мене / тебе / њега / ње

Full Object Pronouns

Level 2Sounds Like mene; tebe; n̂ega; n̂e

Serbian personal pronouns have two series: short unstressed forms (clitics like me, te, ga) and full stressed forms (мене, тебе, њега, ње). Full forms carry stress and are grammatically required after prepositions, for contrast or focus, when conjoined, and at the very beginning of a clause.

How It Works

In Serbian, personal pronouns have two parallel sets — full (stressed / long) and short (clitic / unstressed) forms — specifically in three oblique cases: the Genitive, Dative, and Accusative (the Locative and Instrumental cases have only stressed forms and never use clitics).

Singular Full Forms:

  • мене: 1st person singular (Genitive / Accusative) — me
  • тебе: 2nd person singular (Genitive / Accusative) — you
  • њега: 3rd person masculine/neuter singular (Genitive / Accusative) — him / it
  • ње: 3rd person feminine singular (Genitive only) — her (full Accusative is њу)

When must you use full forms?
1. After Prepositions: In standard modern Serbian, prepositions normally require full forms: од мене (from me), за тебе (for you), без њега (without him), осим ње (except her). Clitics do not follow prepositions in everyday usage, except in specific literary or fixed prepositional accusative idioms (such as преда њ, кроза њ, or poetic за ме).
2. Emphasis and Contrast: In neutral clauses, Serbian defaults to short clitics (e.g., Видим те = I see you). To contrast or emphasize the object, use the full form alone: Видим тебе or Тебе видим (I see YOU, not someone else). Note that adding an overt subject pronoun like Ја видим тебе adds focus to the subject (I) as well.
3. Coordination: When combining pronouns with и (and), или (or), or ни (neither), always use full forms: Позвао је мене и тебе.
4. Clause-Initial Position: Because clitic pronouns cannot start a sentence (due to Wackernagel's Law), any pronoun appearing first must be the full form: Њега знам од раније.
5. Short / Elliptical Answers: In isolated answers without verbs: — Кога тражиш? — Тебе.

Examples (4)

  1. Купио је ову књигу за тебе, а не за мене.

    He bought this book for you, not for me.

    Word by Word: Bought he-is this book for you, but not for me.

    The preposition 'за' requires the full accusative forms 'тебе' and 'мене'. Short clitics cannot follow prepositions.

  2. Њега смо већ упознали, али њу још нисмо.

    Him we have already met, but her we haven't yet.

    Word by Word: Him are already met, but her yet not-are.

    Because 'њега' appears at the very beginning of the clause and highlights contrast, the full form is obligatory.

  3. Сви су дошли на састанак осим ње.

    Everyone came to the meeting except her.

    Word by Word: All are come to meeting except her.

    The preposition 'осим' requires the Genitive case, which for the feminine 3rd person singular is the full form 'ње'.

  4. Директор је позвао тебе и мене у канцеларију.

    The director called you and me into the office.

    Word by Word: Director is called you and me into office.

    When direct objects are joined by the conjunction 'и' (and), full forms must be used instead of short clitics.

Common Mistakes

  • Using short clitic pronouns directly after prepositions.

    Ово је поклон за те.
    Ово је поклон за тебе.

    Prepositions mandate full pronoun forms. Short forms like 'те', 'ме', and 'га' cannot stand after prepositions.

  • Using 'ње' as an accusative direct object.

    Чекам ње испред школе.
    Чекам њу испред школе.

    Unlike masculine 'њега' which serves both Genitive and Accusative, feminine 'ње' is strictly Genitive. The full Accusative form is 'њу' (or clitic 'је'/'ју' in neutral sentences).

  • Using full pronouns in a neutral sentence.

    Different MeaningЈа видим тебе сваки дан.
    Видим те сваки дан.

    "Ја видим тебе сваки дан" is correct, but it stresses "you" ("I see YOU every day"). In a neutral sentence, Serbian uses the short clitic: "Видим те".

How It Connects

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мене / тебе / њега / њеLevel 2Full Object Pronouns

Learn This First

To understand full (stressed) object pronouns, learners must first be familiar with basic subject pronouns, understand direct objects in the accusative case, and know the unstressed clitic pronouns to which these full forms contrast.

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менеменетебењегање