Language/Croatian/Grammar/Nouns-and-Cases

Croatian Grammar → Introduction to Croatian Grammar → Nouns and Cases

Nouns are essential elements of any language, they are the words we use to refer to things, people, places, and ideas. Croatian nouns, like in any other language, have various forms. They change according to different cases, number, and gender.

In this lesson, you will learn about Croatian noun declension and how to use different cases. You will also learn about the cases of the nouns in the Croatian language, including nominative, accusative, and genitive.

Croatian Noun Declension

Croatian nouns have seven cases: nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, vocative, instrumental, and locative. Each case has its own suffix, which is used to change the meaning of the word.

There are three genders in the Croatian language: masculine, feminine, and neuter. The gender of a noun affects its declension. For instance, masculine nouns have a different declension pattern from feminine and neuter ones.

Nouns with stressed syllables and nouns with unstressed syllables have different endings. There are also irregular nouns, which form their cases in unique ways. However, don't be overwhelmed by the number of rules and exceptions! With practice, it will become easier to recognize the patterns and use the correct forms.

Below is a declension table for the word "dom" (meaning "house"). It is an example of a masculine noun in the singular form:

Croatian	Pronunciation	English
dom (nominative)	dom	house
doma (genitive)	'dɔ.ma	of the house
domu (dative)	'dɔ.mu	to the house
dom (accusative)	dom	house
dome (locative)	'dɔ.me	in the house
dome (vocative)	'dɔ.me	house
domom (instrumental)	'dɔ.mɔm	with the house

You can observe that the word "dom" has multiple forms, each indicating a different case. In this case, the word "dom" is in the nominative case. In the genitive case, the word changes to "doma". In the dative case, it changes to "domu", and so on.

Common Nouns in Different Cases

Understanding Croatian noun declension requires practice, as there are different patterns and exceptions to learn. Here are some examples of common nouns in different cases to give you a sense of how they are formed:

Masculine Nouns

• krevet (bed)
  • krevet (nominative)
  • kreveta (genitive)
  • krevetu (dative)
  • krevet (accusative)
  • krevete (vocative)
  • krevetom (instrumental)
  • krevetu (locative)

• prijatelj (friend)
  • prijatelj (nominative)
  • prijatelja (genitive)
  • prijatelju (dative)
  • prijatelja (accusative)
  • prijatelju (vocative)
  • prijateljem (instrumental)
  • prijatelju (locative)

Feminine Nouns

• riječ (word)
  • riječ (nominative)
  • riječi (genitive)
  • riječi (dative)
  • riječ (accusative)
  • riječi (vocative)
  • riječju (instrumental)
  • riječi (locative)

• pjesma (song)
  • pjesma (nominative)
  • pjesme (genitive)
  • pjesmi (dative)
  • pjesmu (accusative)
  • pjesmo (vocative)
  • pjesmom (instrumental)
  • pjesmi (locative)

Neuter Nouns

• dijete (child)
  • dijete (nominative)
  • djeteta (genitive)
  • djetetu (dative)
  • dijete (accusative)
  • dijete (vocative)
  • djetetom (instrumental)
  • djetetu (locative)

• mjesto (place)
  • mjesto (nominative)
  • mjesta (genitive)
  • mjestu (dative)
  • mjesto (accusative)
  • mjesto (vocative)
  • mjestom (instrumental)
  • mjestu (locative)

Tips for Learners

Learning Croatian noun declension can be challenging, but it is a crucial step in mastering the language. Here are some tips to help you along the way:

1. Focus on the most common declension patterns and practice them until they become automatic. 2. Learn vocabulary together with their gender and the nominative form to recognize the right pattern. 3. Pay close attention to nouns with different declension patterns (e.g., oči/oka) and irregular nouns (e.g., sat/sata). 4. Practice, practice, practice - use the new vocabulary in context and check with a native speaker.

Sources

• Croatian Grammar
• Croatian Language Wikipedia Page

Table of Contents - Croatian Course - 0 to A1

• Course Presentation

  ---

Greetings and Introductions

• Basic Greetings
• Introducing Yourself

  ---

Nouns and Pronouns

• Nouns: Gender and Number
• Personal Pronouns

  ---

Numbers and Time

• Numbers 1-100
• Telling Time

  ---

Verbs and Tenses

• Present Tense of Regular Verbs
• Present Tense of Irregular Verbs

  ---

Daily Activities

• Common Activities
• Hobbies and Interests

  ---

Adjectives and Adverbs

• Adjectives: Gender and Number
• Comparative and Superlative Adjectives

  ---

Food and Drink

• Common Foods
• Eating Out

  ---

Croatian Culture and Traditions

• Holidays and Celebrations
• Traditional Music and Dance

Related Lessons

• Adjectives and Adverbs
• Questions
• Croatian Syntax and Style
• How to Use Be
• Give your Opinion
• Croatian Idiomatic Expressions
• Negation
• Prepositions and Pronouns
• 0 to A1 Course