Questions & Answers about Ona čita knjigu u sobi.
Why is knjiga changed to knjigu?
Because knjiga is the dictionary form, or nominative form, meaning book.
In this sentence, book is the direct object of čita (reads), so Serbian uses the accusative case. For a feminine singular noun like knjiga, the accusative ending is -u:
- knjiga = nominative
- knjigu = accusative
So:
- Ona čita knjigu. = She is reading a/the book.
Why is soba changed to sobi in u sobi?
Because after u meaning in, Serbian uses the locative case when talking about a location.
So:
- soba = room (nominative)
- u sobi = in the room (locative)
This is a very common pattern:
- u školi = in school
- u kući = in the house
- u sobi = in the room
What case is ona in, and why does it stay the same?
Ona is in the nominative case because it is the subject of the sentence.
The subject is the person doing the action, and in Serbian the subject normally appears in the nominative:
- ona = she
- on = he
- ja = I
So here:
- Ona = the one who is reading