код + Genitive

The preposition код always governs the genitive case.

1. Asking Questions and Expressing Location:
The standard question prompt for this construction is Код кога? (At whose place? / With whom? / To whom?).

For static location (answering Где?), код + genitive means being in someone's home, office, or company:

• Код кога си? — Who are you visiting? / Whose place are you at?
• Био сам код лекара. — I was at the doctor's.
• Синоћ смо били код баке. — Last night we were at grandma's.

When leaving someone's place, the natural correlative counterpart is од + genitive: Враћам се од лекара ('I am returning from the doctor's').

2. Movement and Register Nuance:
In everyday speech and general written Serbian, код + genitive is also widely used with verbs of motion answering Куда?:

• Идем код лекара. — I am going to the doctor's.
• Вечерас идемо код Милана. — Tonight we are going to Milan's.

Note that formal, administrative, or traditional literary registers often prefer the dative (with or without к/ка) for motion towards a person: Идем лекару or Идем к лекару.

3. Physical Custody and Possession:
When someone temporarily has an object in their custody or on their person, Serbian uses код + genitive:

• Кључеви су код комшије. — The keys are with the neighbor.
• Новчаник је код њега. — The wallet is on him / He has the wallet.
• Имаш ли новац код себе? — Do you have money on you?

4. Pronoun Forms and 'Код нас':
Prepositions always require the full (stressed) genitive pronouns (мене, тебе, њега, ње, нас, вас, њих) or the reflexive pronoun себе (код себе — 'on oneself'), never short clitics: say код мене, never *код ме.

A very frequent idiom is код нас and код вас: beyond meaning literally 'at our / your house', it often extends naturally to mean 'in our / your country', 'in our culture', or 'where we live' (e.g., Код нас се пије кафа после ручка — 'In our country / With us, people drink coffee after lunch').

5. People vs. Objects:
While код with an inanimate noun marks physical proximity ('near / by', as in код реке 'by the river'), with people it designates their dwelling, workplace, or presence.