Vanishing a

Level 3

A fleeting a appears in the base form and drops when an ending is added.

How It Works

Some words have an a between their last two consonants. When an ending is added, that a drops out.

NominativeGenitiveMeaning
paspsadog
momakmomkalad, young man
sastanaksastankameeting
lakatlaktaelbow

Adjectives do the same: dobar (masculine), dobra (feminine), dobro (neuter), dobri (plural). Another is sladak, slatka, where the consonant also changes.

The pattern is common but not a law. Words like grad (grada) and rat keep their vowel because it is a real part of the stem. A good habit is to learn the genitive with each new masculine noun.

If you add the ending to the full form, you get a mistake: pasa is the genitive plural, and it does not mean "of the dog".

Examples (5)

  1. Imam psa.

    I have a dog.

    The accusative of pas is psa; the a drops.

  2. Nema sastanka danas.

    There is no meeting today.

    Sastanak becomes sastanka.

  3. Kafa je dobra.

    The coffee is good.

    Dobar becomes dobra in the feminine.

  4. Vidim onog momka.

    I see that young man.

    Momak becomes momka in the accusative.

  5. Pas je u bašti.

    The dog is in the garden.

    In the nominative the a is still there.

Common Mistakes

  • Keeping the a.

    Vidim pasa.
    Vidim psa.

    In the singular genitive and accusative, pas loses its a.

How It Connects

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

Vanishing aLevel 3

Learn This First

A vowel may drop in case forms.