A greeting sent from London, Belgrade or the seaside carries a hidden genitive inside the word that names its starting point.

If you really had fun learning Genitive yesterday, I'm sure you'll have a blast  today:


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As you can see, there's a bunch of characters speaking to you in Serbian (written both in the Cyrillic and Latin alphabet :) Because they are talking about where they are right now, they are using (guess what?) the Genitive case. Now, I have a few tasks for you. Let's find out:

A. Who is saying what? = Ko šta kaže?

  1. Sunce kaže: 
  2. Majmun kaže:
  3. Ptica kaže:
  4. Dečko kaže:

B. Where are = Gde su...

  1. dečko (a boy)
  2. devojčica (a girl)
  3. pingvin (a penguin)
  4. ptica (a bird)
  5. majmun (a monkey)
  6. sunce (the sun)
  7. mačka (a cat)

C. One Cyrillic text is missing - which one? Write it in the comment below:


Serbian Genitive with Sg. Feminine Nouns


I hope you have mastered your Genitive with Sg. Masc. nouns. That's why we are working on  the nouns which are Fem. Sg. today. Look at the examples:

  1. Ja sam iznad zgrade! Ko sam ja? Da li sam ja ptica?
  2. Danas sam ispred zgrade! Ko sam ja? Da li sam ja mačka?
  3. Oni su iznad mene! Ko su oni? Ko sam ja?
  4. On nije iznad mačke! Ja sam iznad mačke! Ko sam ja?
What happens with the following nouns?
  1. zgrada = building
  2. ptica = bird
  3. mačka = cat
  4. devojčica = girl
  5. voda = water
when they follow the prepositions: 
  • iznad = above or over
  • ispod = below or under
  • iz = from
  • pored = near or beside
By looking the examples, you can see that the final -a disappears, becoming an -e:

  1. Iznad zgradE = above the building
  2. Ispod pticE = under the bird
  3. Pored mačkE = beside the cat
  4. Iza devojčicE = behind the girl
  5. Iznad vodE = above the water

Asking simple questions with the verb TO BE in Serbian

I am sure you have noticed two types of questions in this exercise:
  1. Wh-? questions: Ko sam ja = Who am I and Ko su oni? Who are they?
  2. Yes-no questions: Da li sam ja pingvin? = Am I a penguin? 
With the verb to be=biti, it is obvious that there is
  1. a wh-? question word before an inversion (ja sam becomes KO sam ja)
  2. da li question phrase before an inversion (ja sam becomes DA LI sam ja)
Yes, it's that simple :)

Rešenje = Solution


Now that you understand EVERYTHING, it's time to solve the mystery...

A practical route into Greetings from Genitive - Part 2

This lesson works best as a short sequence: notice the target form, connect it with meaning, and use it in a fresh sentence. In Greetings from Genitive - Part 2, the original material remains the starting point; the additions below make its language easier to retrieve in real conversation.

The genitive after iz and od

The genitive appears after many prepositions, in possession and after expressions of quantity. Instead of memorising one ending in isolation, group examples by gender and number and ask what relationship the form is expressing. In this particular lesson, use that principle to interpret the examples connected with Greetings from Genitive - Part 2.

Five greetings using the genitive

Latin scriptCyrillic scriptEnglish
Dolazim iz Novog Sada.Долазим из Новог Сада.I come from Novi Sad.
Putujemo od Beograda do Niša.Путујемо од Београда до Ниша.We travel from Belgrade to Niš.
Šolja je pored knjige.Шоља је поред књиге.The cup is next to the book.
Bez dobre kafe ne počinjem dan.Без добре кафе не почињем дан.I do not start the day without good coffee.
Ovo je fotografija moje porodice.Ово је фотографија моје породице.This is a photograph of my family.

Read the Latin and Cyrillic columns as two views of the same Serbian. In this set, protect the diacritics č, ć, š, ž and đ, then move directly from either script to meaning without an English detour. Apply that script strategy to the vocabulary in Greetings from Genitive - Part 2.

Change the place and keep the pattern

Read down the Latin column, then switch to Cyrillic without returning to English. Choose two examples, turn one into a question and make the other negative. Say both versions naturally. For this post, keep your final version connected with the situation in Greetings from Genitive - Part 2.

Check your Serbian: Greetings from Genitive - Part 2

Translate the five prompts into Serbian. Give each answer first in Latin script and then in Cyrillic, preserving the lesson’s target pattern. Keep every answer connected with Greetings from Genitive - Part 2.

  1. I come from Novi Sad.
  2. We travel from Belgrade to Niš.
  3. The cup is next to the book.
  4. I do not start the day without good coffee.
  5. This is a photograph of my family.

Answers for this genitive round

  1. Dolazim iz Novog Sada.
    Долазим из Новог Сада.
  2. Putujemo od Beograda do Niša.
    Путујемо од Београда до Ниша.
  3. Šolja je pored knjige.
    Шоља је поред књиге.
  4. Bez dobre kafe ne počinjem dan.
    Без добре кафе не почињем дан.
  5. Ovo je fotografija moje porodice.
    Ово је фотографија моје породице.