Understanding the Bosanski Genitive Case
The Genitive Case in the Bosnian language is like a special helper that shows us possession, quantity, or absence of something. It often answers the questions 'whose?' or 'of what?'.
Important Points
- Shows possession, like 'Ana's book'.
- Used after certain prepositions.
- Indicates quantity or absence.
- Used in expressions of time and measurement.
How to Form the Genitive Case
To form the Genitive Case, we change the endings of nouns and adjectives. This change depends on the gender and number of the noun.
Important Points
- Masculine nouns usually add -a or -e.
- Feminine nouns often change -a to -e.
- Neuter nouns add -a.
- Plural nouns have their own special endings.
Examples
- Bratov pas (Brother's dog)
- Kuća moje bake (House of my grandmother)
- Čaša mlijeka (Glass of milk)
Using the Genitive Case with Prepositions
Some prepositions always want to be followed by the Genitive Case. These prepositions include 'iz' (from), 'bez' (without), and 'do' (to).
Examples
- Dolazim iz škole (I am coming from school)
- Bez šećera (Without sugar)
- Do kuće (To the house)
Expressing Quantity and Absence
The Genitive Case is also used to talk about how much of something there is or isn't. It's like saying 'a lot of' or 'none of'.
Examples
- Puno vode (A lot of water)
- Malo vremena (A little time)
- Nema jabuka (No apples)
Expressions of Time and Measurement
We also use the Genitive Case to talk about time and measurements. It's like saying 'during the night' or 'a cup of tea'.
Examples
- Tokom noći (During the night)
- Šalica čaja (Cup of tea)
- Kilogram jabuka (Kilogram of apples)