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Nominative Case: Masculine Nouns

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Grammar Rule in 30 Seconds

The Nominative case is the 'dictionary form' of a noun, used when the noun is the subject of the sentence.

  • Most masculine nouns end in a consonant: 'pas' (dog).
  • If it ends in -o or -e, it is still masculine: 'auto' (car).
  • The Nominative is the 'who' or 'what' performing the action.
Subject (Masculine Noun) + Verb + Object

Nominative Masculine Endings

Noun Type Ending Example Translation
Consonant
- (none)
pas
dog
Consonant
- (none)
grad
city
Vowel
-o
auto
car
Vowel
-e
muzej
museum

Meanings

The Nominative case identifies the subject of a sentence. It is the form you find in a dictionary.

1

Subject of a sentence

The person or thing performing the action.

“Čovek hoda.”

“Sto je veliki.”

Reference Table

Reference table for Nominative Case: Masculine Nouns
Form Structure Example
Affirmative
Noun + je + Adjective
Pas je mali.
Negative
Noun + nije + Adjective
Pas nije mali.
Question
Da li + Noun + je + Adjective?
Da li je pas mali?
Short Answer
Da / Ne
Da, pas je mali.
Plural
Noun + -ovi/-evi
Psi su mali.
Predicate
Ovo je + Noun
Ovo je pas.

Formalitätsspektrum

Formell
Automobil je brz.

Automobil je brz. (Describing a car)

Neutral
Auto je brz.

Auto je brz. (Describing a car)

Informell
Auto je brz.

Auto je brz. (Describing a car)

Umgangssprache
Mašina ide k'o zmaj.

Mašina ide k'o zmaj. (Describing a car)

Nominative Case Roles

Nominative

People

  • čovek man

Objects

  • sto table

Concepts

  • uspeh success

Nominative vs Accusative

Nominative (Subject)
Pas The dog
Accusative (Object)
Psa The dog

Is it Nominative?

1

Is the noun doing the action?

YES
Use Nominative
NO
Check other cases

Common Masculine Nouns

🌳

Nature

  • • dan
  • • vetar
  • • kamen
🏠

Objects

  • • sto
  • • auto
  • • telefon

Beispiele nach Niveau

1

Pas spava.

The dog is sleeping.

2

Sto je ovde.

The table is here.

3

Auto je brz.

The car is fast.

4

Student uči.

The student is studying.

1

Da li je ovaj grad lep?

Is this city beautiful?

2

Moj prijatelj nije tu.

My friend is not here.

3

Muzej je otvoren.

The museum is open.

4

Film je bio dosadan.

The movie was boring.

1

Čovek koji stoji tamo je moj brat.

The man standing there is my brother.

2

Novi kompjuter radi odlično.

The new computer works perfectly.

3

Danas je divan dan.

Today is a wonderful day.

4

Ovaj profesor predaje istoriju.

This professor teaches history.

1

Smatra se da je ovaj zakon nepravedan.

It is considered that this law is unfair.

2

Njegov uspeh je rezultat napornog rada.

His success is the result of hard work.

3

Svaki trenutak je važan.

Every moment is important.

4

Ovaj model je najprodavaniji.

This model is the best-selling one.

1

Sistem koji smo uspostavili zahteva pažnju.

The system we established requires attention.

2

Ovaj fenomen je predmet istraživanja.

This phenomenon is the subject of research.

3

Njegov stav je jasan svima.

His stance is clear to everyone.

4

Ovaj argument je neoboriv.

This argument is irrefutable.

1

Ovaj arhaični izraz se retko koristi.

This archaic expression is rarely used.

2

Njegov opus je neprocenjiv.

His body of work is invaluable.

3

Ovaj dijalekat čuva stare forme.

This dialect preserves old forms.

4

Ovaj koncept prevazilazi granice.

This concept transcends boundaries.

Leicht verwechselbar

Nominative Case: Masculine Nouns vs. Nominative vs. Vocative

Both can look the same for some masculine nouns.

Nominative Case: Masculine Nouns vs. Nominative vs. Accusative

Learners forget to change the noun when it is an object.

Nominative Case: Masculine Nouns vs. Masculine vs. Neuter

Both can end in -o.

Häufige Fehler

✗

Vidim pas

✓

Vidim psa

Pas is the object here, so it needs the Accusative ending.
✗

Auto je lepa

✓

Auto je lep

Auto is masculine, so the adjective must be masculine.
✗

Ovo je psa

✓

Ovo je pas

After 'Ovo je', use Nominative.
✗

Muzeja je otvoren

✓

Muzej je otvoren

Subject must be Nominative.
✗

Prijatelj spava u grad

✓

Prijatelj spava u gradu

Location requires Locative case.
✗

Da li je ovo auto?

✓

Da li je ovo auto?

Actually correct, but often learners think it should change.
✗

Moj brat je dobar čoveka

✓

Moj brat je dobar čovek

Predicate nominative stays Nominative.
✗

Zakon je nepravda

✓

Zakon je nepravedan

Adjective must agree with masculine noun.
✗

Sistem je radi

✓

Sistem radi

Don't use 'je' with active verbs.
✗

Ovaj fenomen je predmet istraživanju

✓

Ovaj fenomen je predmet istraživanja

Genitive case needed for possession.
✗

Opus je neprocenjivom

✓

Opus je neprocenjiv

Predicate adjective must be Nominative.
✗

Dijalekat čuva stare formi

✓

Dijalekat čuva stare forme

Accusative plural ending is -e.
✗

Koncept prevazilazi granicama

✓

Koncept prevazilazi granice

Accusative object.

Satzmuster

Ovo je ___.

___ je brz.

Moj ___ je dobar.

___ je predmet istraživanja.

Real World Usage

Social Media Bio constant

Student | Putnik | Sanjar

Ordering Food very common

Ovo je moj doručak.

Job Interview common

Moj cilj je uspeh.

Travel very common

Gde je hotel?

Texting constant

Auto je stigao.

Food Delivery App common

Restoran je zatvoren.

💡

Dictionary Check

Always check the dictionary for the Nominative form. It's the base for everything else.
⚠️

Don't Guess

Don't guess the gender of a noun. Look it up to see if it's masculine, feminine, or neuter.
🎯

Animate vs Inanimate

Remember that animate masculine nouns change in the Accusative, but inanimate ones don't.
💬

Be Direct

Serbians appreciate directness. Use the Nominative clearly to avoid confusion.

Smart Tips

Use 'Ovo je' + Nominative noun.

Ovo je psa. → Ovo je pas.

Ensure the adjective matches the masculine noun.

Auto je lepa. → Auto je lep.

Identify the subject first to ensure it's in the Nominative.

Psa spava. → Pas spava.

Use full forms instead of slang.

Auto kida. → Automobil je brz.

Aussprache

pas [paːs]

Consonant endings

Pronounce the final consonant clearly, do not add a vowel sound.

auto [ˈaʊtɔ]

Vowel endings

The -o and -e endings are short and crisp.

Declarative

Pas spava. ↘

Falling intonation for statements.

Interrogative

Da li pas spava? ↗

Rising intonation for questions.

Einprägen

Eselsbrücke

Nominative is the 'Name-inative' — it's just the name of the thing.

Visuelle Assoziation

Imagine a dog (pas) wearing a name tag that says 'Nominative'. He is the boss of the sentence.

Rhyme

The subject is the king of the land, the Nominative case is always at hand.

Story

A man (čovek) walks into a room. He is the subject. He points to a table (sto) and a car (auto). Because he is the subject and the things are just being identified, they are all in the Nominative case.

Word Web

passtoautogradmuzejstudent

Herausforderung

Look around your room and name 5 masculine objects using the pattern 'Ovo je [noun]'.

Kulturelle Hinweise

Serbians are very direct with the Nominative case when identifying things. It is considered polite to use the full form in formal settings.

Similar to Serbian, but you might hear more Turkish loanwords in the Nominative.

Often uses specific regional nouns in the Nominative.

The Nominative case comes from Proto-Slavic, maintaining the original subject-marking function.

Gesprächseinstiege

“

Šta je ovo?

“

Ko je taj čovek?

“

Koji film je najbolji?

“

Kako ocenjuješ ovaj sistem?

Tagebuch-Impulse

Describe your room using 5 sentences.
Write about your best friend.
Describe a movie you recently watched.
Discuss a current event.

Häufige Fehler

Incorrect

Richtig

Incorrect

Richtig

Incorrect

Richtig

Incorrect

Richtig

Test Yourself

Fill in the blank with the correct Nominative form.

___ je brz. (The car)

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Auto
Auto is the Nominative form.
Which sentence is correct? Multiple Choice

Select the correct sentence.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Pas spava.
Pas is the subject.
Find the mistake. Error Correction

Find and fix the mistake:

Vidim pas.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Vidim psa
Pas is the object.
Reorder the words. Sentence Building

je / brz / auto

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Auto je brz.
Standard word order.
Is this noun masculine? Conjugation Drill

Sto

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Da
Sto is a masculine noun.
Match the noun to its gender. Match Pairs

Match each item on the left with its pair on the right:

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Masculine
Pas is masculine.
Which is the Nominative form? Multiple Choice

Select the word.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: grad
Grad is the Nominative form.
Fill in the blank.

___ je otvoren. (The museum)

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Muzej
Muzej is the Nominative form.

Score: /8

Ubungsaufgaben

8 exercises
Fill in the blank with the correct Nominative form.

___ je brz. (The car)

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Auto
Auto is the Nominative form.
Which sentence is correct? Multiple Choice

Select the correct sentence.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Pas spava.
Pas is the subject.
Find the mistake. Error Correction

Find and fix the mistake:

Vidim pas.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Vidim psa
Pas is the object.
Reorder the words. Sentence Building

je / brz / auto

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Auto je brz.
Standard word order.
Is this noun masculine? Conjugation Drill

Sto

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Da
Sto is a masculine noun.
Match the noun to its gender. Match Pairs

Pas

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Masculine
Pas is masculine.
Which is the Nominative form? Multiple Choice

Select the word.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: grad
Grad is the Nominative form.
Fill in the blank.

___ je otvoren. (The museum)

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Muzej
Muzej is the Nominative form.

Score: /8

FAQ (8)

Some loanwords or specific nouns like 'auto' end in -o but are still masculine.

Most end in a consonant. Check the dictionary.

No, it changes if it's an object.

No, you will sound like a robot or be misunderstood.

Try to use the Nominative, but know that it might be grammatically incorrect.

Yes, but they are rare for masculine nouns.

Yes, the case system is almost identical.

With practice, you can master the Nominative in a few hours.

Scaffolded Practice

1

1

2

2

3

3

4

4

Mastery Progress

Needs Practice

Improving

Strong

Mastered

In Other Languages

German high

Nominativ

German has four cases; Serbian has seven.

Spanish low

Sujeto

Serbian changes the noun; Spanish does not.

French low

Sujet

French has no case endings for nouns.

Japanese partial

Ga/Wa particle

Japanese particles are separate; Serbian endings are attached.

Arabic moderate

Marfu'

Arabic cases are marked by short vowels; Serbian uses suffixes.

Chinese none

Subject position

Chinese has zero case inflection.

Learning Path

Prerequisites

Next
Nominative Case: Feminine Nouns

Related Grammar Rules

A1

Nominative Case: Feminine Nouns
A1

Nominative Case: Neuter Nouns
A2

Genitive Endings for Singular Nouns
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