The Genitive Case: Possession, Absence, and More
The Genitive case indicates possession (like 'of' or 's), absence (with bez - without), origin (with iz - from), or location at/having ('at' or 'have' with kod). Its primary role is showing belonging or relation, or being required by certain prepositions.
Nouns: Endings vary based on gender, number, and hard/soft stem.
- Singular Masculine/Neuter: ending -a. (e.g., dom brata - brother's house, knjiga učitelja - teacher's book, prozor sela - village window, cvijet polja - field flower)
- Singular Feminine: ending -e or -i. (e.g., knjiga sestre - sister's book, glas zemlje - voice of the earth)
- Plural (all genders): Variable, often -a or -i. (e.g., domovi braće - brothers' houses, knjige učitelja - teachers' books, knjige žena - women's books, prozori sela - village windows, cvjetovi polja - field flowers)
Adjectives:
- Singular (all genders): hard -og(a), soft -eg(a). (e.g., dom dobrog(a) brata - house of a good brother, knjiga nove učiteljice - book of a new teacher, prozor nježnog(a) sela - window of a tender village)
- Plural (all genders): hard/soft -ih. (e.g., domovi dobrih očeva - houses of good fathers, knjige nježnih učitelja - books of tender teachers)
Prepositions: Used after bez (without), iz (from), kod (at/by/have), and others like do (to/until), od (from).
Examples: To je posao mojeg oca (This is my father's work). Ja sam iz grada (I am from the city). Kod mene je sat (I have a watch - literally "At me there is a watch"). Oni idu bez vode (They are going without water). Vidio sam mnogo lijepih žena (I saw many beautiful women).