Stem-extending neuter nouns

Some of the most common Serbian words look like ordinary neuter nouns in -e: ime (name), vreme (time, weather), dete (child), tele (calf). But the moment they leave the nominative, they grow an extra syllable. You say Kako je tvoje ime? (What is your name?) but Ne sećam se njegovog imena (I don't remember his name). The extra piece comes first, and only then the normal neuter ending.

Two families

There are two small families, and each has its own extra piece:

• The -en- family: ime, prezime (surname), vreme, rame (shoulder), seme (seed). ime gives imena, imenu, imenom (-en- before the ending); vreme gives vremena, vremenu.
• The -et- family: dete, and the words for young animals: tele (calf), jagnje (lamb), pile (chick), mače (kitten), štene (puppy). dete gives deteta, detetu, detetom (-et- before the ending); tele gives teleta.

The rule is simple to state: in the singular, the nominative and accusative are the only forms without the extra piece (the vocative, when you need it, is the same as the nominative). Everywhere else in the singular — genitive, dative, locative, instrumental — the -en- or -et- is there, and after it come the ordinary neuter endings you already know from selo or more. The -en- family keeps its -en- through the whole plural too; the -et- family makes its plural differently, as you will see below.

The -en- family: ime

imena is three different forms: genitive singular, nominative plural and genitive plural. The words around it tell you which: nema imena (there is no name), ta imena (those names), mnogo imena (many names).

The -et- family: dete and the young animals

In the singular the -et- family behaves exactly like the -en- family: add -et-, then the neuter ending. The plural is the surprise. These words do not make an ordinary neuter plural in -a, and the -et- does not appear in it. Instead they use a collective: one word for the whole group.

• dete → deca (children). This one is irregular and must simply be learnt.
• tele → telad, jagnje → jagnjad, pile → pilad (calves, lambs, chicks). Just recognise the -ad ending for now; you will practise these forms properly later.

deca looks like a feminine singular word, like žena, and it changes like one: dece, deci, decu, decom — Nema dece u parku, Kupio sam deci sladoled, Idem s decom. But it means 'children' and in practice the verb goes in the plural: Deca su u školi, Deca se igraju. Say it that way and do not worry about the mismatch yet.

The trap

Do not add the extra piece in the nominative or accusative singular: Imam lepo ime, Vidim dete — here the word stays short. And do not forget it anywhere else in the singular: s detetom, o imenu, bez imena. In the singular, if the word is not the subject or the direct object, it has grown.