Serbian builds several pronoun families on the interrogative bases ко “who” and шта “what.” The не- family points to an existing but unidentified person or thing: неко, нешто. The и- family opens a choice in questions and conditions: ико, ишта “anyone, anything.” The сва- family generalizes over a whole set: свако “everyone/each person” and свашта “all sorts of things.”
These are stressed words with their own case forms, not personal-pronoun clitics. Their meaning depends as much on the clause type and discourse context as on their endings.
The Three Core Meanings
Use неко / нешто when you present a real or assumed referent whose identity is unknown or irrelevant.
Неко је оставио кишобран поред улаза.
Someone left an umbrella by the entrance.
Чуо сам нешто необично у ходнику, али нисам видео шта је било.
I heard something unusual in the hallway, but I didn't see what it was.
Use ико / ишта chiefly when existence is genuinely open: in questions, conditions, comparisons, and similar non-assertive environments.
Да ли је ико проверио последњу верзију уговора?
Has anyone checked the latest version of the contract?
Ако ти ишта затреба током пута, одмах ме позови.
If you need anything during the trip, call me immediately.
Use свако for every person considered individually. It takes singular grammar even when English uses semantically plural everyone.
Свако има своје разлоге и треба да донесе сопствену одлуку.
Everyone has their own reasons and should make their own decision.
Свашта is not the neutral equivalent of English everything. It normally means “all sorts of things,” often with surprise, criticism, or breadth. Neutral “everything” is све.
На том састанку смо чули свашта, али нисмо добили јасан одговор.
We heard all sorts of things at that meeting, but we didn't get a clear answer.
Complete Case Forms: People
The person pronouns decline on the pattern of ко. They have no vocative because an unidentified or universally quantified person is not directly addressed by that form.
| Case | не- series | и- series | сва- series |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | неко | ико | свако |
| Genitive | некога | икога | свакога |
| Dative | некоме | икоме | свакоме |
| Accusative | некога | икога | свакога |
| Vocative | — | — | — |
| Instrumental | неким | иким | сваким |
| Locative | некоме | икоме | свакоме |
Shorter final-vowel variants such as неког, неком, сваког, сваком are the neutral everyday forms. The forms with final -а/-е are also standard and can sound more deliberate or rhythmic.
Послаћу документ некоме ко већ познаје цео случај.
I'll send the document to someone who already knows the whole case.
Са сваким разговарам на исти начин, без обзира на функцију.
I speak to everyone in the same way, regardless of their position.
Complete Case Forms: Things
The thing pronouns follow шта — чега — чему — чим.
| Case | не- series | и- series | сва- series |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | нешто | ишта | свашта |
| Genitive | нечега | ичега | свачега |
| Dative | нечему | ичему | свачему |
| Accusative | нешто | ишта | свашта |
| Vocative | — | — | — |
| Instrumental | нечим | ичим | свачим |
| Locative | нечему | ичему | свачему |
О нечему важном морамо да разговарамо пре седнице.
We need to talk about something important before the session.
Не бих то мењао ни за шта, али бих размотрио да ли се може побољшати ичим другим.
I wouldn't trade that for anything, but I would consider whether it could be improved by anything else.
The second sentence deliberately contrasts negative ни за шта with open-choice ичим. The case comes from the preposition or verb; the prefix contributes quantificational meaning.
Adjectival неки and Its Family
Неки modifies a noun and agrees like an adjective: “some,” “a certain,” or plural “some.” The corresponding open-choice form икоји is rare in ordinary modern usage, while universal сваки “each/every” is fully productive. In practice, Serbian usually uses иједан or икакав where English has adjectival any.
| Case | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Plural oblique |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | неки | нека | неко | неки / неке / нека |
| Genitive | неког(а) | неке | неког(а) | неких |
| Dative | неком(е) | некој | неком(е) | неким |
| Accusative | неки / неког(а) | неку | неко | неке / нека |
| Instrumental | неким | неком | неким | неким |
| Locative | неком(е) | некој | неком(е) | неким |
The masculine accusative follows animacy: неки проблем but неког човека.
Нека жена је звала због неког огласа који смо објавили.
A woman called about some advertisement that we posted.
Сваког радног дана виђам истог човека у пекари.
Every workday I see the same man in the bakery.
Prepositions Split the и- Series
With most prepositions, и- separates from the declined base: и од кога, и са ким, и о чему, и за шта. Do not put the preposition before an intact икога or ичега. The main exception is без, which stays before the intact form: без икога, без ичега, без ичије помоћи.
Ако и од кога очекујем искрен одговор, онда га очекујем од тебе.
If I expect an honest answer from anyone, I expect it from you.
Може да заврши задатак без ичије помоћи.
He can finish the task without anyone's help.
The не- and сва- series remain intact after prepositions: од некога, са неким, о нечему; са сваким, о свачему.
No Clitic Forms—but Clitics Can Refer Back
Unlike personal pronouns, неко, нешто, ико, ишта, свако, and свашта have no short clitic counterparts. They are stressed full words. Once an indefinite referent becomes active in the conversation, a personal clitic can refer back to it.
Нека жена је оставила поруку; позваћу је чим завршим састанак.
A woman left a message; I'll call her as soon as I finish the meeting.
Full нека жена introduces the referent; accusative clitic је retrieves her without repeating the noun phrase. Clitic position still follows the Serbian second-position system.
Неко ми га је послао, али не знам ко.
Someone sent it to me, but I don't know who.
Full subject неко carries the existential content. The cluster ми га је follows it: dative ми, accusative га, then auxiliary је. A case table alone cannot predict this contrast; discourse status determines why неко is full while an already accessible object is clitic.
A Brief Dialogue
„Да ли је ико звао?“ — „Јесте, нека жена је оставила број.“ — „Јеси ли је позвао?“ — „Нисам још, али јавићу јој се.“
‘Did anyone call?’ — ‘Yes, a woman left a number.’ — ‘Did you call her?’ — ‘Not yet, but I'll get back to her.’
The open question uses ико. The answer asserts existence with нека жена. Once she is known, the dialogue shifts to clitics је and јој. Serbian also omits unnecessary subject pronouns: јавићу already identifies first-person singular.
Reflexive Possession with свој
When the possessor is the clause subject, use свој, including after universal свако.
Свако треба да понесе своју личну карту и неки документ са фотографијом.
Everyone should bring their own identity card and some document with a photograph.
Своју points back to свако. Његову would normally point to some other male referent, not distributively to each participant. See Reflexive Possessive свој.
Practice Task 1: Choose the Series
Decide whether the context asserts existence, leaves it open, or quantifies universally.
Ако ико има неко боље решење, нека га предложи.
If anyone has a better solution, let them propose it. Answer: ико is open under ако; неко introduces an unspecified but possible solution.
Свако је добио неки задатак, али нису сви добили исти.
Everyone received some task, but not everyone received the same one. Answer: свако distributes over people; неки leaves the task unspecified.
Practice Task 2: Add the Preposition
Form the correct prepositional phrase.
Ако и са ким будеш разговарао о том проблему, запиши име те особе.
If you talk to anyone about that problem, write down the person's name. Answer: са splits the и- compound: и са ким.
О нечему можемо да се договоримо, али не о свачему.
We can reach agreement on some things, but not on everything. Answer: не- and сва- forms remain intact after о.
Common Mistakes
1. Using ико in a plain affirmative assertion.
❌ Ико те је тражио док си био напољу.
Incorrect — a plain affirmative existence claim requires неко, not open-choice ико.
✅ Неко те је тражио док си био напољу.
Someone was looking for you while you were out.
2. Failing to split the и- series after a preposition.
❌ Ако будеш разговарао са иким о томе, не помињи моје име.
Incorrect — with са, the standard form is и са ким.
✅ Ако будеш и са ким разговарао о томе, не помињи моје име.
If you talk to anyone about it, don't mention my name.
3. Using свашта as neutral “everything.”
❌ Спаковао сам свашта што ми треба за пут.
Incorrect for neutral ‘everything’ — свашта means ‘all sorts of things’; use све.
✅ Спаковао сам све што ми треба за пут.
I packed everything I need for the trip.
4. Ignoring agreement with неки.
❌ Разговарала је са неки новим колегама.
Incorrect — instrumental plural requires неким новим колегама.
✅ Разговарала је са неким новим колегама.
She spoke with some new colleagues.
5. Replacing subject-bound свој with a third-person possessive.
❌ Свако је проверио његову карту пре уласка.
Incorrect for ‘their own card’ — његову points to another male referent.
✅ Свако је проверио своју карту пре уласка.
Everyone checked their own ticket before entering.
Key Takeaways
- Неко/нешто present an unspecified referent; ико/ишта occur in open, non-assertive contexts; свако distributes over everyone.
- Свашта means “all sorts of things,” while neutral “everything” is све.
- Person forms follow ко; thing forms follow шта — чега — чему — чим.
- Most prepositions split the и- series: и од кога, и са ким; без икога is the main exception.
- These pronouns are stressed full words, not clitics; later personal clitics can retrieve an established referent.
- Use свој when the possessor is the clause subject.
Related Topics
- Interrogative Pronouns: ko, što, kojiA1 — Question pronouns 'who', 'what', 'which' and their cases.
- Negative Pronouns and Double NegationA2 — niko, ništa, nikad and obligatory negative concord.
- Clitic vs Full Pronoun FormsA2 — The short unstressed and long stressed object pronouns.
- The Reflexive Possessive svojB1 — When to use svoj instead of moj/tvoj/njegov.
- Quantifiers (sav, svaki, neki, nikakav)A2 — Universal, distributive, and partitive determiners.
- Prepositions and Their CasesA2 — How every preposition assigns a case (sometimes two).