Genitive Endings for Neuter Nouns
Grammar Rule in 30 Seconds
To form the Genitive of neuter nouns ending in -o or -e, simply add an -a to the stem.
- Nouns ending in -o add -a: 'selo' (village) becomes 'sela'.
- Nouns ending in -e add -a: 'more' (sea) becomes 'mora'.
- Use this case for possession, negation, or after specific numbers.
Neuter Genitive Formation
| Nominative | Genitive | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
|
Selo
|
Sela
|
Village
|
|
More
|
Mora
|
Sea
|
|
Polje
|
Polja
|
Field
|
|
Auto
|
Auta
|
Car
|
|
Jezero
|
Jezera
|
Lake
|
|
Ime
|
Imena
|
Name
|
Meanings
The Genitive case is primarily used to express possession, origin, or quantity, and is required after certain prepositions and verbs.
Possession
Indicating ownership of an object.
“Kraj sela.”
“Vrata stana.”
Negation
Used after the verb 'nemati' (not to have).
“Nemam piva.”
“Nema mora.”
Quantity
Used after expressions of quantity.
“Puno zlata.”
“Malo mora.”
Reference Table
| Form | Structure | Example |
|---|---|---|
|
Affirmative
|
Noun + a
|
Imam auto
|
|
Negative
|
Nemam + Noun-a
|
Nemam auta
|
|
Question
|
Imaš li + Noun-a?
|
Imaš li auta?
|
|
Possession
|
Kraj + Noun-a
|
Kraj sela
|
|
Quantity
|
Puno + Noun-a
|
Puno mora
|
طيف الرسمية
Nemam automobila. (Daily life)
Nemam auta. (Daily life)
Nemam auto. (Daily life)
Nemam kola. (Daily life)
Genitive Usage Map
Negation
- Nemam I don't have
Location
- Kraj Near
Quantity
- Puno A lot of
أمثلة حسب المستوى
Nemam piva.
I don't have beer.
Kraj sela je kuća.
Near the village is a house.
Boja auta je plava.
The color of the car is blue.
Nema zlata.
There is no gold.
Nema mora u Zagrebu.
There is no sea in Zagreb.
Ovo je dio polja.
This is part of the field.
Nemam vremena za to.
I don't have time for that.
Kraj jezera je lijepo.
Near the lake is beautiful.
Nedostaje mi malo mira.
I miss a little peace.
Nema dovoljno znanja.
There is not enough knowledge.
To je središte grada.
That is the center of the city.
Bez imena, ne znam tko je.
Without a name, I don't know who it is.
Izvan vidokruga je.
It is out of sight.
Nema traga zločinu.
There is no trace of the crime.
Sredstvo rada je važno.
The means of work is important.
Puno je truda uloženo.
A lot of effort was invested.
Usred ljeta je vruće.
In the middle of summer it is hot.
Nema smisla govoriti.
There is no point in talking.
Kraj stoljeća donosi promjene.
The end of the century brings changes.
Nema izlaza iz situacije.
There is no way out of the situation.
Nema govora o tome.
There is no talk about that.
Sve je stvar izbora.
Everything is a matter of choice.
Nedostatak volje je problem.
Lack of will is the problem.
Nema dokaza za to.
There is no evidence for that.
سهل الخلط
Learners use Nominative for everything.
Both are used for objects.
Masculine ends in -a too.
أخطاء شائعة
Nemam selo
Nemam sela
Kraj selo
Kraj sela
Puno selo
Puno sela
Auto je sela
Auto je sela (genitive)
Nema more
Nema mora
Blizu polje
Blizu polja
Nemam ime
Nemam imena
Središte selo
Središte sela
Nedostaje more
Nedostaje mora
Bez auto
Bez auta
Nema smisao
Nema smisla
Kraj stoljeće
Kraj stoljeća
Nema izlaz
Nema izlaza
أنماط الجُمل
Nemam ___.
Kraj ___ je kuća.
Puno ___ je ovdje.
Nema ___ za to.
Real World Usage
Nema mlijeka.
Nemam vremena.
Kraj mora.
Nemam iskustva.
Nema piva.
Nema smisla.
Check the gender
Don't forget negation
Use it for quantity
Listen to locals
Smart Tips
Always add -a to the object.
The noun after 'kraj' must be Genitive.
Use Genitive for the noun following 'puno'.
The preposition 'bez' always takes Genitive.
النطق
Vowel change
The 'a' ending is always short and clear.
Falling
Nemam sela. ↘
Statement of fact.
احفظها
وسيلة تذكّر
Neuter nouns are like a 'sea' (more) of 'a's. Just add an 'a' to the end!
ربط بصري
Imagine a car (auto) losing its 'o' and growing an 'a' tail when you say you don't have it.
Rhyme
When you have none, add an 'a' for fun.
Story
I went to the village (selo). I looked for the sea (more). I had no car (auto). I said: 'Nemam auta, nemam mora, nemam sela.'
Word Web
تحدٍّ
Write 5 sentences using 'Nemam' with different neuter nouns.
ملاحظات ثقافية
In Dalmatia, they often use 'kola' for car instead of 'auto'.
They talk about 'sela' (villages) very often.
They use 'auto' very frequently in daily speech.
The Genitive case comes from Proto-Slavic.
بدايات محادثة
Imaš li auta?
Je li more blizu?
Imaš li vremena?
Što je kraj sela?
مواضيع للكتابة اليومية
أخطاء شائعة
Test Yourself
Nemam ___ (selo).
Which is correct?
Find and fix the mistake:
Nemam auto.
Arrange the words in the correct order:
All words placed
Click words above to build the sentence
I don't have time.
Answer starts with: Nem...
Match each item on the left with its pair on the right:
What is the Genitive of 'Ime'?
Does Genitive neuter end in -a?
Score: /8
تمارين تطبيقية
8 exercisesNemam ___ (selo).
Which is correct?
Find and fix the mistake:
Nemam auto.
sela / kraj / je / kuća
I don't have time.
Match: Selo, More, Polje
What is the Genitive of 'Ime'?
Does Genitive neuter end in -a?
Score: /8
الأسئلة الشائعة (8)
It is the Genitive case ending for neuter nouns.
Almost all, yes.
For possession, negation, and quantity.
Yes, it should be 'Nemam auta'.
Nominative is the subject; Genitive is the object.
Very few for neuter nouns.
Yes, it is standard Croatian.
Use the 'a' tail mnemonic.
Scaffolded Practice
1
2
3
4
Mastery Progress
Needs Practice
Improving
Strong
Mastered
In Other Languages
Genitiv
Croatian is synthetic; German is analytic.
Partitif
French uses prepositions; Croatian uses inflections.
Genitivo
Spanish lacks a case system.
No
Japanese is agglutinative.
Idafa
Arabic uses word order and state.
De
Chinese is isolating.
