Dative in Serbian

Form:

Masculine Sg. grad+u
Masculine Pl. grad+ov+ima
Neuter Sg. sel+u
Neuter Pl. sel+i+ma
Feminine Sg. stvar+i / zemlj+i
Feminine Pl. stvar+ima / zemlj+ama

Usage:

Dative is a case which denotes a thing or a being to whom something is sent, directed or given. It is used both with and without prepositions.

Dative without prepositions:

1. Dative of purpose - Dedi i baki unuka poklanja osmeh.
2. Dative of benefit - Tesla je ucinio dobro ljudima.
3. Subject dative - Starcu se dremalo.
4. Possessive dative - Ja sam Petru brat.
5. Dative of affection - Kako si mi?
6. Dative in oaths - Tako mi postenja!
7. Dative with phrases evo, eno, eto - Evo ti jabuka!
8. Dative with verbs of movement - Petar pridje svom drugu.

Dative with prepositions:

  1. k, ka = to (dative only) - Krenuo je ka Parizu.
  2. prema = towards (both dative and genitive) -Idemo prema Srbiji.
  3. protiv, suprot, nasuprot, uprkos = against (dative only) - Pobedili smo uprkos vremenu.
( Dative with 'ka' and 'prema' are the ones most frequently used)

A gift travels towards someone; so does a smile, a message or a thought. The Serbian dative marks that receiver and also appears in expressions where an experience comes to a person: meni se spava.

Follow the arrow towards the receiver

Ask kome? or čemu?. Masculine and neuter singular nouns commonly take -u, while feminine -a nouns usually change to -i. In the plural, -ima and -ama are frequent. Sound changes matter: majka → majci, ruka → ruci. With movement, ka and prema point in a direction, but everyday destinations more often use other constructions such as idem u Pariz.

Recipients can be people, animals or ideas

In Pišem prijatelju, the friend receives the message. In Približavamo se gradu, the city is the point approached. Expressions such as Hladno mi je place the experiencing person in the dative; English builds the idea differently, so learn the whole Serbian phrase.

Five arrows with clear destinations

LatinicaĆirilicaEnglish
Šaljem razglednicu baki.Шаљем разгледницу баки.I am sending a postcard to Grandma.
Detetu čitamo priču pred spavanje.Детету читамо причу пред спавање.We read the child a bedtime story.
Približavamo se starom mostu.Приближавамо се старом мосту.We are approaching the old bridge.
Meni je danas veoma hladno.Мени је данас веома хладно.I am very cold today.
Turistima pokazujem put do tvrđave.Туристима показујем пут до тврђаве.I am showing the tourists the way to the fortress.

Draw the invisible arrow

For every sentence, point from the action towards its receiver. Say the dative noun alone, then restore the complete sentence. For hladno mi je, point towards yourself to remember who experiences the cold.

Who receives what?

  1. Complete: Dajem cvet sestr__.
  2. Complete: Pišem prijatelj__.
  3. Choose: Dete / Detetu čitamo priču.
  4. Translate: I am cold.
  5. Put turista in the dative plural.

Each arrow reaches its target

  1. sestri
  2. prijatelju
  3. Detetu
  4. Hladno mi je. / Хладно ми је.
  5. turistima