Ana je studentkinja. — Ana is a student.
2. Genitive — Possession / Quantity
- Ovo je knjiga Ane. — This is Ana’s book.
- Čaša mleka. — A glass of milk.
3. Dative — Indirect Object
- Dajem knjigu Ani. — I am giving the book to Ana.
4. Accusative — Direct Object / Motion Towards
- Vidim Anu. — I see Ana.
- Idem u školu. — I am going to school.
5. Vocative — Address
- Ana, dođi ovamo! — Ana, come here!
6. Instrumental — Means / Accompaniment
- Pišem olovkom. — I write with a pen.
- Idem s Anom. — I am going with Ana.
7. Locative — Location / Topics (with prepositions)
- Pričamo o Ani. — We are talking about Ana.
- Živim u Beogradu. — I live in Belgrade.
4. Case Endings – Quick Reference (Singular)
Gender | Nominative | Genitive | Dative | Accusative | Vocative | Instrumental | Locative |
Masculine (consonant) | -∅ | -a | -u | -a | -e | -om | -u |
Feminine (-a) | -a | -e | -i | -u | -o | -om | -i |
Neuter (-o/-e) | -o/-e | -a | -u | same as Nom. | -o/-e | -om | -u |
Plural endings will be covered in each individual case lesson.
5. Why Cases Matter
Because Serbian has flexible word order, case endings are essential for understanding who is doing what to whom.
Changing a case can change the entire meaning of a sentence.
Example:
- Ana voli Marka. — Ana loves Marko.
- Marko voli Anu. — Marko loves Ana.
6. Mini Dialogue (Grammar Focus)
Ana: Kome daješ knjigu?
(To whom are you giving the book?) — Dative
Marko: Dajem je Ani.
(I am giving it to Ana.)
7. Vocabulary for This Lesson
Serbian | English |
knjiga | book |
mleko | milk |
škola | school |
olovka | pen/pencil |
Beograd | Belgrade |
voleti | to love |
videti | to see |
dati | to give |
ići | to go |
živeti | to live |
8. Practice
A. Identify the case used:
- Idem u školu. — ________
- Ovo je knjiga Ane. — ________
- Pišem olovkom. — ________
B. Translate:
4. I live in Belgrade.
5. We are talking about Marko.
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