Written by: Milica Antović. Revised by: Milica Bokšan
The ‘Accusative Locative difference’ is one of the main things you should distinguish when it’s about Serbian cases.
Imagine this situation: you are in a restaurant, and your Serbian friend calls. You pick up, and you hear Ćao! Gde si?
And then the panic starts! What should you say?
U restoranu? U restoran? Which Serbian case is it? Locative? Or accusative?
Many students mix up Serbian Accusative and Locative cases. They might look similar – they can use the same prepositions and sometimes even do the same job in a sentence. But they’re quite different.
When you read about the Accusative Locative difference, you’ll learn to use both cases and they won’t confuse you anymore.
Accusative in Serbian
In order to understand the Accusative Locative difference, we have to introduce you to Accusative usage. Here they are!
Direct object
As previously mentioned, the Accusative case is mainly used to indicate the direct object of a verb – the thing or person receiving the action.
For example:
- Jedem jabuku. ( = I am eating an apple.)
- Da li vidiš onog visokog čoveka? (= Do you see that tall man?)
- Marija ne voli putovanja. (= Marija doesn’t like traveling.)
Direction
The Accusative case is used to show direction or movement toward something. It answers the question Where to? ( Kuda? or Gde?). For example: I am going to the store, the destination (store) is in the Accusative case in Serbian.
Prepositions u (in), na (on), and kroz (through) are often used with Accusative to express movement or direction.
For example:
Putujem na Maldive. (= I am traveling to the Maldives.)
Prošle godine, išli smo u Bosnu. (= We went to Bosnia last year.)
Idem u restoran za vikend. (= I go to the restaurant on the weekend.)
Deca vole kada prolaze kroz tunel. (= Kids enjoy going through a tunnel.)
Purpose
Accusative may also express purpose. It answers the question For whom? / For what? (Za koga? Za šta?)
Ovo je kafa za Mariju. (= This coffee is for Maria.)
Kupila sam karte za utakmicu. (= I’ve bought tickets for the game.)
Locative in Serbian
The Locative case is primarily used to indicate the location specifying the place where something happens. The Locative is the only case in which the prepositions are always used.
U and na are the main prepositions used with Locative, meaning place.
Locative + po
The preposition po (on, around, all over) with Locative answers the question Where to? (Kuda?).
For example:
Šetamo po centru grada. (= We are walking around the city center.)
Deca su se razletela po ulici. (= The children scattered all over the street.)
Po krovovima kuća još uvek ima snega. (= There is still snow on the rooftops of the houses.)
The Accusative Locative Difference
And here’s what actually causes confusion!
- Time
Both Accusative and Locative can express time, answering the question When? (Kada?).
However, there are specific rules to remember about when to use each case.
You should use the Accusative case with:
- Days of the week: Treba da radim u subotu. (= I should work on Saturday.)
- Seasons: *Na leto idem na selo. (= In summer, I go to the countryside.)
*Important: Note that some Serbian people might use the preposition u with seasons.
- Time duration (answers the question How long?): Spavala je celu noć. (= She slept all night.) Bili smo bolesni celu nedelju.(= We were sick for the whole week.)
You should use Locative with:
- Months: Putujem u martu u Italiju (= I am traveling to Italy in March.)
- General time frames, such as u detinjstvu, u starostu, u mladosti, u trinaestom veku, u šezdesetim (= in childhood, in one’s old age, in youth, in the 13th century, in the 60’s)
- Location
As the name Locative suggests, the main purpose of its case is to show the location.
While Accusative is about the dynamics, Locative is about the static.
When we use Accusative, we know something or someone is on the move. However, the main accent is on the location/position when Locative is used.
Remember the panic attack in the restaurant from the beginning? Gde si? is the question asking for the location, so… The correct answer should be U restoranu. A person is sitting there, nothing is about the movement – just the position in our small universe.
For example:
Knjiga je na stolu. (= The book is on the desk.)
Živim u malom gradu. (= I live in a small town.)
Sedim u restoranu. (= I am sitting in a restaurant.)
Bonus: If you are not sure which preposition to use, check this out.
- Verbs that go with Accusative and Locative
Since the prepositions u and na could be used with Accusative and Locative, this might be tricky – let’s look at some verbs.
Accusative + na
- misliti (to think about), ličiti (to look like), navići se (to get used to), gledati (to see … as)
- Mislim na Mariju ceo dan. (= I think about Marija all day long.)
- Ličim na svog oca. (= I look like my father.)
- Ne mogu da se naviknem na nove naočare. (= I can’t get used to these new glasses.)
- Gledam na to kao na priliku. (= I see that as an opportunity.)
Accusative + u
- zaljubiti se (to fall in love with somebody), sumnjati (to suspect someone, to have doubts about someone), uveriti se (to convince oneself), gledati (to look at, to stare)
- Marko se zaljubio u Anu. (= Marko is in love with Ana.)
- Sumnjam u njegovu iskrenost. (= I doubt his honesty.)
- Moram da se uverim u istinitost tvojih reči. (= I need to make sure of the truth of your words.)
- Nemoj da gledaš u mene! (= Don’t look at me!)
Accusative + za
- zanimati se (to be interested in), interesovati se (to take an interest) , zalagati se (to advocate)
- Interesujem se za istoriju srednjeg veka. (= I am interested in medieval history.)
- Građani se zalažu za restauraciju muzeja. (= Citizens advocate for the restoration of the museum.)
Locative + o
govoriti, misliti, brinuti, sanjati, maštati, pričati…
- Marija mašta o novim kolima. (= Marija is dreaming about the new car.)
- Stariji ljudi često pričaju o svom detinjstvu. (= Older people often talk about their childhood.)
Locative + u
- uživati (enjoy), učestvovati (take part in, participate), uspeti (succeed)
- Sutra učestvujem u maratonskoj trci. (= Tomorrow, I am participating in a marathon race.)
- Uživam u gledanju dokumentarnih filmova. (= I enjoy watching documentary films.)
- Napolje vs. Napolju
The adverbs napolje and napolju both mean outside. They come from the noun polje (field) but don’t decline. So, how do you know which one to use? When talking about going outside, use napolje. If you are talking about the position, use napolju.
‒ Gde si? (=Where are you?) ‒ Napolju.
‒ Gde ideš? (= Where are you going?) ‒ Napolje.
More About Serbian Cases
Besides the Accusative Locative differences, you may have other doubts about using Serbian cases.
We cover them in our other posts, so don’t hesitate to use them!
Here’s the list:
Serbian Cases Made Easy Pt. 1: Should You Use “SA” in Instrumental?
Serbian Cases Made Easy Pt. 2: Should You Use “OD” in Genitive?
Serbian Cases Made Easy Pt. 3: Are Dative and Locative the Same?
Serbian Cases Made Easy pt. 4: Strange Case of Masculine Gender in Accusative
And for the end, let’s sum up the most important information:
- Verbs that indicate location require Locative: Živim u Beogradu (= I live in Belgrade.).
- Verbs that indicate movement require Accusative: Putujem u Srbiju (= I’m traveling to Serbia.).
- The preposition po is used with Locative.
- The preposition za is used with Accusative.
- Use Locative with names of the months, years and longer time phrases.
- Use Accusative with the days of the week.
- You can use both Accusative and Locative with seasons.
If you’d like to learn more about Serbian cases, check out our Serbian comprehensive online courses!
