Locative Singular Forms

Level 2

Masculine and neuter nouns commonly have locative singular -u, while common feminine -a nouns have -i. Locative appears with a governing preposition.

How It Works

For ordinary patterns, learn grad/gradu, selo/selu and kuća/kući. Consonant-final feminine nouns such as noć also have their own locative in -i.

Some stems change: ruka → ruci. Do not insert a consonant change into every noun ending in -ka; lexical exceptions are part of the paradigm.

Dative and locative often share the same visible noun form. A recipient phrase Ani is dative, while o Ani is locative. The governing construction and, in some paradigms, accent or modifier variants distinguish their roles.

Examples (4)

  1. Živim u gradu.

    I live in the city.

    Masculine grad takes locative gradu.

  2. Ana je u selu.

    Ana is in the village.

    Neuter selo takes locative selu.

  3. Knjiga je u kući.

    The book is in the house.

    Feminine kuća takes locative kući.

  4. Prsten je na ruci.

    The ring is on the hand.

    Ruka shows a consonant alternation before the locative ending.

How It Connects

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

Locative Singular FormsLevel 2

Learn This First

Recognize the locative as a distinct case used with a governing preposition.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.