Serbian Cases Explained

A teacher explains the Serbian cases to her student by using gestures

Serbian language might be fairly easy to master due to its phonetic spelling. However, this thing is no longer a joke when it comes to grammar. Almost everyone frightens by the sound of Serbian cases, no matter if they’ve been taking language courses for two months or two years. Nevertheless, the cases in Serbian shouldn’t frighten you. As there’s a solution for almost everything in life, there must be a “cheat sheet” for this topic too. 

Fortunately, you’ll be happy to hear that it’s not even necessary to learn the complete list of cases to be fluent in Serbian. In this article, we’ll guide you through all seven cases. Also, we’ll let you know which aspects you can omit or compare to make your learning journey easier.

However, if you wish to speak correctly and use the language confidently, it would be better to learn step-by-step through gradual language lessons so you don’t end up overwhelmed or frustrated. 

The list and definition of Serbian cases

Grammatical cases in Serbian are both the charm of the language and the ones that cause a lot of trouble to their learners. However, once you get the hang of them and see that cases are there to help us, you won’t be as frightened to start mastering them.

We can think of grammatical cases in Serbian as our helpers. These guys tell us exactly who does what in a sentence. 

You might be wondering why don’t all the words help us realize that. The truth is that not all parts of speech can be declined (changed through cases) in Serbian. For instance, nouns and adjectives are the ones that can. However, verbs cannot. Therefore, let’s move on and see exactly how our helpers called Serbian cases do their job.

A frustrated language student biting a pencil
Once you learn about Serbian cases from a different perspective, your frustration will be over.

The list

  1. NOMINATIVE
  2. GENITIVE
  3. DATIVE
  4. ACCUSATIVE
  5. VOCATIVE
  6. INSTRUMENTAL
  7. LOCATIVE

 

Now that we have the names of all the grammatical cases, let’s learn more about each one.

Nominative

Nominative is the initial form of a word. A word in nominative case answers the question: KO? (Who) and ŠTA? (What).

Essentially, the words (nouns, pronouns, adjectives) you see in a dictionary are all nominative.

Let’s take a look at an example sentence:

Marko svira gitaru. (Marko plays guitar.) 

<Marko is nominative, as he is the one doing an action.>

Genitive

The second case is genitive. This case type answers the question OD KOGA? (From whom) and OD ČEGA? (What from). We use it to emphasize possession, a part of something/quantity, or where something came from.

The genitive is the case with the most different meanings in the Serbian language. We use it both with and without prepositions. 

When used without prepositions, it can carry some of the following meanings.

  • possession,
  • a part of something,
  • where something comes from, or detachment from something, and
  • a quality or a characteristic.

 

So, here are some examples:

Ovo je Tijanina mačka. (This is Tijana’s cat.)

<Tijanina mačka> possessive genitive

Popila je čašu soka. (She drank a glass of juice.)

<čašu soka> a part of something

Ovu ogrlicu sam dobila od svoje nane. (I got this necklace from my nana.)

<od svoje nane> ablative genitive – the one that shows where something comes from

Sofija je devojčica kovrdžave kose. (She’s a curly-haired girl.)

<kovrdžave kose> a characteristic

On the other hand, when we use the genitive grammatical case with prepositions, it can have some of the following meanings.

  • place,
  • time,
  • cause,
  • goal, and
  • means of doing something.

 

However, it would be good to know some of the most common prepositions that go with the genitive: od (from), do (to), iz (from), ispred (in front of), iza (behind), izvan (outside), unutar (inside), iznad (above), ispod (below), pre (before), posle/nakon (after), usred (in the middle), oko (around), blizu (near), pored (next to), umesto (instead), između (in between), zbog (because), etc.

Now, let’s take a look at example sentences.

Trešnja raste iza kuće. (A cherry tree grows behind the house.)

<iza kuće> place

Vidimo se posle časa! (See you after the lesson!)

<posle časa> time

Selena mora da odmara zbog virusa. (Selena needs to have rest because of the flu.)

<zbog virusa> cause

Idem u teretanu zbog zdravlja. (I go to the gym for health reasons.)

<zbog zdravlja> goal

Naučila je azbuku bez ičije pomoći. (She learnt azbuka without anyone’s help.)

<bez ičije pomoći> means of doing something

Dative

The dative grammatical case indicates the giving, purpose, and direction of an object. The questions it answers are KOME? (For whom) and ČEMU? (What for).

Furthermore, it can be used both with and without prepositions. When used without prepositions, dative can have:

  • the meaning of intent,
  • direction, and
  • belonging.

 

Thus, take a look at these examples.

Reci drugarima da dođu posle škole na tortu. (Tell your friends to stop by after school for cake.)

<drugarima> intent

Vrati se kući. (Come back home.)

<kući> direction

Daj mami ovo pismo. (Give this letter to your mom.)

<mami> belonging

On the contrary, when we use dative with prepositions, these are its possible meanings.

  • directedness, and
  • allowance for something to happen despite the circumstances or obstacles.

So, let’s illustrate with some examples.

Autobus juri ka sledećoj stanici. (The bus runs fast to the next station.)

<ka sledećoj stanici> directedness

Deca se igraju u parku uprkos kiši. (The children are playing in the park despite the rain.)

<uprkos kiši> allowance for something to happen

Accusative

In continuation, the accusative is the fourth Serbian grammatical case. This case indicates the object of a certain action.

It answers the questions: KOGA? (animate – What/Whom) and ŠTA (inanimated – What/Whom). 

Additionally, this case can also be used with and without prepositions. When no prepositions are used, they can indicate the object of the action and the object of a certain condition.

Juče su nas slikali za venčanje. (They photographed us for the wedding yesterday.)

<nas> the objective form of the pronoun ‘we’

Katarinu boli zub. (Katarina is in pain because of her tooth.)

<Katarinu> the object of the condition

Moreover, when accompanied by prepositions, the accusative means time, place, means of completing an action, and intent. Thus, here are the most used prepositions: kroz (through), uz (next to), na (on), o (around), po (on something), u (in), među (in between), nad (above), pod (under), pred (in front), etc.

Moj rođendan je u petak. (It’s my birthday on Friday.)

<u petak> time

Milica putuje u Crnu Goru. (Milica travels to Montenegro.)

<u Crnu Goru> place

Vikali su u sav glas. (They were yelling from the top of their lungs.)

<u sav glas> means of completing the action

Ovo je knjiga za tebe. (This book is for you.)

<za tebe> When indicating intent by using accusative, we use ‘za’ (for) preposition

Vocative

The fifth case on our list of Serbian cases is vocative. We use it for calling or addressing someone.

The usage of vocative is pretty simple. If you know how to say hello in Serbian, we’re sure you also understand how to use the vocative case. Thus, you can use it just by saying HEY! + (someone’s name in vocative).

Hej Ivana! 

Hej Milane!

Instrumental

As we’re approaching the end of our list, the sixth case awaiting is called instrumental. This case is used to indicate someone’s company or an instrument of action. 

Furthermore, it answers the questions SA KIME? (Who with) and SA ČIME? (By what).

So, let’s try to put it into use with the following example sentences.

Idem na plivanje sa sestrom. (I’m going swimming with my sister.)

<sa sestrom> company

Idem na posao biciklom. (I’m going to work by bicycle.)

<biciklom> the instrument of the action

Locative

Finally, locative is the last grammatical case in Serbian that indicates place. This case answers the question GDE? (Where), O KOME? (About who), O ČEMU? (About what).

So, here are the example sentences.

Hrana je u frižideru. (The food is in the fridge)

<u frizideru> place

Neću da mislim o njemu/o tome. (I don’t want to think about him/about that.)

<o njemu/tome> about who/what, used with verb of thinking

Tips and tricks on mastering Serbian cases quickly

Woah! Congratulations! You’ve successfully read through all the Serbian cases explanations. Now that you are familiar with them, here’s the timeline we recommend you learn them by.

  1. Start with nominative, as it’s just singular and plural of different nouns.
  2. Then learn all about different ways to express places with locative. Once you learn the endings for locative, you will immediately be able to use dative as well, because these two cases have identical forms, only their usage is different.
  3. Afterward, it’s time to focus on accusative and use it as a direct object.
  4. Then it would be good to add some types of genitive you find the most useful.
  5. Instrumental will become neccessary as soon as you wish to talk about how, with what and with whom you are doing something.
  6. Ultimately, add vocative and practice addressing people.
Notebooks, a phone, a pencil, and many sticky notes indicating that someone's studying hard
Make sure you check out our tips for easy grammatical case learning.

A cheat sheet of Serbian cases

Finally, here are some facts about grammatical cases in Serbian that will help you learn this topic more quickly and effectively.

  • Both singular and plural forms in dative and locative are the same.
  • All the plural forms of instrumental, dative, and locative are the same.
  • The vocative isn’t necessary to memorize in the beginning of your learning, as it’s only used to address someone. Even if you use nominative instead, everyone will understand you. First just listen to people using vocative and your ear will easily pick up the forms.
  • As soon as you learn a new word, you’ll know it’s nominative.
  • When talking about objects, it’s good to know that nominative and accusative in the singular masculine and neuter nouns have the same forms.
  • And if we talk about human beings or animals in masculine gender, genitive and accusative in the singular will have the same form. 
A hand holding a pen and writing in her notebooks
Finding out new ways to deal with certain difficulties is always helpful!

The takeaway from Serbian cases

And there you have it, the explanation of Serbian cases. However, we do encourage you to take it bit by bit and give yourself some grace, as this is one of the most challenging topics in the Serbian language. 

Finally, we have a small treat for you! Make your learning more enjoyable and systematic with our complete list of cases in Serbian. Get the full declension table and guide about special forms here, for free:

Serbian cases

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