Agent Nouns in -lac and -telj
Agent Nouns
Suffixes that name people by their action.
How It Works
| verb | doer | feminine |
|---|---|---|
| čitati (read) | čitalac, čitatelj | čitateljica |
| slušati (listen) | slušalac | slušateljica |
| učiti (teach, learn) | učitelj | učiteljica |
| pisati (write) | pisac, spisatelj | spisateljica |
These nouns are masculine, and the masculine is still used for a mixed or unknown group. A woman is usually named with the feminine in -ica (učiteljica); some words have -ka.
In nouns in -lac the l turns into o before an ending: čitalac, čitaoca in the genitive, čitaoci in the plural. The ones in -ac drop the a as well: pisac, pisca. The ones in -telj are regular: učitelj, učitelja.
In daily speech, people often use nastavnik (teacher) or profesor, and učitelj is more often used for primary school.
Examples (4)
- Ovaj pisac živi u Sarajevu.
This writer lives in Sarajevo.
Pisac comes from pisati.
- Naš učitelj je strpljiv.
Our teacher is patient.
Učitelj ends in -telj.
- Svaki čitalac bira svoju knjigu.
Every reader chooses their own book.
Čitalac ends in -lac.
- Slušaoci vole taj radio.
The listeners like that radio station.
Slušaoci is the plural of slušalac.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Suffixes for doers.
Related Patterns
Words in This Pattern
Practice Agent Nouns in -lac and -telj in Bubblegum
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