Lesson 51. Accusative Case: "whom? what?"
We’re moving to the second case — the accusative (Akuzativ). It’s the most common case after the nominative.
Why we need it
The accusative is the case of what the action is directed at. In English it works the same way:
- I see whom? — the brother.
- I read what? — the book.
- I love whom? — mom.
Examples
Vidim brata. (Видим брата.)
— I see the brother.
Čitam knjigu. (Читам књигу.)
— I read the book.
Volim mamu. (Волим маму.)
— I love mom.
Imam psa. (Имам пса.)
— I have a dog.
Pijemo vodu. (Пијемо воду.)
— We drink water.
Verbs that “take” the accusative
Many verbs ask for the accusative after them:
- videti — to see
- voleti — to love
- imati — to have
- čitati — to read
- piti — to drink
- jesti — to eat
- gledati — to watch
- pisati — to write
- kupovati — to buy
- hteti — to want
Kupujem hleb. (Купујем хлеб.)
— I buy bread.
Gledam film. (Гледам филм.)
— I watch a film.
The main thing — feminine nouns change their ending
For feminine nouns ending in -a, the accusative ending is -u:
mama → mamu (мама → маму)
— mom → mom (accusative)
sestra → sestru (сестра → сестру)
— sister → sister (accusative)
knjiga → knjigu (књига → књигу)
— book → book (accusative)
kuća → kuću (кућа → кућу)
— house → house (accusative)
We’ll cover this in detail in the next lesson.
Exercises
Exercise 1
What case is `knjigu` in «Čitam knjigu»?
Show explanation
Accusative — it answers “what do I read?”.
Exercise 2
Find the accusative case in these sentences:
— Volim sladoled.
— Gledam televizor.
— Kupujem hleb.
Show answer
sladoled, televizor, hleb — all in the accusative (inanimate masculine, same as nominative).
Exercise 3
How do you say “I see mom”?
Show answer
Vidim mamu. — mama → mamu.
Lesson vocabulary
- videti (видети)
- — to see
- kupovati (куповати)
- — to buy
- film (филм)
- — film
- televizor (телевизор)
- — television