Nominative
Noun or adjective used in nominative is used in its default form. This is the form found in dictionaries.
| sg. | pl. |
| M. -Ø: bulevar-Ø, momak-Ø | -i: bulevar-i, momc-i |
| F. -a: žen-a, devojk-a | -e: žen-e, devojk-e |
| N. -o/-e: pism-o, polj-e | -a: pism-a, polj-a |
We use nominative:
1. as the subject of the sentence, and this answers the question
Ko? (for animate nouns) or Šta? (for inanimate nouns):
Ko pjeva? Ana pjeva. Who is singing. Ana is singing.
Genitive
Genitive can be used with or without prepositions.
| sg. | pl. |
| M. -a: bulevar-a, momk-a | -a: bulevara-a, momak-a |
| F. -e: žen-e, devojk-e | -a: žen-a, devojak-a |
| N. -a: pism-a, polj-a | -a: pisam-a, polj-a |
We use genitive:
- with the following prepositions: pored (next to), ispod (under), iznad (above), ispred (in front of), iza (behind), između (between), blizu (near), do (to), od(from), kod (at).
Ja sam iz Podgorice. I am from Podgorica.
Idem kod Marije. I am going to Marija’s house.
Knjiga je ispod stola. The book is under the table.
- With quntifiers: mnogo (a lot), puno (a lot), malo (a littile bit), nekoliko (several), koliko (how much), etc.
Ja imam puno drugova. I have a lot of friends.
Ona ima malo hljeba. She has a small amount of bread.
Dative
The dative case can indicate an indirect object (purpose) and a direction of movement.
| sg. | pl. |
| M.-u: bulevar-u, momk-u | –ima: bulevar-ima, momc-ima |
| F.-i: žen-i, devojc-i | –ama: žen-ama, devojk-ama |
| N.-u: pism-u, polj-u | –ima: pism-ima, polj-ima |
We use dative:
- To whom we are doing (giving) sth (indirect object).
Ja sam Marku kupila čokoladu. I bought a chocoolate to Marco.
Ona je dala sestri poklon. She gave a gift to her sister.
- Direction of movement – towards (ka, prema)
Idem ka školi. I am going towards school.
Idem prema Marku. I am going towards Marko.
Accusative
Accusative can have several usages, but three the most important are direct object, time and with the verbs of movement:
| sg. | pl. |
| ( masc.inanimate) -Ø: bulevar-Ø (= Nom.) | -e: bulevar-e, momk-e |
| (masc. animate) -a: momk-a, Mark-a, | |
| F. -u: žen-u, devojk-u | -e: žen-e, devojk-e |
| N. -o/-e: pism-o, polj-e (= Nom.) | -a: pism-a, polj-a |
We use accusative:
- For the direct object in the sentence (answers questions šta (what) or koga (whom):
Koga slušaš? Slušam profesora. Who are you listenint to? I am listening to professor.
Šta gledaš? Gledam film. What are you watching? I am watching a movie.
Ja sam udarila moju sestru. I slapped my sister.
- With the verbs of movement: ići (to go), putovati (to travel) and similar:
Milan ide u školu. Milan goes to school.
Marija putuje u Rim. Marija is traveling to Rome.
- Time with prepisitions U (in, at) and NA (on):
Idem na posao u ponedeljak. I am going to work on Monday.
Idem na odmor na ljeto. I am going for a vacation in the summer.
Vocative
The vocative case is used for addressing or calling someone.
| sg. | pl. |
| M. -e/-u: gospodine, Jovane, prijatelju =Nom.: Marko, Đorđe |
=Nom.: prijatelji |
| F. -o/-e: devojko, gospođo, Zoro, drugarice, Milice =Nom.: Marina, Zorana |
=Nom.:devojke |
Instrumental
The two main meanings indicated by the instrumental case are company and means or instrument with which an action is performed.
| sg. | pl. |
| M. -om/-em*: bulevar-om, momk-om,Mark-om, Đorđ-em | –ima: bulevar-ima, momc-ima |
| F. -om: žen-om, devojk-om | –ama: žen-ama, devojk-ama |
| N.-om/-em: pism-om, polj-em, ime-n-om |
–ima: pism-ima, polj-ima, ime-n-ima |
*If the noun is ending on soft conosants such as: j, lj, nj, ć, đ, č, ž, š the eding will be EM.
We use instrumental:
- To show company, with whom are we, with preposition S(A), answers the question SA KIM (with whom):
Idem u grad sa majkom. I am going to the city with my mother.
Družim se sa Markom. I am hanging out with Marko.
- To show the tool that we use for something, no prepositions needed, answers the question Čime (with what, by what): :
Pišem olovkom. I am writing with my pen.
Idem autobusom. I am going by bus.
Putujem avionom. I am travelling by plane.
- To give additional information about something, with preposition S(A):
Burek sa sirom. (I guess there is no need to translate this J)
Locative
This is the only case that is always used with a preposition (U (in), NA (on, at), O (about), PO (through, over). The primary function of this case is to indicate place.
| sg. | pl. |
| M.-u: bulevar-u, momk-u Mark-u, Đorđ-u |
-ima: bulevar-ima, momc-ima |
| F.-i: žen-i, devojc-i | -ama: žen-ama, devojk-ama |
| N.-u: pism-u, polj-u | -ima: pism-ima, polj-ima |
We use locative:
- To say where are we, location:
Ja sam u hotelu. I am at the hotel.
Ja živim u Podgorici. I live in Podgorica.
- To say about whom we are talking:
Pričamo o filmovima. We are talking about movies.
Govorim o Mariji. I am talking about Marija.
