Genitive Endings for Singular Nouns
Grammar Rule in 30 Seconds
The Genitive case shows possession or origin; add '-a' for masculine/neuter and '-e' for feminine nouns.
- Masculine/Neuter: Add '-a' (e.g., 'pas' -> 'psa').
- Feminine: Change '-a' to '-e' (e.g., 'žena' -> 'žene').
- Use it for possession, negation, and after numbers 2, 3, 4.
Genitive Singular Endings
| Gender | Nominative | Genitive | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Masculine
|
grad
|
grada
|
grada
|
|
Neuter
|
selo
|
sela
|
sela
|
|
Feminine
|
žena
|
žene
|
žene
|
|
Masculine
|
pas
|
psa
|
psa
|
|
Neuter
|
ime
|
imena
|
imena
|
|
Feminine
|
stvar
|
stvari
|
stvari
|
Meanings
The Genitive case is the 'possessive' case in Serbian, used to indicate origin, possession, or quantity.
Possession
Indicates who owns something.
“Auto mog oca.”
“Kuća moje majke.”
Negation
Used after the verb 'to have' in the negative.
“Nemam novca.”
“Nema vode.”
Quantification
Used after numbers 2, 3, 4.
“Dva sata.”
“Tri dana.”
Reference Table
| Form | Structure | Example |
|---|---|---|
|
Affirmative
|
Noun + Ending
|
Kuća moje majke
|
|
Negative
|
Nemati + Genitive
|
Nemam novca
|
|
Question
|
Da li imaš + Genitive?
|
Da li imaš vremena?
|
|
Quantity
|
Number + Genitive
|
Dva sata
|
|
Preposition
|
Preposition + Genitive
|
Bez tebe
|
|
Possession
|
Noun + Genitive
|
Auto mog oca
|
Formalitätsspektrum
Nemam vremena. (General)
Nemam vremena. (General)
Nemam vremena. (General)
Nemam vremena. (General)
Genitive Case Map
Usage
- Possession Ownership
- Negation Lack of
- Quantity Numbers 2,3,4
Endings
- -a Masc/Neut
- -e Fem
Beispiele nach Niveau
Nema kafe.
There is no coffee.
To je auto mog oca.
That is my father's car.
Dva sata.
Two hours.
Bez tebe.
Without you.
Nemam vremena za to.
I don't have time for that.
Kuća moje bake je velika.
My grandmother's house is big.
Tri dana smo ovde.
We are here for three days.
Blizu škole je park.
The park is near the school.
Čaša hladne vode, molim.
A glass of cold water, please.
Otišao je od kuće rano.
He left home early.
Nije bilo nikoga u parku.
There was no one in the park.
Pored mene sedi kolega.
A colleague is sitting next to me.
Nedostatak novca je veliki problem.
The lack of money is a big problem.
Svi osim njega su došli.
Everyone except him came.
Boja njene haljine je prelepa.
The color of her dress is beautiful.
Tokom leta putujemo na more.
During the summer we travel to the sea.
Usled nedostatka dokaza, slučaj je zatvoren.
Due to the lack of evidence, the case is closed.
Nije bilo ni traga od njega.
There was not even a trace of him.
Plaše se posledica svojih odluka.
They fear the consequences of their decisions.
S obzirom na okolnosti, to je najbolje rešenje.
Given the circumstances, that is the best solution.
Ne bi bilo ni govora o tome da nije bilo njega.
There would be no talk of it if it weren't for him.
Iz straha od neuspeha, nije ni pokušao.
Out of fear of failure, he didn't even try.
U ime svih prisutnih, hvala vam.
On behalf of all present, thank you.
Nije bilo prepreka koje nisu mogli savladati.
There were no obstacles they couldn't overcome.
Leicht verwechselbar
Both can have similar endings, but Accusative is for direct objects and Genitive is for possession/negation.
Learners often use the dictionary form (Nominative) when they should use Genitive.
Both involve case endings that can be confusing for beginners.
Häufige Fehler
Nemam voda
Nemam vode
Auto moj otac
Auto mog oca
Dva sat
Dva sata
Bez ti
Bez tebe
Kuća moja majka
Kuća moje majke
Nema vremena
Nema vremena
Blizu škola
Blizu škole
Čaša voda
Čaša vode
Svi osim on
Svi osim njega
Boja haljina
Boja haljine
Usled nedostatak
Usled nedostatka
Nije bilo trag
Nije bilo traga
Plaše se posledica
Plaše se posledica
U ime svi
U ime svih
Satzmuster
Nemam ___.
To je auto ___.
Blizu ___ je park.
Bez ___ ne mogu da radim.
Real World Usage
Čekam te kod kuće.
Čaša vode, molim.
S obzirom na iskustvo...
Blizu hotela je stanica.
Nema lepšeg grada.
Bez luka.
Check the gender
Don't skip the ending
Learn the prepositions
Listen to locals
Smart Tips
Immediately think 'Genitive singular'.
The object must be in the Genitive case.
The following noun must be in the Genitive case.
Use the Genitive case for the possessor.
Aussprache
Vowel length
Genitive endings often change the stress and length of the vowel.
Falling
Nema kafe. ↓
Finality in negative statements.
Einprägen
Eselsbrücke
Genitive is the 'A-E' case: Masculine/Neuter get an 'A', Feminine gets an 'E'.
Visuelle Assoziation
Imagine a giant letter 'A' holding a masculine bag and a letter 'E' holding a feminine purse.
Rhyme
For the Genitive case, don't be a bore, add 'a' for him, 'e' for her, and nothing more.
Story
Marko (masculine) needs an 'a' to buy his coffee. Ana (feminine) needs an 'e' to buy her tea. They both go to the store, but there is no coffee, so they say 'Nema kafe'.
Word Web
Herausforderung
Write 5 sentences about things you don't have using 'Nemam' + Genitive.
Kulturelle Hinweise
The Genitive case is used extensively in formal speech and official documents.
Similar usage, but sometimes prefers different prepositions.
Very similar, though some vocabulary choices differ.
The Genitive case in Serbian descends from the Proto-Slavic Genitive, which served similar functions.
Gesprächseinstiege
Da li imaš vremena za kafu?
Čiji je ovo telefon?
Šta ti nedostaje iz rodnog grada?
Kako se osećaš povodom odluke?
Tagebuch-Impulse
Häufige Fehler
Test Yourself
Nemam ___ (vreme).
Which is correct?
Find and fix the mistake:
Bez ti ne mogu.
Arrange the words in the correct order:
All words placed
Click words above to build the sentence
There is no coffee.
Answer starts with: Nem...
Match each item on the left with its pair on the right:
Dva ___ (sat).
Blizu ___ (škola) je park.
Score: /8
Ubungsaufgaben
8 exercisesNemam ___ (vreme).
Which is correct?
Find and fix the mistake:
Bez ti ne mogu.
kuće / kod / čekam / te
There is no coffee.
Match: grad, žena, selo
Dva ___ (sat).
Blizu ___ (škola) je park.
Score: /8
FAQ (8)
In Serbian, case endings show the relationship between words. Without them, the sentence loses its meaning.
Yes, it is the primary way to show possession in Serbian.
Some nouns have irregular Genitive forms, like 'pas' becoming 'psa'. You must memorize these.
No, it will sound incorrect to native speakers.
Yes, but that is a different rule. Focus on singular first.
Yes, Serbian has 7 cases in total.
Look for keywords like 'nema', 'bez', 'kod', or numbers 2, 3, 4.
Yes, the Genitive case is standard across Serbian, Croatian, and Bosnian.
Scaffolded Practice
1
2
3
4
Mastery Progress
Needs Practice
Improving
Strong
Mastered
In Other Languages
Genitiv
Serbian Genitive is essential for negation, whereas German uses 'kein'.
de + noun
Serbian changes the noun ending; French adds a preposition.
de + noun
Spanish lacks a case system for nouns.
no particle
Japanese is an agglutinative language; Serbian is inflected.
Idafa
Idafa is a syntactic construction; Serbian Genitive is a morphological case.
de particle
Chinese has no case system.
