Genitiv
Nema kahve puts the of and none job on the coffee, so the ending is e, not the want-it u.
Why you are here
Today you learn the of, from, and none job on the same coffee you already filed and wanted. Amira can say Nema kahve when the pot is empty, and that e is not the want-it u from Chapter 2. English hangs of and from in front as separate words. Bosnian hangs the job on the end again. You get one new outfit on the same small word set.
Why English lies
English lies because a cup of coffee, coffee from Sarajevo, and there is no coffee keep the word coffee still. You only add little words in front. Bosnian moves the ending instead. Kahva becomes kahve in that job. Schools call the job genitiv. You can keep saying of, from, and none and still be right. The pile stays whatever you filed in Chapter 1. Only the job mark changes.
A line you already say
Book 1 already put Emir in Sarajevo with iz Sarajeva, and it already let Ana want more coffee with Želim još kahve. Today those endings get a name. The café line that shows this job is Amira’s Nema kahve, which means there is no coffee. Kahve is still the she-word. It is not kahvu. Wanting the drink and having none of it are different jobs.
The pattern
She-pile words swap that final a for e in the of, from, and none job. Kahva becomes kahve, and kuća becomes kuće. He-pile words usually add a, so most becomes mosta and auto becomes auta. Leftover-pile words usually turn the last o or e into a, so pivo becomes piva and Sarajevo becomes Sarajeva. Use that form after nema, after iz and od, and when English would say of. Learn kahve first. Then notice mosta and piva follow their own pile habits.
| Pile | List form | Of / from / none |
|---|---|---|
| she (ona) | kahva, kuća | kahve, kuće |
| he (on) | most, auto | mosta, auta |
| leftover (ono) | pivo, Sarajevo | piva, Sarajeva |
Kuće is the of form of the house, the same she-pile e you saw on kahve.
The pests
Three pests will trip you today. The first is saying Nema kahva, which leaves coffee in the name-it form when you mean none. The second is grabbing kahvu because Chapter 2 trained your hand for wanting. Kahvu is want-it. Kahve is of, from, and none. The third pest is Emira. You already saw Emira for I see Emir. The same shape often appears for of Emir or from Emir. People in the he pile reuse that look. A bridge does not reuse that look. Most becomes mosta when you mean of the bridge.
The bit that tricks you
The trap is to treat every moved ending as the want-it job. Kahvu and kahve are neighbors, not twins. Ana wants kahvu. Amira has none of kahve. The other trap is to translate English of as a free word you can drop in front of the list form. Šolja kahva is wrong. Šolja kahve puts the of job on the coffee itself. If you keep the list form after nema, iz, or of, you sound like you never changed jobs.
| English job | Form | What changed |
|---|---|---|
| That is coffee. | kahva | name-it, list form |
| I want coffee. | kahvu | want-it, still she |
| There is no coffee. | kahve | of / none, still she |
| Emir is from Sarajevo. | Sarajeva | from, leftover takes a |
Iz Sarajeva uses the from job, so leftover Sarajevo becomes Sarajeva.
Sample words
Tap a word to hear it.
Look at these
Each line has a speaker. Tap the line to hear it. On some lines you can record yourself for a short Speak Check.
Speak Check listens to your recording and sends back short tips.
Speak Check listens to your recording and sends back short tips.
Speak Check listens to your recording and sends back short tips.
Try these
Amira has no coffee. Which form?
Ana wants coffee. Which form?
Emir is from Sarajevo. Which form after iz?
There is no beer. Which form?
Roof of the house. Which form of kuća?
There is no bridge. Which form?
Someone says Nema kahva. What went wrong?
Želim još kahve uses which job on coffee?
Od Emira. Why does Emira look familiar?
English of is a separate word. What does Bosnian do?
Quick check
1. Tri kahve, molim. Why kahve?
2. Nema kahve uses which form?
3. She-pile words like kahva and kuća usually do what in this job?
4. Why is Ja sam iz Sarajeva correct?
5. Why is Nema kahvu the wrong café line?
6. There is no car. Which form after nema?
Next
You now know why Nema kahve is not Nema kahva, and why kahvu stays in the want-it column. Iz Sarajeva and šolja kahve use the same of job. Chapter 4 is giving, liking, and in versus into on the same small set. You still will not get a seven-job chart.
