Language/Bosnian/Grammar/Noun-Gender-and-Plurals
Introduction
In Bosnian, like in other Slavic languages, nouns have gender. They can be masculine, feminine, or neutral. The gender determines the form of the noun, as well as the forms of adjectives and verbs that go with it. In this lesson, we will learn about noun gender, how to form plurals, and practice identifying the gender of nouns.
Noun Gender
In Bosnian, every noun has a gender, even inanimate objects. There are three genders: masculine, feminine, and neutral. There are no strict rules for determining the gender of a noun. However, many nouns ending in -a are feminine, while many nouns ending in a consonant are masculine. Nouns ending in -e can be either masculine or feminine, depending on the word. It is best to learn the gender of a noun together with its meaning.
Masculine Nouns
Masculine nouns have different endings in the singular and plural:
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| -a,-ak, -ar, -ac | -i |
| -o, -e | -a |
| -Ij-a,-ič, -an | -Iji |
Here are some examples:
| Bosnian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| pas (dog) | /pâːs/ | dog |
| grad (city) | /grâːd/ | city |
| dječak (boy) | /dʑeːtʃâːk/ | boy |
Feminine Nouns
Feminine nouns have different endings in the singular and plural:
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| -a, -ija | -e |
| -ost, -t, -šću, -djelj, -dost, -ina, -ica | -ice |
Here are some examples:
| Bosnian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| kuća (house) | /kûːtʃa/ | house |
| žena (woman) | /ʒêːna/ | woman |
| knjiga (book) | /kɲî-ga/ | book |
Neutral Nouns
Neutral nouns have different endings in the singular and plural:
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| -o | -a |
| -e | -a |
Here are some examples:
| Bosnian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| dijete (child) | /dʑîːtɛ/ | child |
| srce (heart) | /sr̩t͡sɛ/ | heart |
| jezero (lake) | /jêːz-rɔ/ | lake |
Forming Plurals
In Bosnian, the plural is formed by changing the ending of the noun. The rules for forming plurals depend on the gender of the noun.
Masculine Nouns
Most masculine nouns form the plural by replacing the -a ending in the singular with -i:
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| pas | psi |
| grad | gradovi |
| dječak | dječaci |
Some masculine nouns ending in -o and -e add -vi in the plural:
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| voće (fruit) | voćevi |
| mlijeko (milk) | mliječevi |
| stolj (tablecloth) | stoljčevi |
A few masculine nouns have irregular plurals:
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| Bog (God) | Bogovi |
| sin (son) | sinovi |
| otac (father) | očevi |
Feminine Nouns
Most feminine nouns form the plural by replacing the -a ending in the singular with -e:
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| kuća | kuće |
| žena | žene |
| knjiga | knjige |
Some feminine nouns ending in -ica have the plural ending -ice:
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| djevojka (girl) | djevojke |
| marica (rifle) | marice |
| čašica (small glass) | čašice |
A few feminine nouns have irregular plurals:
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| majka (mother) | majke |
| kći (daughter) | kćeri |
| sestra (sister) | sestre |
Neutral Nouns
Most neutral nouns form the plural by adding -a to the singular form:
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| dijete | djeca |
| srce | srca |
| jezero | jezera |
Some neutral nouns ending in -e add -a in the plural:
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| jaje (egg) | jaja |
| dijete (child) | djeca |
| stado (herd) | stada |
A few neutral nouns have irregular plurals:
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| ime (name) | imena |
| mjesto (place) | mjesta |
| zlato (gold) | zlata |
Gender of Nouns
As mentioned before, there are no strict rules for determining the gender of a noun in Bosnian. However, there are some general patterns that can help:
- Nouns ending in -a are usually feminine - Nouns ending in a consonant are usually masculine - Nouns ending in -e can be either masculine or feminine
However, there are always many exceptions, and it is important to learn the gender of a noun together with its meaning. Here are some examples:
| Bosnian | Gender | English |
|---|---|---|
| stolica | feminine | chair |
| noć | feminine | night |
| grad | masculine | city |
| auto | masculine | car |
| pivo | neutral | beer |
| sunce | neutral | sun |
Practice
Now that we know how to determine the gender of a noun and form plurals, let's practice by identifying the gender of the following nouns and forming their plurals:
- kuća (house)
- dječak (boy)
- majka (mother)
- krevet (bed)
- knjiga (book)
- leptir (butterfly)
- stolica (chair)
- auto (car)
- jaje (egg)
- ruka (hand)
Here are the answers:
| Bosnian | Gender | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| kuća | feminine | kuće |
| dječak | masculine | dječaci |
| majka | feminine | majke |
| krevet | masculine | kreveti |
| knjiga | feminine | knjige |
| leptir | masculine | leptiri |
| stolica | feminine | stolice |
| auto | masculine | auti |
| jaje | neutral | jaja |
| ruka | feminine | ruke |
Practice converting singular nouns to their plural form and vice versa, and try to use them in sentences.
Conclusion
In this lesson, we learned about noun gender and how to form plurals in Bosnian. We saw that there are three genders: masculine, feminine, and neutral, and that the rules for forming plurals depend on the gender of the noun. We also practiced identifying the gender of nouns and converting them to their plural form. Keep practicing, and soon using the correct gender and plural form will become second nature!