Serbian Prepositions & Cases
A Serbian preposition never travels alone — each one demands a specific case from the noun after it. Learn the preposition and its case together, as one unit, and half the case system installs itself for free.
Prepositions Choose Cases
The same noun wears different endings depending on the preposition in front:
- из Београда — from Belgrade (genitive)
- у Београду — in Belgrade (locative)
- у Београд — to Belgrade (accusative)
Three phrases, one city, three endings — and each is completely predictable from the preposition + meaning.
The Genitive Crowd
The biggest gang of prepositions all take the genitive:
Код is a small treasure: код мене — at my place; Идем код лекара — I'm going to the doctor's.
у and на: Direction vs Location
The pair you'll use most. Each takes two cases — and the case answers a question:
Motion → accusative; parked → locative. One vowel of difference (у град vs у граду) carries the whole distinction, so Serbian ears listen for it closely.
Choosing between у and на: у goes with enclosed places (у кући, у школи, у биоскопу), на with surfaces, events, and open spaces (на столу, на утакмици, на тргу) — plus the idiomatic на кафи (out for coffee) and на послу (at work).
са: With
са (or just с) + instrumental covers company and accompaniment:
Means of transport skip the preposition entirely and use the bare instrumental: идем аутобусом / возом — by bus / by train.
The Beginner's Cheat Sheet
Seven anchor phrases, spoken aloud until they feel obvious — that's the entire assignment.