Language/Serbian/Grammar/Cases:-Nominative-and-Accusative

Serbian Grammar → Introduction to Serbian Grammar → Cases: Nominative and Accusative

As a Serbian language teacher with over 20 years of experience, I know how important it is to understand the basics of Serbian grammar. In this lesson, we will focus on two key cases in the Serbian language: Nominative and Accusative.

Nominative Case

The Nominative case is used for the subject of the sentence. When you want to identify a subject or tell who is doing the action, you'll use Nominative case. Let's look at sentence structure in Serbian to better understand this concept.

• The basic sentence structure in Serbian: Subject [Nominative case] + verb + predicate [Accusative case]
• Examples of Nominative case:

Serbian	Pronunciation	English
Ja radim.	Yah rah-deem	I work.
Ona peva.	Oh-nah peh-vah	She sings.
On voli film.	Ohn vo-lee film	He likes the movie.

In these examples, "Ja" (I), "Ona" (She), and "On" (He) are all in the Nominative case because they are the subject of the sentence.

Accusative Case

The Accusative case is used for the direct object of the sentence. When you want to identify who or what is receiving the action, you'll use the Accusative case. Let's take a look at some examples:

• Examples of Accusative case:

Serbian	Pronunciation	English
Ja kupujem lubenicu.	Yah koo-poo-yem loo-beh-nee-tsu	I'm buying a watermelon.
On jede jabuku.	Ohn yeh-deh yah-boo-koo	He's eating an apple.
Ona gleda film.	Oh-nah gleh-dah film	She's watching a movie.

In these examples, "lubenica" (watermelon), "jabuka" (apple), and "film" (movie) are receiving the action and therefore in the Accusative case.

It is important to note that masculine singular nouns have different endings in the Nominative and Accusative cases:

Nominative: hleb (bread) Accusative: hleba (bread)

Nominative: stola (table) Accusative: stol (table)

Nominative: profesor (teacher) Accusative: profesora (teacher)

For feminine singular nouns, the only difference is the ending of the accusative case, which will always end in "u".

Tips

• Learning cases can be difficult, but fear not! Practice makes perfect. Make sure to study and practice in order to gain confidence in using them correctly.
• Try to memorize the gender of the noun with its corresponding endings to help with accurate case usage.

Sources

• Serbian Grammar
• Nominative Case

Table of Contents - Serbian Course - 0 to A1

• Course Presentation

  ---

Introduction to Serbian Grammar

• Nouns: Gender and Number
• Cases: Nominative and Accusative
• Pronouns: Personal Pronouns
• Verbs: Present Tense
• Verbs: Past Tense

  ---

Introduction to Serbian Vocabulary

• Greetings and Introductions
• Numbers and Counting
• Food and Drink
• Family and Relationships
• Transportation and Directions

  ---

Introduction to Serbian Culture

• Traditional Serbian Music
• Religious Festivals
• Folk Dances
• Serbian Films
• Cuisine

  ---

Pronouns: Possessive Pronouns

• Verbs: Future Tense
• Adjectives: Comparative and Superlative
• Verbs: Imperative

  ---

Shopping

• Clothes and Accessories
• At the Market
• Banking and Money

  ---

Sports and Recreation

• Football in Serbia
• Winter Sports
• Music Festivals

  ---

Adjectives: Declension

• Verbs: Perfective and Imperfective
• Verbs: Reflexive Verbs

  ---

Jobs and Professions

• Places around Town
• Education and Learning

  ---

Literature and Poetry

• Medieval Serbian Literature
• Contemporary Serbian Poetry

  ---

Verbs: Conditional

• Verbs: Participles
• Verbs: Infinitives

  ---

Entertainment and Media

• Movies and Theater
• Music and Performances

  ---

Art and Artists

• Famous Serbian Painters
• Contemporary Serbian Art Scene

Related Lessons

• Verbs: Past Tense
• Past Participle in Serbian
• Verbs: Infinitives
• Verbs: Participles
• Prepositions
• Imperative Tense
• Gender
• Possessive Case in Serbian
• Verbs: Future Tense
• Plural