The Proper Locative Case: Location and Topic
The Locative case is used for location ('in', 'on', 'at') or the topic of discussion ('about'). It is unique because it is always used with a preposition, such as у (in), на (on), or о (about).
Nouns:
- Singular Masculine/Neuter: Ending -у. (e.g., у дому - in a house, о мушкарцу - about a man, у селу - in a village, о пољу - about a field)
- Singular Feminine: Common ending is -и. (e.g., на реци - on a river, о сестри - about a sister, у земљи - in the earth)
- Plural (all genders): Often ends in -има. (e.g., у домовима - in houses, о мушкарцима - about men, у селима - in villages, на рекама - on rivers)
Adjectives:
- Singular Masculine/Neuter: hard -ом, soft -ом. (e.g., у добром дому - in a good house, о тихом човеку - about a quiet person)
- Singular Feminine: hard -ој, soft -ој. (e.g., на доброј реци - on a good river, о тихој жени - about a quiet woman)
- Plural (all genders): hard/soft -им. (e.g., у добрим домовима - in good houses, о тихим људима - about quiet people)
Examples: Моја књига је на столу (My book is on the table). Говоримо о нашем дому (We are talking about our house). Они живе у великом граду (They live in a big city). Деца се играју у двориштима (Children are playing in the yards).