The Serbian genitive appears after many prepositions, between nouns in possessive and part–whole relations, and after quantities. This page focuses on its singular forms across the main declensions. The broad pattern is compact: masculine and neuter nouns usually end in -а, feminine -а nouns in -е, and feminine consonant nouns in -и.
English may translate the genitive with of, from, without, a possessive 's, or a different construction. Those translations do not determine the ending. First recognize the Serbian genitive environment, then decline the entire phrase.
Core Singular Paradigm
| Noun class | Nominative | Genitive | Model phrase |
|---|---|---|---|
| masculine, consonant | град | града | овог старог града |
| masculine animate | студент | студента | овог новог студента |
| masculine in -а | тата | тате | мог тате |
| feminine in -а | школа | школе | ове нове школе |
| feminine consonant/i-stem | ноћ | ноћи | ове мирне ноћи |
| neuter in -о | село | села | овог малог села |
| neuter in -е | поље | поља | овог широког поља |
| extended neuter stem | име | имена | овог необичног имена |
Вратили смо се из овог старог града последњим аутобусом.
We returned from this old city on the last bus.
The modifier pattern is equally important: masculine and neuter singular usually take -ог/-ег, feminine singular takes -е. The noun and every modifier form one genitive phrase.
Masculine Singular in -а
Most masculine consonant nouns add -а: стан → стана, прозор → прозора, лекар → лекара, пријатељ → пријатеља.
Испред стана нашег пријатеља чекали смо скоро двадесет минута.
We waited outside our friend's apartment for almost twenty minutes.
The phrase contains two genitives: испред стана after the preposition and нашег пријатеља identifying whose apartment it is.
Some masculine nouns reveal stem changes. A fleeting а may disappear: пас → пса, момак → момка, сан → сна. Other common stems are отац → оца and читалац → читаоца.
Нисмо ушли без пса јер је двориште било пуно непознатих људи.
We did not go in without the dog because the yard was full of strangers.
These alternations are morphological, not new genitive meanings. The fleeting-a page groups the patterns and exceptions.
Masculine Nouns in -а
Masculine nouns such as тата, судија, колега, Никола decline like -а nouns but keep masculine agreement.
После разговора са новим колегом отишао сам до кабинета строгог судије.
After speaking with the new colleague, I went to the strict judge's office.
In строгог судије, судије has the -е noun ending, but строгог is masculine genitive. A feminine modifier строге судије would refer to a female judge in a context that establishes feminine agreement.
Фотографија мог тате стоји на полици поред прозора.
A photograph of my father is on the shelf by the window.
Proper names in -а follow the same pattern: Никола → Николе, Лука → Луке.
Feminine -а Nouns in -е
Feminine nouns in -а replace it with -е: жена → жене, сестра → сестре, књига → књиге, улица → улице.
Кључ нове канцеларије оставили су код секретарице.
They left the key to the new office with the secretary.
После дуге шетње стигли смо до главне улице.
After a long walk, we reached the main street.
Unlike dative мајци, књизи, genitive мајке, књиге does not trigger the к → ц, г → з alternation. Keeping the cases apart prevents forms such as incorrect мајце.
Feminine Consonant Nouns in -и
Feminine nouns ending in a consonant generally take -и: ноћ → ноћи, ствар → ствари, реч → речи, љубав → љубави, радост → радости.
Без њене помоћи не бисмо завршили посао до краја недеље.
Without her help, we would not have finished the job by the end of the week.
Сетио се сваке речи из њиховог последњег разговора.
He remembered every word from their last conversation.
The genitive помоћи is spelled with ћ and must not be confused with verb forms of помоћи merely because they look alike. The surrounding construction determines its grammatical role.
Neuter Singular: -а and Extended Stems
Regular neuter -о/-е nouns form genitive in -а: место → места, писмо → писма, море → мора, питање → питања.
На крају писма није било имена ни адресе.
There was no name or address at the end of the letter.
Extended-stem neuters add their stem element before -а: дете → детета, теле → телета, име → имена, време → времена.
Због болести детета одложили су путовање за следећу недељу.
Because of the child's illness, they postponed the trip until the following week.
Не сећам се имена новог ресторана поред реке.
I do not remember the name of the new restaurant by the river.
The modifier новог in новог ресторана is masculine genitive. Before имена, the identical surface form would be neuter: новог имена. Masculine and neuter genitive modifiers share this form even though the nouns belong to different genders.
Genitive after Prepositions
Frequent genitive prepositions include без ‘without,’ из ‘out of/from,’ од ‘from/of,’ до ‘to/up to,’ код ‘at/by,’ поред ‘beside,’ после ‘after,’ пре ‘before,’ због ‘because of,’ and испред ‘in front of.’
После посла идемо код старе пријатељице на вечеру.
After work we are going to an old friend's place for dinner.
Због јаког ветра нисмо изашли из малог хотела до поднева.
Because of the strong wind, we did not leave the small hotel until noon.
A single English from can correspond to из, са, or од, but all three govern genitive in their source meanings. The choice of preposition and the choice of case are related but distinct decisions.
Possession, Part–Whole, and Quantity
Genitive can link two nouns, with the second identifying an owner, source, whole, or content.
Боја зидова дневне собе променила се после реновирања.
The color of the living room walls changed after the renovation.
Треба нам литар хладног млека за овај рецепт.
We need a liter of cold milk for this recipe.
In литар млека, the measure noun is nominative and млека is genitive of content. The genitive form is selected by the construction, not by translating English of as a Serbian word.
Phrase-Wide Agreement
| Gender | Nominative | Genitive |
|---|---|---|
| masculine | овај добар хотел | овог доброг хотела |
| feminine | ова добра понуда | ове добре понуде |
| neuter | ово мало место | овог малог места |
Нисмо прихватили услове ове добре понуде због кратког рока.
We did not accept the terms of this good offer because of the short deadline.
The demonstrative, adjective, and noun all change. A correct noun ending cannot repair a modifier left in nominative.
Singular Syncretisms
Several genitive forms coincide with other cases:
- Masculine animate accusative equals genitive: видим новог студента is accusative, while без новог студента is genitive.
- Feminine -а genitive singular equals nominative/accusative plural: нема нове књиге versus нове књиге су стигле.
- Feminine consonant genitive singular often equals dative and locative singular: без помоћи, захваљујући помоћи, о помоћи.
Чекамо новог возача испред хотела.
We are waiting for the new driver outside the hotel. (accusative animate object)
Без новог возача не можемо да кренемо.
We cannot leave without the new driver. (genitive after без)
A Brief Plural Orientation
Genitive plural forms are less predictable: градова, студената, жена, књига, села, имена, ноћи. Some use -а, some add -ова/-ева, and some have a zero ending with a stem adjustment. Learn them on the dedicated genitive plural page; do not derive them by simply pluralizing the singular ending.
У близини нема отворених продавница после десет.
There are no open shops nearby after ten.
Here adjective отворених and zero-ending noun продавница are both genitive plural.
Task 1: Build the Singular Genitive
Convert the nominative phrase and use the result after the given preposition.
ова велика кућа → испред ове велике куће
this large house → in front of this large house
ово ново позориште → поред овог новог позоришта
this new theater → beside this new theater
ова мирна ноћ → током ове мирне ноћи
this quiet night → during this quiet night
Task 2: Identify Syncretic Forms
Name the case of the repeated phrase from its construction.
Сваког јутра срећемо старог професора испред пекаре.
Every morning we meet the old professor outside the bakery. (старог професора: accusative animate)
Кабинет старог професора налази се на другом спрату.
The old professor's office is on the second floor. (старог професора: genitive possession)
The phrase старог професора is identical in both sentences; the direct-object role makes it accusative in the first and the possessive relation makes it genitive in the second.
Common Mistakes
Keeping a feminine noun in nominative
❌ Вратили смо се из нова школа.
Incorrect — из governs genitive, and the whole feminine phrase must decline.
✅ Вратили смо се из нове школе.
We returned from the new school.
Declining only the noun
❌ Стајали смо испред стари хотела.
Incorrect — the adjective must agree in genitive.
✅ Стајали смо испред старог хотела.
We stood in front of the old hotel.
Copying the dative stem change into genitive
❌ Ово је фотографија моје мајце.
Incorrect — genitive of мајка is мајке; мајци is dative/locative.
✅ Ово је фотографија моје мајке.
This is a photograph of my mother.
Forgetting an extended neuter stem
❌ После невреме нисмо имали струју два дана.
Incorrect — после governs genitive, and невреме must reveal its extended stem.
✅ После невремена нисмо имали струју два дана.
After the storm, we had no electricity for two days.
Calling an animate accusative genitive
❌ У реченици „Чекам новог лекара“, израз „новог лекара“ је у генитиву.
Incorrect analysis — чекати takes an accusative direct object.
✅ У реченици „Нема новог лекара“, израз „новог лекара“ је у генитиву.
In the sentence ‘The new doctor is not here,’ новог лекара is genitive.
Key Takeaways
- Genitive singular is typically -а for masculine/neuter, -е for feminine -а nouns, and -и for feminine consonant nouns.
- Masculine nouns in -а take -е but retain masculine modifier agreement.
- Stem changes such as пса, оца, имена, and детета must be learned with their declension class.
- Syncretic forms require syntactic analysis; plural genitive has its own less predictable patterns.
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Start learning Serbian →Related Topics
- Genitive Plural: The Hard CaseB1 — The notoriously variable genitive plural endings.
- Genitive after PrepositionsA2 — The large family of prepositions that take the genitive.
- Genitive of PossessionA2 — Expressing 'of' and ownership with the genitive.
- The Fleeting 'a' (nepostojano a)B1 — The vowel a that appears and disappears between consonants.
- Animacy in Masculine NounsA2 — Why animate masculines have accusative = genitive.