Introduction to Serbian Noun Categories

Defining Common Nouns in Serbian

A common noun in Serbian refers to a general category of objects, people, or places, rather than a specific name. These nouns can be countable or uncountable, animate or inanimate. Some examples include:

– књига (knjiga) – book
– мајка (majka) – mother
– град (grad) – city

The Role of Gender in Common Nouns

In Serbian, every noun is assigned to one of three grammatical genders: masculine, feminine, or neuter. The gender of a noun influences its declension, adjectives, and pronouns. Below are examples of common nouns for each gender:

– Masculine: стол (stol) – table
– Feminine: зграда (zgrada) – building
– Neuter: дете (dete) – child

Declension of Serbian Common Nouns

Serbian common nouns are declined based on seven cases: Nominative (subject), Genitive (possession), Dative (indirect object), Accusative (direct object), Vocative (address), Instrumental (means), and Locative (location).

Below is an example of the declension of the common noun “мајка” (majka – mother) in all three genders:

Plurality in Common Nouns

Common nouns can have both singular and plural forms. The plurality of the noun will affect the conjugation of its accompanying verb. To form the plural of a common noun in Serbian, the endings of the noun will change depending on its gender:

– Masculine: столови (stolovi) – tables
– Feminine: зграде (zgrade) – buildings
– Neuter: деца (deca) – children

Conclusion

By understanding the intricacies of common nouns in Serbian grammar, like gender, declension, and plurality, students can effectively communicate with native speakers and express a wide range of concepts in various contexts. Mastering these aspects of the language is essential to achieving fluency in Serbian.