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Vocative-case in Serbian

Марко! — the Vocative

Вокатив — Call people by name — Serbian still uses its seventh case.

The case of direct address

Use the vocative when calling or addressing someone. It is alive in everyday Serbian: Марко!, Јоване!, Милице!

Јоване, где си?

Jovan, where are you?

Common masculine shapes

Many consonant-final nouns take -е or -у: Петар → Петре, пријатељ → пријатељу, друг → друже. Names in -о often stay unchanged.

Марко, дођи! / Друже, хвала!

Marko, come! / Thanks, my friend!

Common feminine shapes

Many feminine names and nouns take -о or -е: госпођа → госпођо, Милица → Милице. Some names such as Ана remain Ана.

Госпођо, извините!

Excuse me, madam!

Polite address

господине and госпођо pair naturally with Ви. Titles can change too: професор → професоре.

Професоре, имам питање.

Professor, I have a question.

Put It Together

Keep the lesson goal in view: Call people by name — Serbian still uses its seventh case. Revisit the examples, then test yourself in practice.