Prepositional government of adjectives
In short
The adjective chooses the case of its complement.
| Pattern | Case | Example |
|---|---|---|
| spreman za | acc. | spreman za ispit |
| zahvalan za | acc. | zahvalan za poklon |
| zainteresovan za | acc. | zainteresovan za posao |
| ljut na | acc. | ljut na brata, na direktora, na komšiju |
| ponosan na | acc. | ponosan na sina, ponosna na sestru |
| zahvalan na | loc. | zahvalan na pomoći, na savetu, na strpljenju |
| zahvalan + dat. | dat. | zahvalan ti na pozivu, zahvalna profesorki na strpljenju |
| zadovoljan — | ins. | zadovoljan uslugom, platom |
| oduševljen — | ins. | oduševljen poklonom, rezultatom |
| razočaran — | ins. | razočaran igrom, odlukom |
| bogat / siromašan — | ins. | bogat naftom |
After na the case is decided by the adjective, not by motion or place. The person you thank stands in the bare dative. The instrumental group takes no preposition — never sa.
A2 · Lesson 48 · Adjectives that govern their complement: a preposition or a bare instrumental
The full explanation, from the lesson that teaches this rule
In English a lot of adjectives come with a small word glued to them: grateful for, ready for, angry at, proud of, satisfied with, interested in. You cannot work out which one from the meaning — you learn it together with the adjective.
Serbian works the same way, with one extra step. The adjective picks the preposition, and then the noun after it has to go into a particular case. So what you memorise is a package of three things: adjective + preposition + case.
za + accusative
This is the biggest group. za here is the same za you already know from poklon za majku, and it takes the accusative.
| Serbian | English | Example |
|---|---|---|
| spreman za + acc. | ready for | Spreman sam za ispit. |
| zahvalan za + acc. | grateful for | Zahvalna sam za poklon. |
| zainteresovan za + acc. | interested in | Zainteresovani smo za taj stan. |
| sposoban za + acc. | capable of | On je sposoban za taj posao. |
na — but which case?
Here is the point of the whole lesson. After na the noun can stand in the accusative or in the locative, and the adjective decides which. There is no rule about motion or place to help you, the way there was with u školu and u školi. The adjective simply owns its case.
| Serbian | Case after na | English | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| ljut na + acc. | accusative | angry at / with | Ljuta sam na brata. Ljut je na direktora. |
| ponosan na + acc. | accusative | proud of | Ponosni smo na tebe. Ponosna je na sestru. |
| ljubomoran na + acc. | accusative | jealous of | Ljubomoran je na kolegu. |
| zahvalan na + loc. | locative | grateful for | Hvala, zahvalan sam na savetu. |
zahvalan takes both: za + accusative for a thing you were given (zahvalan za poklon), na + locative for something someone did for you (zahvalan na pomoći, na savetu, na pozivu, na strpljenju). With pomoć, savet and razumevanje Serbs overwhelmingly say na + locative.
The person you are grateful TO is added in the dative, with no preposition at all: Zahvalan sam ti na pozivu, Zahvalni smo vam na gostoprimstvu, Zahvalna sam profesorki na strpljenju. So the sentence can carry two complements at once — the person in the dative, the thing in the locative.
No preposition at all: the bare instrumental
A smaller group of adjectives needs no preposition whatsoever. The complement simply goes into the instrumental, exactly as you saw with pun vode and željan odmora going into the genitive — only here the case is the instrumental.
| Serbian | English | Example |
|---|---|---|
| zadovoljan + ins. | satisfied with | Klijent nije zadovoljan uslugom. |
| oduševljen + ins. | thrilled with | Deca su oduševljena poklonom. |
| razočaran + ins. | disappointed with | Trener je razočaran igrom. |
| iznenađen + ins. | surprised by | Iznenađena sam tvojim pitanjem. |
| bogat + ins. | rich in | Ta zemlja je bogata naftom. |
| siromašan + ins. | poor in | Ova hrana je siromašna vitaminima. |
Do not add sa to these. English says satisfied with the pay, but Serbian says zadovoljan platom — bare. You will hear sa platom in speech; the standard form has no preposition.
Whichever pattern you use, the adjective itself still agrees with the subject in gender and number, exactly as it always has: Zahvalan sam (a man), Zahvalna sam (a woman), Zahvalni smo (a group). Only the complement is governed by the adjective.
The commonest mistake is translating the English preposition. Angry at me is not za mene but na mene; grateful for your help is not za pomoć but na pomoći; satisfied with the job has no preposition at all. Learn the Serbian package, not the English one.
Check what you read
6 of the 17 questions this lesson asks in the app. Type the form or pick the answer.
Zahvalan sam ___ savetu.
Ljut sam ___ brata.
Zainteresovana sam ___ taj posao.
Ponosni smo na(sestra).
On je ljut na(direktor).
Ljuta sam na(komšija).
Examples from the course
The marked word is where the rule applies. Press play to hear the sentence.
Klijent nije zadovoljan uslugom.
The client is not satisfied with the service.
Trener je razočaran igrom.
The coach is disappointed with the game.
Ljubomoran je na kolegu.
He is jealous of his colleague.
Deca su oduševljena poklonom.
The children are thrilled with the present.
Zahvalna sam za poklon.
I am grateful for the present. (woman speaking)
Ponosni smo na tebe.
We are proud of you. (a mixed or all-male group)
Ljuta sam na brata.
I am angry with my brother. (woman speaking)
Zainteresovani smo za taj stan.
We are interested in that flat. (a mixed or all-male group)
Ta zemlja je bogata naftom.
That country is rich in oil.
Zahvalni smo vam na gostoprimstvu.
We are grateful to you for your hospitality. (a mixed or all-male group)
Sentences in the course that use this rule: 38
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
The client is not satisfied with the service.
negated biti + adjective + bare instrumental