Direct Objects

The bare (prepositionless) accusative singular primarily functions as the direct object (прави објекат) of transitive verbs in Serbian. It answers the questions Кога? (Whom?, for animates) and Шта? (What?, for inanimates). Besides marking direct objects, the bare accusative also commonly functions as an adverbial modifier expressing duration, recurring time, or extent (such as цео дан or свако јутро). (Note that when the accusative is governed by prepositions such as у or на, it marks destination or direction rather than a direct object).

1. Feminine Nouns and Masculine Nouns Ending in -а
Nouns ending in -а (including standard feminine nouns ending in -а as well as masculine nouns ending in -а like тата, деда, колега, or names like Никола) take the ending -у in the accusative singular:

• књига → књигу (Ана чита занимљиву књигу)
• кафа → кафу (Пијем кафу)
• тата → тату (Видим тату)
• Никола → Николу (Познајем Николу)

Modifying feminine adjectives take -у (e.g., нову књигу), while adjectives modifying masculine nouns ending in -а take masculine accusative endings (e.g., мог доброг тату). Nouns belonging to the third declension (feminine consonant nouns, which include core everyday words like ноћ, ствар, and љубав, as well as productive abstract nouns in -ост/-ест such as радост) retain their nominative form with a zero ending (-Ø), though modifying adjectives take regular feminine -у (Видим тужну ствар).

2. Masculine Nouns Ending in a Consonant, -о, or -е: The Animacy Rule
For standard masculine nouns ending in a consonant or in -о/-е, the accusative singular form depends on whether the noun represents a living being (human or animal) or an inanimate entity:

• Inanimate: For masculine nouns ending in a consonant, as well as masculine inanimate nouns ending in -о or -е (such as ауто, радио, бифе, or vocalized nouns like сто, посао), inanimate nouns remain identical to the nominative singular (Acc = Nom). Modifying adjectives also match their nominative singular form, taking a zero ending (-Ø) in the indefinite aspect (e.g., Купио сам нов телефон) or -и in the definite aspect (e.g., Купио сам нови телефон, Возим овај брзи ауто).
• Animate: Masculine animate consonant-stem nouns (e.g., лекар, пас) as well as male personal names and kinship words ending in -о or -е (e.g., Марко, Ђорђе, Павле) take the ending -а, identical to the genitive singular (Acc = Gen). Examples: Марко тражи новог лекара; Видим Марка и Ђорђа. Modifying adjectives take -ог(а) or -ег(а).

Watch out for fleeting a in masculine animate stems (e.g., пас → пса, момак → момка).

3. Neuter Nouns
All neuter nouns in -о or -е are completely identical to their nominative forms in the accusative singular (Acc = Nom):

• писмо → писмо (Пишем писмо)
• село → село (Волим ово село)

Importantly, unlike masculine nouns, animate neuter nouns (such as young beings like дете, куче, маче) do not take an animacy marker; they simply keep Acc = Nom (e.g., Видим мало дете, Храним куче).

4. Word Order and Negation
Because case endings clarify grammatical roles, Serbian sentences allow flexible word order (e.g., Књигу читам places contrastive focus on the book). Furthermore, in contemporary standard Serbian, transitive verbs continue to govern the bare accusative even when negated (e.g., Не читам ову књигу).