NominativНоминативNominative
NOMko? / šta?ко? / шта? — who, what.
ko? / šta?ко? / шта? — who, what.
koga? / čega?кога? / чега? — of whom, of what.
, , , , , , , , ,
kome? / čemu?коме? / чему? — to whom, to what.
, ,
koga? / šta?кога? / шта? — whom, what.
, , , , , , , , ,
O, Marija!О, Марија! — the case you call with.
(s) kim? / čim?(с) ким? / чим? — with whom, by what.
, , , , ,
o kome? / o čemu?о коме? / о чему? — about whom, about what.
, , , ,
| Sg | Pl | |
|---|---|---|
| NOM | ljubavљубав | ljubaviљубави |
| GEN | ljubaviљубави | ljubaviљубави |
| DAT | ljubaviљубави | ljubavimaљубавима |
| AKU | ljubavљубав | ljubaviљубави |
| VOK | ljubaviљубави | ljubaviљубави |
| INS | ljubavljuљубављу | ljubavimaљубавима |
| LOK | ljubaviљубави | ljubavimaљубавима |
These three hard consonants don't sit comfortably next to a bright -i-и. They shift to softer cousins — c, z, sц, з, с — that match the vowel better.
When the feminine singular ending -i-и lands on a stem ending in kк, gг, or hх, those hard consonants shift to c, z, sц, з, с — softer sounds that sit better next to the -i-и.
In the masculine singular only, the accusative splits by whether the noun is alive. Living things (people, animals) take -a-а — the same shape as the genitive. Inanimate things take -∅-∅ — the nominative form, unchanged. So you reuse two endings you already know.
When you address someone whose word ends in kк, gг, or hх, those consonants shift to their soft cousins — č, ž, šч, ж, ш — before the -e-е ending. The hard sounds soften because you're calling, not stating.
If the word already ends in a soft consonant — c, ć, č, đ, dž, j, lj, nj, š, žц, ћ, ч, ђ, џ, ј, љ, њ, ш, ж — adding a soft -e-е on top would feel doubled. The ending switches to -u-у instead.
Common nouns take -o-о. Personal names normally stay unchanged when you call them, and diminutives in -ica-ица switch to -e-е. Putting -o-о on a name sounds formal or folkloric.
The round -om-ом feels heavy when it follows a soft consonant (c, ć, č, đ, dž, j, lj, nj, š, žц, ћ, ч, ђ, џ, ј, љ, њ, ш, ж). It thins to -em-ем so the word stays balanced — soft consonant, soft vowel.
The Locative singular ending for feminines is -i-и — exactly the same as Dative. Same ending, same softening: k, g, hк, г, х become c, z, sц, з, с when they meet it.