за + Accusative
Who or What Something Is for
Use за + акузатив to say who an item is intended for (recipient/beneficiary) or what purpose it serves (destination/function), corresponding to 'for' in English.
How It Works
The construction за + акузатив намене (accusative of purpose or designation) has two primary functions in Serbian:
- Designated Beneficiary or Earmarking: It specifies who or what something is intended for, as in Купио сам поклон за маму (I bought a gift for mum) or Имам пакет за комшију (I have a package for the neighbor). Note that when directly transferring something to a person, verbs like дати (give) or послати (send) canonically take a bare dative of recipient as their indirect object (Дао сам мами поклон, Послао сам Ани писмо). However, за + accusative can modify a noun directly (Имам поклон за маму) or function adverbially with a verb to express purpose, beneficiary, or destination (e.g., Радимо за породицу, Купили су стан за сина, or when handing something to an intermediary: Дао сам му пакет за Ану).
- Intended Function or Purpose: It specifies what an object or action is designed for, such as лек за главобољу (medicine for a headache), даска за пеглање (ironing board), or сто за стони тенис (ping-pong table).
Morphological Rules:
- The preposition за is strictly invariant and does not alter its spelling.
- The noun following за must be in the accusative case. In the singular, masculine nouns ending in a consonant follow masculine animacy rules: inanimate nouns keep their nominative form (сто за компјутер), while animate nouns take genitive endings (карта за брата). In the plural, however, this animacy split collapses: all regular masculine nouns take the ending -е via accusative plural (столови за компјутере, карте за дечаке). Masculine animate nouns ending in -а (like тата, деда, колега) decline like feminine nouns ending in -а and take -у in the singular via feminine accusative singular (поклон за тату, карта за колегу, just like карта за маму).
- Pronoun forms: Prepositions cannot take short clitic pronouns. When referring to people with personal pronouns, always use the stressed full object pronouns (e.g., за мене, за тебе, за њега, за њу, за нас, за вас, за њих) or the stressed reflexive себе (за себе) instead of clitic forms like ме, те, or се.
- Verbal restriction: In standard Serbian, prepositions cannot attach directly to an infinitive. To express purpose using a verb concept, use a verbal noun (e.g., машина за прање — washing machine) or switch to a clause with да + present tense.
Examples (4)
- Купио сам леп поклон за маму.
I bought a nice gift for mum.
Word by Word: Bought am nice gift for mum.
Here 'за маму' modifies the noun phrase 'леп поклон', designating the intended beneficiary in the feminine accusative singular.
- Имате ли неки добар лек за грло?
Do you have a good medicine for a sore throat?
Word by Word: Have you some good medicine for throat?
'За грло' expresses the specific purpose and target of the medicine, using an inanimate neuter accusative noun.
- Ова машина служи за прање судова.
This machine is used for washing dishes.
Word by Word: This machine serves for washing of dishes.
To express the purpose of an action after 'за', standard Serbian uses a verbal noun ('прање') rather than a verb infinitive.
- Резервисао сам сто за четири особе.
I reserved a table for four people.
Word by Word: Reserved am table for four persons.
'За четири особе' indicates destination and intended capacity using 'за' followed by an accusative phrase.
Common Mistakes
Attaching 'за' directly to an infinitive verb to indicate purpose.
Ово је апарат за кувати кафу.Ово је апарат за кување кафе.Prepositions in standard Serbian cannot govern infinitives. Express the purpose using a verbal noun ending in '-ње' (e.g., 'кување') or a purpose clause with 'да'.
Using 'за + accusative' instead of the bare dative for the direct recipient of a transfer verb.
Дао сам поклон за маму.Дао сам мами поклон.When handing over or delivering something directly to a person, verbs of transfer like 'дати' or 'послати' canonically take a bare dative indirect object ('Дао сам мами поклон', 'Послао сам Ани писмо'). Use 'за + accusative' to modify a noun ('поклон за маму') or when handing an item to an intermediary to hold or pass on.
Using the instrumental case instead of accusative to indicate purpose.
Ово је соба за гостима.Ово је соба за госте.'За' + instrumental indicates physical location behind something or temporal succession. For intended purpose or beneficiary, you must use the accusative ('за госте').
How It Connects
Learn This First
To use the preposition 'за' to express purpose or intended recipient, learners must already know how accusative noun endings work in the singular, including the animate vs. inanimate distinction for masculine nouns.
Related Patterns
- Recipients in the Dative
While 'за + accusative' marks designated earmarking or benefit, the bare dative is strictly required for direct recipients of communication and giving verbs.
Level 2 - Direct Objects
The preposition 'за' in this meaning strictly governs the accusative case singular and plural.
Level 1 - -ње / -ћеVerbal Nouns and Their Complements
Because 'за' cannot govern an infinitive verb, verbal nouns ending in '-ње' or '-ће' are required to express an activity's purpose.
Level 6 - за + InstrumentalFollowing and Longing
Contrast with 'за' governing the instrumental case, which denotes physical position ('behind' or 'at') rather than purpose.
Level 4 - зато / због тога / због + GenitiveExpressing a Cause
Contrast forward-looking purpose ('за + accusative') with backward-looking causes or reasons ('због + genitive').
Level 3
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Patterns that build on this one.
Words in This Pattern
Practice за + Accusative in Bubblegum
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