Adjectives: Declension

01

Agreement in the Nominative

In the basic form the adjective takes a clear gender ending: nothing extra for masculine, -a for feminine, -o (or -e) for neuter.

• nov auto

  a new car (masculine)

• nova kuća

  a new house (feminine)

• novo računalo

  a new computer (neuter)

• one stem nov-, three endings: nothing, -a, -o
• each noun stays in its dictionary form - it is the adjective that has to move

• Ova voda je hladna.

  This water is cold.

02

The Plural Nominative

In the plural the three genders still differ: masculine -i, feminine -e, neuter -a.

• dobri prijatelji

  good friends (m)

• dobre ideje

  good ideas (f)

• velika sela

  big villages (n)

• Oni nisu sretni.

  They are not happy.

03

Agreement Through the Cases

When the noun changes case, the adjective changes with it, taking endings that echo the case. Masculine and neuter share most endings; feminine has its own.

• Genitive: novog (m/n), nove (f)
• Dative / locative: novom (m/n), novoj (f)
• Instrumental: novim (m/n), novom (f)

• Prošle godine sam počela novi posao.

  Last year I started a new job. (genitive: prošl-e godin-e)

• Pomogla sam novoj kolegici.

  I helped the new colleague. (dative, feminine: nov-oj kolegic-i)

• Živimo na šesnaestom katu.

  We live on the sixteenth floor. (locative: šesnaest-om kat-u)

• U plastičnoj vrećici je lutka.

  There is a doll in the plastic bag. (locative, feminine: plastičn-oj vrećic-i)

• Putujem brzim vlakom.

  I travel by fast train. (instrumental: brz-im vlak-om)

04

The Accusative and Animacy

In the masculine accusative singular the adjective follows the noun's animacy: with an inanimate noun it keeps the nominative form, with an animate one it takes the genitive ending -og.

• Imam novi auto.

  I have a new car. (inanimate)

• Znam tog visokog muškarca.

  I know that tall man. (animate)

05

Short and Long Forms

Most descriptive adjectives have an indefinite (short) and a definite (long) form. The choice has its own topic; in brief, a predicate after biti takes the short form, while a specific, known noun takes the long one.

• Auto je nov.

  The car is new. (short, predicate)

• Taj novi auto je skup.

  That new car is expensive. (long, specific)

06

Word Order

The adjective normally comes before its noun, as in English, and several can stack up, each one agreeing.

• Moja stara olovka.

  My old pencil.

• zelena majica i zlatna ogrlica

  a green shirt and a gold necklace

• Imam jednu plavu i jednu sivu olovku.

  I have one blue and one gray pencil.

07

Colours, Sizes and Qualities

Adjectives of colour, size and quality decline like any other, and they can also answer a question on their own, taking the case the missing noun would have had.

• Taj model je visok i vitak.

  That model is tall and slim. (two predicate adjectives, both masculine to match model)

• Koje boje cipele želite? Crne, molim.

  What colour shoes do you want? Black, please.

• Crn-e alone is the whole answer: it is feminine plural, agreeing with the cipele nobody needs to repeat

08

A Full Noun Phrase Across the Cases

It helps to watch one phrase move through the cases. Take dobar prijatelj (a good friend):

• To je dobar prijatelj.

  That is a good friend. (nominative)

• Trebam dobrog prijatelja.

  I need a good friend. (accusative)

• dobr-og and prijatelj-a - both words take an ending, and they are not the same ending

• Dao sam poklon dobrom prijatelju.

  I gave a gift to a good friend. (dative)

• Bio sam s dobrim prijateljem.

  I was with a good friend. (instrumental)

09

Adjectives Used Without a Noun

An adjective can stand alone when the noun is understood; its ending still shows the gender.

• Ova knjiga je stara. Kupimo novu.

  This book is old. Let's buy a new one.

• Možete li mi donijeti drugo?

  Can you bring me another one?