Veterinar pregleda psa.

The veterinarian examines the dog.

Breakdown of Veterinar pregleda psa.

• pas: dog
• pregledati: to examine
• veterinar: veterinarian

Questions & Answers about Veterinar pregleda psa.

Why is it psa and not pas?

Because psa is the accusative singular form of pas.

In this sentence, pas is the direct object: it is the one being examined. Serbian changes noun forms according to their role in the sentence.

• pas = nominative singular, the basic dictionary form
• psa = accusative singular, used here for the object

A very useful rule:

• for masculine animate nouns, the accusative singular usually looks like the genitive singular
• so pas → psa

That is why you say Veterinar pregleda psa, not Veterinar pregleda pas.

What case is veterinar in?

Veterinar is in the nominative singular.

It is the subject of the sentence, meaning it is the one doing the action. In Serbian, subjects are normally in the nominative.

So here:

• veterinar = the veterinarian, subject
• psa = the dog, object

How do I know who is doing the action and who is receiving it?

Mostly from the case endings, not just from word order.

In Veterinar pregleda psa:

• veterinar is nominative, so it is the subject
• is accusative, so it is the object