-ме / -те

Neuter nouns with stem extensions are an essential topic to become confident with in Serbian declension.

1. Nouns ending in -ме (-ен- stems)
This is a small, closed class of inherited neuter nouns including име (name), презиме (surname), време (time/weather), раме (shoulder), семе (seed), племе (tribe), теме (crown of the head), and бреме (burden). In standard grammar, these expand the stem with -ен- in oblique cases and throughout the plural.

• Singular: Nom./Acc./Voc. remain име. Oblique cases insert the extension -ен-: Genitive им-ен-а, Dative/Locative им-ен-у, Instrumental им-ен-ом.
• Plural: Fully regular neuter plural based on the extended stem: Nom./Acc./Voc. им-ен-а, Dative/Instrumental/Locative им-ен-има. Notice that the stress shifts directly onto the extension vowel -е- in the plural (singular и̏ме, вре́ме [oblique singular вре̏мена] vs. plural имѐна, времѐна). In the Genitive Plural (име́нā, време́нā), the extension carries the long rising accent and the final genitive ending carries unaccented length.
• Important exception: The noun дугме ('button'), although ending in -ме, is an Ottoman Turkish loanword and belongs to the -ет- stem class (Genitive дугмета, not *дугмена).

2. Nouns with -ет- extension (-ет- stems)
This category predominantly consists of nouns ending in -е, along with neuter nouns ending in -о such as дрво ('tree' / 'wood') and уво ('ear').
The group includes:

• Words denoting offspring and young living entities: дете ('child'), пиле ('chick'), маче ('kitten'), јагње ('lamb'), теле ('calf').
• Inherited Slavic nouns like јаје ('egg') and уже ('rope').
• Turkish loanwords ending in -е such as дугме ('button'), парче ('piece'), буре ('barrel'), and ћебе ('blanket').
• Nouns ending in -о like дрво and уво: дрво expands with -ет- in oblique singular cases (Genitive дрв-ет-а, Dative дрв-ет-у). The noun уво can either decline without stem extension (Genitive ува, Dative уву, Instrumental увом) or with the -ет- extension (Genitive ув-ет-а, Dative ув-ет-у, Instrumental ув-ет-ом), taking the irregular plural уши.

• Singular: Nom./Acc./Voc. remain unextended (дете, пиле, дрво). In oblique cases, the extended stem with -ет- appears: Genitive дет-ет-а, дрв-ет-а; Dative/Locative дет-ет-у, дрв-ет-у; Instrumental дет-ет-ом, дрв-ет-ом.
• Neuter Accusative Rule: Even though words like дете or јагње are animate, all neuter nouns follow Nominative = Accusative in the singular: Видим дете (correct), never *Видим детета.
• Plural Patterns: In standard Serbian, the -ет- stem extension is restricted to singular oblique cases; standard plurals are not formed with *-ета (forms like *дугмета or *парчета are non-standard). Instead, these nouns form plurals through alternative means:
  • Offspring: Дете uses the suppletive collective noun деца. Young animals use collective nouns in -ад (јагњад, телад) or masculine diminutive plurals in -ићи (јагњићи, телићи).
  • Inanimate nouns and loanwords: Inanimate nouns ending in -е form their plural meaning through collective nouns in -ад (such as дугмад, бурад, парчад, ужад) or masculine count plurals in -ићи (such as дугмићи, бурићи, парчићи).
  • Јаје: Drops -ет- to form the regular neuter plural јаја.
  • Дрво: Uses дрвеће (collective) or дрвета (poetic/standard count plural for individual trees), whereas the unextended neuter plural дрва specifically denotes cut wood or firewood (e.g., цепати дрва).

3. Regular Neuter Nouns vs. Stems with Extensions
Do not confuse -ет- stems with regular neuter nouns ending in -е following a palatal consonant (like море 'sea', поље 'field', срце 'heart'). These regular neuter nouns decline without any stem extension: Genitive мора, поља, срца.