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Accusative Endings for Masculine Animate Nouns

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Grammar Rule in 30 Seconds

When a masculine noun is a living person or animal and is the direct object, add -a to the end.

  • If the noun ends in a consonant, add -a (e.g., pas -> psa).
  • If the noun ends in -o or -e, change it to -a (e.g., kolega -> kolegu - wait, actually keep the -a for animate).
  • Always use this for people and animals you are interacting with or seeing.
Subject + Verb + Noun-a (Animate)

Accusative Animate Formation

Nominative Accusative Meaning
pas
psa
dog
prijatelj
prijatelja
friend
brat
brata
brother
čovjek
čovjeka
man
doktor
doktora
doctor
vuk
vuka
wolf

Meanings

The Accusative case marks the direct object of a sentence. For masculine animate nouns, this requires a specific suffix to distinguish them from inanimate objects.

1

Direct Object

The person or animal receiving the action.

“Vidim prijatelja.”

“Tražim brata.”

Reference Table

Reference table for Accusative Endings for Masculine Animate Nouns
Form Structure Example
Affirmative
Subj + Verb + Noun-a
Vidim psa.
Negative
Subj + ne + Verb + Noun-a
Ne vidim psa.
Question
Vidim li + Noun-a?
Vidim li psa?
Short Answer
Da, vidim ga.
Yes, I see him.

Formalitätsspektrum

Formell
Vidim prijatelja.

Vidim prijatelja. (Social)

Neutral
Vidim prijatelja.

Vidim prijatelja. (Social)

Informell
Vidim frenda.

Vidim frenda. (Social)

Umgangssprache
Vidim frenda.

Vidim frenda. (Social)

Animate vs Inanimate

Masculine Noun

Animate

  • pas dog

Inanimate

  • stol table
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Beispiele nach Niveau

1

Vidim psa.

I see the dog.

1

Tražim svog brata.

I am looking for my brother.

1

Poznajem tog čovjeka.

I know that man.

2

Vidim učitelja.

I see the teacher.

1

Sreo sam prijatelja u gradu.

I met a friend in the city.

1

Tražim doktora koji govori hrvatski.

I am looking for a doctor who speaks Croatian.

1

Vidim vuka u šumi.

I see a wolf in the forest.

Leicht verwechselbar

Accusative Endings for Masculine Animate Nouns vs. Genitive vs Accusative

They look the same for animate nouns.

Häufige Fehler

✗

Vidim pas.

✓

Vidim psa.

Forgot the -a ending.
✗

Vidim stol-a.

✓

Vidim stol.

Added -a to an inanimate object.
✗

Vidim kolegu-a.

✓

Vidim kolegu.

Double suffixing.
✗

Vidim vuk.

✓

Vidim vuka.

Formal register error.

Satzmuster

Vidim ___.

Real World Usage

Texting constant

Vidim frenda!

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💡

Animate check

If it breathes, add -a.

Smart Tips

Think of the person.

Vidim brat. → Vidim brata.

Aussprache

psa (psah)

Ending -a

Pronounced as a short 'ah'.

Statement

Vidim psa.

Falling intonation.

Einprägen

Eselsbrücke

Animate 'A' — if it's alive, add an A!

Visuelle Assoziation

Imagine a dog (pas) wearing a giant letter 'A' as a collar.

Rhyme

If it's a man or a pet, add an A, don't forget!

Story

I went to the park and saw a dog. I called out 'psa!'. Then I saw my brother and called 'brata!'. Everyone was happy.

Word Web

pasprijateljbratčovjekdoktorvuk

Herausforderung

Write 5 sentences about people you see today using the Accusative.

Kulturelle Hinweise

Using the correct case is a sign of respect for the language.

Derived from Proto-Slavic.

Gesprächseinstiege

“

Koga vidiš?

Tagebuch-Impulse

Describe 3 people you saw today.

Häufige Fehler

Incorrect

Richtig

Incorrect

Richtig

Incorrect

Richtig

Incorrect

Richtig

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Test Yourself

Fill in the blank.

Vidim ___ (pas).

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: psa
Animate masculine needs -a.

Score: /1

Ubungsaufgaben

1 exercises
Fill in the blank.

Vidim ___ (pas).

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: psa
Animate masculine needs -a.

Score: /1

FAQ (1)

It's the standard animate ending.

Scaffolded Practice

1

1

Mastery Progress

Needs Practice

Improving

Strong

Mastered

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In Other Languages

German high

Accusative

Croatian changes the noun ending.

French low

COD

No case endings.

Spanish moderate

Personal A

It's a preposition, not a suffix.

Japanese low

O-particle

Post-positional particle.

Arabic moderate

Mansoub

Vowel changes.

Chinese none

SVO

No inflection.

Learning Path

Prerequisites

Previous
Accusative Case for Direct Objects (Koga? Što?)
Next
Accusative Endings for Feminine Nouns

Related Grammar Rules

A1

Accusative Case for Direct Objects (Koga? Što?)
A1

Nominative Case for Nouns (Nomen)
A1

Accusative Endings for Neuter Nouns
A1

Genitive Endings for Neuter Nouns
A1

Accusative Endings for Feminine Nouns
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