имати + Accusative

Saying What You Have

Level 1Sounds Like imati + akuzativ

To state what you possess, have, or experience in Serbian, use the conjugated verb имати (to have) paired with a noun in the accusative case (direct object). Negation merges into a single word: немам, немаш, нема.

How It Works

The construction имати + акузатив is one of the most essential sentence patterns in Serbian. It expresses ownership, family relationships, physical traits, and ailments.

1. Conjugation of 'имати'
The verb conjugates regularly in the present tense:

  • ја имам (I have) | ми имамо (we have)
  • ти имаш (you have) | ви имате (you have, formal/plural)
  • он / она / оно има (he / she / it has) | они / оне / она имају (they have)

Since Serbian is a pro-drop language, personal subject pronouns (ја, ти, он...) are usually omitted unless used for contrast or emphasis (see leaving out a clear subject).

2. Accusative Singular Rules
Countable direct objects of affirmative имати appear in the accusative singular:

  • Feminine nouns (-а): End in -у (e.g., књига → Имам књигу; see feminine direct objects).
  • Masculine inanimate: Remains identical to the nominative (e.g., рачунар → Имам рачунар).
  • Masculine animate (people, animals): Takes the ending -а (e.g., брат → Имам брата; пас → Имам пса; see animate and inanimate objects).
  • Neuter nouns: Identical to the nominative (e.g., пиво → Имам пиво).

Note: For multiple items, plural direct objects take different endings (such as -е for masculine and feminine, or -а for neuter). Also, unspecified quantities, mass nouns, or abstract nouns regularly take the partitive genitive instead (e.g., Имам времена 'I have time', Имам новца 'I have money').

3. Negation: 'немати'
Serbian merges the negative particle не with this verb into one single word: немам, немаш, нема, немамо, немате, немају (see verb negation). Never write them separately as *не имам. Negative sentences also frequently use the genitive for non-specific, mass, or abstract concepts (e.g., Немам времена 'I don't have time', Немам новца 'I don't have money').

Examples (5)

  1. Имам књигу.

    I have a book.

    Word by Word: I-have book-[Acc.Fem].

    The feminine noun 'књига' changes to 'књигу' in the accusative case.

  2. Имам млађег брата и две сестре.

    I have a younger brother and two sisters.

    Word by Word: I-have younger-[Acc.Masc.Anim] brother-[Acc.Masc.Anim] and two sisters.

    Because 'брат' is a masculine animate noun (a person), it takes the accusative ending '-а'.

  3. Да ли имате слободну собу за вечерас?

    Do you have a free room for tonight?

    Word by Word: Whether you-have free-[Acc.Fem] room-[Acc.Fem] for tonight?

    The feminine noun phrase 'слободна соба' takes accusative endings '-у' ('слободну собу').

  4. Имамо нови аутомобил.

    We have a new car.

    Word by Word: We-have new-[Acc.Masc.Inan] car-[Acc.Masc.Inan].

    Because 'аутомобил' is masculine inanimate, its accusative form matches its nominative form.

  5. Она има плаве очи.

    She has blue eyes.

    Word by Word: She has blue-[Acc.Pl] eyes-[Acc.Pl].

    Here 'имати' is used with an accusative plural noun phrase to describe a physical attribute.

Common Mistakes

  • Writing the negative form of 'имати' as two separate words.

    Не имам времена.
    Немам времена.

    The verb 'немати' is one of the standard exceptions where the negative particle 'не' merges with the verb stem into a single orthographic word: 'немам', 'немаш', 'нема', etc.

  • Failing to add the '-а' accusative ending to masculine animate nouns.

    Имам старији брат.
    Имам старијег брата.

    Masculine animate nouns (people and animals) and their modifying adjectives do not stay in the nominative; they take genitive-accusative endings ('брата', 'старијег').

  • Using Russian-style prepositional possession ('У мене је...') instead of the conjugated verb.

    Код мене је пас.
    Имам пса.

    Serbian expresses basic personal possession through the conjugated verb 'имати' with an accusative object, rather than through prepositional constructions.

How It Connects

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

имати + AccusativeLevel 1Saying What You Have

Learn This First

Using 'имати + акузатив' requires knowing how to conjugate regular present verbs, how to put the possessed object into the accusative case, and how to express the negative counterpart 'немам'.

Words in This Pattern

имати