између / испред / иза + Genitive

Relative Locations

Level 2Sounds Like između; ispred; iza + genitiv

Use испред for "in front of", иза for "behind", and између for "between/among". Unlike some primary spatial prepositions, these three always govern the genitive case, whether you are describing static location or movement toward a place.

How It Works

In Serbian, relative spatial relationships are frequently expressed by compound prepositions formed historically with the prefix из- (such as испред, иза, and између). Synchronically, these function as independent prepositions that strictly require the genitive case.

1. Meaning and Usage
• испред refers to location directly before or in front of an entity: испред позоришта ("in front of the theater").
• иза refers to space in back of or behind an entity: иза дрвета ("behind the tree").
• између refers to the space dividing two entities, or location amid a group: између стола и столице ("between the table and the chair").

2. No Case Switching for Motion
Learners familiar with primary prepositions like у and на or међу, под, над, пред expect a switch between static location and directional motion. With испред, иза, and између, there is no switch:
• Static (где?): Мачка спава иза куће. ("The cat is sleeping behind the house.")
• Motion (куда?): Мачка трчи иза куће. ("The cat is running behind the house.")

3. Coordination with између
When connecting two distinct reference points, standard grammar requires both landmarks to take the genitive ending, linked by и ("and"):
• између + [Genitive 1] + и + [Genitive 2]
• Example: између апотеке и банке ("between the pharmacy and the bank").
When modifying a plural noun, simply use the genitive plural: између зграда ("between the buildings").

4. Pronouns After Prepositions
Always use the full (stressed) forms of personal pronouns (мене, тебе, њега, ње, нас, вас, њих), never clitic pronouns:
• Correct: испред мене, иза њега
• Incorrect: испред ме, иза га

Examples (5)

  1. Ауто је паркиран испред зграде.

    The car is parked in front of the building.

    Word by Word: Car is parked in-front-of building.

    'Зграда' (feminine noun) takes the genitive singular ending '-е' after 'испред'.

  2. Мачка спава иза телевизора.

    The cat is sleeping behind the TV.

    Word by Word: Cat is-sleeping behind television.

    'Телевизор' (masculine inanimate) takes the genitive singular ending '-а' after 'иза'.

  3. Апотека се налази између банке и поште.

    The pharmacy is located between the bank and the post office.

    Word by Word: Pharmacy itself finds between bank and post-office.

    Both 'банка' and 'пошта' are declined in the genitive ('банке', 'поште') joined by 'и'.

  4. Пас је брзо отрчао иза куће.

    The dog quickly ran behind the house.

    Word by Word: Dog is quickly ran behind house.

    Even though 'отрчао' indicates motion toward a destination, 'иза' still governs the genitive case ('куће').

  5. Он стоји испред нас у реду.

    He is standing in front of us in line.

    Word by Word: He stands in-front-of us in line.

    The full pronoun form 'нас' (genitive of 'ми') is required after the preposition.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the accusative case with verbs of motion instead of the genitive.

    Идем иза кућу.
    Идем иза куће.

    Unlike primary prepositions like 'у' or 'на', 'иза' always requires the genitive case, regardless of whether there is motion involved.

  • Declining only the first noun after 'између' and leaving the second in the nominative.

    Стојим између школе и пошта.
    Стојим између школе и поште.

    Both nouns coordinated by 'између ... и ...' must be inflected in the genitive case.

  • Using short unstressed (clitic) pronouns after these prepositions.

    Он је стао испред ме.
    Он је стао испред мене.

    Prepositions in Serbian cannot govern enclitic pronoun forms. Always use full forms like 'мене', 'њега', or 'тебе'.

How It Connects

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између / испред / иза + GenitiveLevel 2Relative Locations

Learn This First

To describe relative positions using prepositions like 'између' (between), 'испред' (in front of), and 'иза' (behind), learners need to know how prepositions govern the genitive case and how to form the genitive endings of nouns.

Words in This Pattern

измеђуиспредиза