Most neuter nouns follow standard declension rules, but a special group ending in -e—including ime (name), vrijeme (time/weather), and body parts like rame (shoulder) and tjeme (crown of the head)—insert an -n- before their case endings in most forms.
(Note: For *vrijeme, the -ije- also shortens to -e-, becoming vremena).*
Singular Declension
In the nominative and accusative singular, these nouns use their base form. For all other singular cases, add -n- before the standard neuter endings.
| Case | Singular Form |
|---|---|
| Nom / Acc | rame |
| Genitive | ramena |
| Dative / Locative | ramenu |
| Instrumental | ramenom |
Notice the -n- in the locative and instrumental cases:
| The physical therapist says that the tension in that shoulder is high. | Fizioterapeut kaže da je napetost u onom ramenu velika. |
| With time, the joints and spine will hurt less. | S vremenom će zglobovi i kralježnica manje boljeti. |
It also appears in the genitive singular, frequently used after prepositions like do (to/up to) or when expressing possession:
| He feels pain from the spine to the crown of the head. | On osjeća bol od kralježnice do tjemena. |
| Do you remember the name of that physical therapist? | Sjećate li se imena onog fizioterapeuta? |
Plural Declension
In the plural, the -n- stem expansion appears in every case, including the nominative and accusative.
| Case | Plural Form |
|---|---|
| Nom / Acc / Gen | ramena |
| Dat / Loc / Ins | ramenima |
Note: Orthographically, the genitive plural looks exactly like the nominative and accusative plural (and the genitive singular). Context will always tell you which case is being used.
Here is the plural -n-a ending used for a direct object (accusative plural):
| The physical therapist writes the names of the muscles in the notebook. | Fizioterapeut piše imena mišića u bilježnicu. |
And the plural ending -n-ima, used to describe locations inside multiple shoulders (locative plural):
| Massage helps against bad posture and tension in the shoulders. | Masaža pomaže protiv lošeg držanja i napetosti u ramenima. |
| Tension often begins in the shoulders and climbs to the crown of the head. | Napetost često počinje u ramenima i penje se do tjemena. |
