Serbian 301 — one little word for "all", and five different ways to say it in the accusative.
English has all and the whole and never changes either one. Serbian has sav, and it bends to whatever follows it. Here is the accusative in full — the case you need after dati, pojesti, popiti, prodati, upoznati.
| Gender / number | Accusative | Example |
|---|---|---|
| m. sg. | sav | uzeo sam sav beton |
| f. sg. | svu | popio sam svu koka-kolu |
| n. sg. | svo / sve | popio sam svo mleko |
| m. pl. | sve | prodali smo sve kompjutere |
| f. pl. | sve | kupili su sve slike |
| n. pl. | sva | upoznaću sva sela Srbije |
| deca | svu | nagradili smo svu decu |
Two traps are worth naming before you start. The first is the feminine: the nominative is sva (sva supa), but the accusative is svu (daj mu svu supu). That -u is the same ending the noun takes, so they rhyme — use that.
The second is deca. It looks plural and means plural, but grammatically it's a feminine singular collective: sva deca → svu decu. Not sva decu.
And one form that isn't an adjective at all: sve standing alone, with no noun after it, means everything. Daj im sve što imaš — give them everything you have. That's the neuter pronoun, and it's why sav can't be used there.
1. Daj mi veš. all the laundry
2. Uzeo sam beton. all the concrete
3. Pojeo sam ručak. the whole lunch
4. Pojeli smo hamburgere. all the hamburgers
5. Prodali smo kompjutere. all the computers
6. Upoznaj moje prijatelje. all my friends
1. Daj mu supu. all the soup
2. Popio sam koka-kolu. all the Coca-Cola
3. Bacio sam tortu. the whole cake
4. Sada vidim vežbe. all the exercises
5. Kupili su slike u galeriji. all the paintings
6. Pojeli smo kokice. all the popcorn
In the singular, both svo and sve are accepted here — svo is what people say, sve is what the grammar books prefer.
1. Daj nam pivo koje imaš. all the beer you have
2. Prodao sam vino. all the wine
3. Popio sam mleko. all the milk
4. Upoznaću sela Srbije. all the villages of Serbia
5. Prodali smo odela. all the suits
1. Nagradili smo decu. all the children (deca — ž. jednina!)
2. Daj im što imaš. everything you have (nema imenice)
SR (lat): Pitaj se dve stvari: koji je rod imenice i da li je jednina ili množina. Može latinicom ili ćirilicom; velika i mala slova su svejedno.
СР (ћир): Питај се две ствари: који је род именице и да ли је једнина или множина. Може латиницом или ћирилицом; велика и мала слова су свеједно.
EN: Ask two questions: what gender is the noun, and is it singular or plural. Latin or Cyrillic, not case-sensitive.
The last one in this batch, and the biggest idea in Serbian grammar: did the action finish, or was it still running?
Svršeni i Nesvršeni Vid →