The bare accusative time adverbial
In short
Bare accusative = when / how often. No preposition.
| Gender | Nominative | Accusative (time) |
|---|---|---|
| m | ceo dan, prošli mesec, sledeći mesec | ceo dan, prošli mesec, sledeći mesec |
| f | cela nedelja, prošla godina, sledeća jesen | celu nedelju, prošlu godinu, sledeću jesen |
| n | celo jutro, prošlo leto | celo jutro, prošlo leto |
Only the feminine changes: -a → -u on the modifier (the noun changes too when it ends in -a; noć, jesen do not change).
- when: prošlo leto, prošlu nedelju, sledeći mesec, sledeću jesen
- how often: svaki dan, svako jutro, svaku subotu
Not a direct object — the verb may have its own object (Svako veče čitam knjigu) or none at all (Svaki dan trčim).
Genitive variant, equally correct: svakog dana, prošle nedelje.
A1 · Lesson 38 · Saying when and how often, without a preposition
The full explanation, from the lesson that teaches this rule
In English you say last summer, every day, all morning with no preposition at all. You do not say in last summer. Serbian does the same thing — and it marks these phrases with a case you already know: the accusative.
Until now the accusative has meant one thing: the direct object, the thing the verb acts on. Čitam knjigu. Now it takes on a second job. A noun phrase in the bare accusative — no preposition in front of it — can answer when? or how often?
When something happened
Put the time word in the accusative and drop it into the sentence. Nothing else is needed.
| Serbian | English | the phrase |
|---|---|---|
| Prošlo leto smo bili u planini. | Last summer we were in the mountains. | prošlo leto |
| Prošlu nedelju sam bio bolestan. | Last week I was ill. | prošlu nedelju |
| Tu subotu nisam radio. | That Saturday I did not work. | tu subotu |
| Sledeći mesec putujem u Beč. | Next month I am travelling to Vienna. | sledeći mesec |
| Sledeću jesen idem u novu školu. | Next autumn I am going to a new school. | sledeću jesen |
The phrase always carries a word in front of it — prošli, sledeći, ovaj, taj, ceo, svaki. A day or a month standing on its own does not work this way: for on Wednesday you still need u sredu, and for a habit svaku sredu.
How often something happens
The same construction with svaki (every) answers how often?
| Serbian | English |
|---|---|
| svaki dan | every day |
| svako jutro | every morning |
| svako veče | every evening |
| svaku nedelju | every week |
| svaku subotu | every Saturday |
The word in front agrees, in the accusative
The little word in front — prošli, sledeći, ceo, svaki, ovaj — agrees with its noun in gender, exactly as it does in the nominative. The difference is that it now takes the accusative ending. And here is the good news: for masculine things and for neuter things, the accusative looks exactly like the nominative. Only the feminine visibly changes: the word in front swaps -a → -u, and the noun does the same if it ends in -a (nedelja → nedelju). A feminine noun that ends in a consonant — noć, jesen — does not change at all, and then the word in front is the only thing showing the case.
| Gender | Nominative | Accusative (the time phrase) |
|---|---|---|
| masculine | ceo dan | ceo dan |
| feminine | cela nedelja | celu nedelju |
| feminine | cela noć | celu noć |
| neuter | celo jutro | celo jutro |
| masculine | prošli mesec | prošli mesec |
| feminine | prošla godina | prošlu godinu |
| neuter | prošlo leto | prošlo leto |
| masculine | sledeći mesec | sledeći mesec |
| feminine | sledeća nedelja | sledeću nedelju |
| feminine | sledeća jesen | sledeću jesen |
Watch the feminine. Prošla nedelja is the subject of a sentence (Prošla nedelja je bila teška — last week was hard). Prošlu nedelju is the time phrase (Prošlu nedelju sam bio bolestan — last week I was ill). Same words, different job, different ending.
This is not a direct object
It is easy to think the accusative here is somehow the object of the verb. It is not. The verb may have an object of its own, and the time phrase simply stands beside it — or the verb may take no object at all, and the accusative still works.
- Svako veče čitam knjigu. — knjigu is the object, svako veče is the time. Two accusatives, two different jobs.
- Svaki dan trčim. — trčati (to run) takes no object at all. Svaki dan is still accusative.
- Prošlo leto smo bili u planini. — biti takes no object either.
You will also hear svakog dana, svake subote, prošle nedelje — the genitive instead of the accusative. It means exactly the same thing and is just as correct. Learn to recognise it; when you build your own sentences, the accusative is enough for now.
Check what you read
6 of the 15 questions this lesson asks in the app. Type the form or pick the answer.
___ leto smo bili u planini.
___ nedelju sam bio bolestan.
___ mesec putujem u Beč.
Idem kod bake(svaki) subotu.
(svaki) jutro pijem kafu sa mlekom.
(ceo) noć je padala kiša.
Examples from the course
The marked word is where the rule applies. Press play to hear the sentence.
Svaki dan trčim.
I run every day.
Celo jutro sam spavala.
I slept all morning. (woman speaking)
Svako popodne deca spavaju.
Every afternoon the children sleep.
Tu subotu nisam radio.
That Saturday I did not work. (man speaking)
Sledeću subotu slavimo rođendan.
Next Saturday we are celebrating a birthday.
Svako veče čitam knjigu.
Every evening I read a book.
Svako veče zovem majku telefonom.
Every evening I call my mother on the phone.
Celu noć je padala kiša.
It rained all night.
Vratili smo se prošli petak.
We came back last Friday. (a group including a man)
Šta si radio prošlo proleće?
What did you do last spring? (to a man)
Sentences in the course that use this rule: 52
Try it yourself
Translate a sentence that uses this rule. The check marks the word that went wrong and names the rule behind it, as in the app.
Sentences
Write it in Serbian
I slept all morning. (woman speaking)