-а / -е

Common Genitive Singular Forms

Level 1Sounds Like genitiv ǰednine na -a; -e

The genitive singular is the most common oblique case form in Serbian. Masculine and neuter nouns take -а, while nouns ending in -а take -е.

How It Works

In Serbian, the genitive case (генитив) is governed by more prepositions and fixed expressions than any other case. At this level, becoming proficient in the two primary singular endings, -а and -е, covers over 90% of singular genitive contexts.

1. Nouns Taking -а

  • Masculine nouns ending in a consonant append -а directly to the stem: прозор $\rightarrow$ прозора, студент $\rightarrow$ студента. Stems containing a fleeting a drop it: пас $\rightarrow$ пса, момак $\rightarrow$ момка.
  • Neuter nouns ending in -о or -е replace their final vowel with -а: позориште $\rightarrow$ позоришта, писмо $\rightarrow$ писма. Neuter nouns with stem expansion insert their consonant first: дете $\rightarrow$ детета, име $\rightarrow$ имена.
  • Masculine personal names in -о or -е also take -а: Марко $\rightarrow$ Марка.

2. Nouns Taking -е

  • Feminine nouns ending in -а replace -а with -е: кафа $\rightarrow$ кафе, Србија $\rightarrow$ Србије.
  • Masculine nouns ending in -а (names and kinship words like тата, колега, Никола) belong to this same declension class and replace -а with -е: тате, колеге, Николе.

3. Essential Common Contexts

  • Origin: из + genitive (из Србије — "from Serbia").
  • Non-existence: After the negative verb нема (Нема проблема — "There is no problem").
  • Nearby places: With prepositions like близу and поред (близу града — "near the city").
  • Possession & Quantity: Denoting "of" or an amount (центар града — "the center of town"; чаша воде — "a glass of water").

Examples (5)

  1. Ја сам из Србије.

    I am from Serbia.

    Word by Word: I am from Serbia.

    The feminine country name 'Србија' changes its final '-а' to '-е' after the origin preposition 'из'.

  2. Нема проблема.

    No problem.

    Word by Word: There-is-not problem.

    The negative existential verb 'нема' obligatorily takes the genitive singular ('проблем' + '-а' = 'проблема').

  3. Живим близу позоришта.

    I live near the theater.

    Word by Word: I-live near theater.

    The spatial preposition 'близу' requires the genitive; the neuter noun 'позориште' replaces '-е' with '-а'.

  4. Ово је ауто мог тате.

    This is my dad's car.

    Word by Word: This is car of-my dad.

    The masculine kinship noun 'тата' ends in '-а', so its genitive singular ending is '-е'.

  5. Хоћу чашу воде.

    I want a glass of water.

    Word by Word: I-want glass of-water.

    Partitive genitive indicating quantity: 'вода' takes '-е' to express 'of water'.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the accusative ending -у instead of the genitive ending -е after prepositions of origin.

    Идем из продавницу.
    Идем из продавнице.

    The preposition 'из' governs the genitive case, not the accusative. Feminine nouns in '-а' must take '-е' here.

  • Adding -а directly onto neuter nouns without dropping the base vowel.

    Живим близу позориштеа.
    Живим близу позоришта.

    Neuter nouns ending in '-о' or '-е' replace that final vowel with '-а'; they never attach '-а' behind the existing vowel.

  • Leaving a masculine name in -а unchanged in the genitive.

    То је стан од Никола.
    То је стан од Николе.

    Masculine names and nouns that end in '-а' (Никола, Коста, колега) decline like 'жена': genitive 'Николе', not 'Никола'.

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-а / -еLevel 1Common Genitive Singular Forms

Learn This First

To correctly form the genitive singular endings (-а for masculine/neuter and -е for feminine), learners must first be able to recognize noun gender and identify the base nominative singular shapes of standard masculine and feminine nouns.

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Words in This Pattern

-а