prije, poslije, za

Before, After, In

Level 3

Before, after and in a time span.

How It Works

wordmeaningexample
prijebeforeprije ručka
poslijeafterposlije škole
zain (from now)za dva dana

Prije and poslije are followed by a noun in the genitive: ručak becomes ručka, škola becomes škole.

Za followed by a length of time means that much time from now. The time word is in the accusative: za sat vremena, za dva dana, za pet minuta. After the numbers two, three and four, the noun looks like the genitive singular.

Prije with a length of time means ago: prije dva dana (two days ago).

Note: za has other meanings, such as for: kafa za mene (coffee for me). The words after it tell you which meaning it has.

Examples (4)

  1. Prije posla pijem kafu.

    Before work I drink coffee.

    Posla is the genitive of posao.

  2. Poslije ručka šetamo.

    After lunch we go for a walk.

    Ručka is the genitive of ručak.

  3. Dolazim za pet minuta.

    I am coming in five minutes.

    Za plus a time points ahead.

  4. Vratio sam se prije dva dana.

    I came back two days ago.

    Prije can also mean ago.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the nominative after poslije.

    Poslije škola idem kući.
    Poslije škole idem kući.

    Poslije takes the genitive.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

prije, poslije, zaLevel 3Before, After, In

Learn This First

These time prepositions take cases.

Words in This Pattern

prijeposlijeza