Cities and Countries

Level 2

Cities and countries follow the same case rules as other nouns: u Sarajevu, u Mostaru, u Bosni, u Njemačkoj, iz Banje Luke.

How It Works

The ending depends on the question you are answering.

Place	Where? (u + locative)	To where? (u + accusative)	From where? (iz + genitive)
Sarajevo	u Sarajevu	u Sarajevo	iz Sarajeva
Mostar	u Mostaru	u Mostar	iz Mostara
Tuzla	u Tuzli	u Tuzlu	iz Tuzle
Banja Luka	u Banjoj Luci	u Banju Luku	iz Banje Luke
Njemačka	u Njemačkoj	u Njemačku	iz Njemačke

Feminine names in -a change as usual. Masculine names such as Mostar and Bihać add -u in the locative and add nothing in the accusative. Names of most countries follow the same rules, and the name of the country is Bosna i Hercegovina, with both parts changing: u Bosni i Hercegovini.

Examples (5)

Živim u Tuzli.
I live in Tuzla.
Tuzla becomes Tuzli after u when you are in the place.
Emina je iz Mostara.
Emina is from Mostar.
Iz asks for the genitive: Mostara.
Idemo u Bihać.
We are going to Bihać.
With movement, the masculine name stays the same.
Moja sestra radi u Njemačkoj.
My sister works in Germany.
Njemačka becomes Njemačkoj after u.
Haris putuje iz Banje Luke u Zenicu.
Haris is travelling from Banja Luka to Zenica.
Iz uses the genitive and u with movement uses the accusative.

Common Mistakes

Using the to-where form after u to say where you are.
Živim u Sarajevo.
Živim u Sarajevu.
To say where you are, u asks for the locative: Sarajevu.
Genitive missing after iz.
Ona je iz Banja Luka.
Ona je iz Banje Luke.
Iz always asks for the genitive, so both words change.

How It Connects

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

Cities and CountriesLevel 2

Learn This First

Places are proper nouns.

ja sam izI Am from
Saying where you are from uses them.
Level 1

Words in This Pattern

gradzemljauiz

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