na + accusative for a target value or setting
In short
na + accusative = the value something is set / adjusted TO
| setting | set to it |
|---|---|
| srednja vatra | na srednju vatru |
| treća brzina | na treću brzinu |
| minimum, tihi režim | na minimum, na tihi režim |
| dvesta stepeni | na dvesta stepeni |
| koja temperatura? | na koju temperaturu? |
Changing the setting → accusative. Already at it → locative (kuva se na srednjoj vatri). Size of the change → za (za dva stepena).
B2 · Lesson 47 · Setting to a value: na + accusative
The full explanation, from the lesson that teaches this rule
When you change a setting — turn the oven on, turn the music down, switch the fan to a faster speed — English says to or on: "set it to 200 degrees", "put it on medium heat". Serbian uses na for all of these, and treats the new value as a destination: the dial goes onto that number. Because it is movement towards a target, the noun after na is in the accusative.
Uključi rernu na dvesta stepeni. — Turn the oven on to two hundred degrees. Stavi supu na srednju vatru. — Put the soup on medium heat. Smanji zvuk na minimum. — Turn the volume down to the minimum.
What the setting looks like after na
Nothing new here — it is the ordinary accusative you already know. Feminine nouns in -a (and their adjectives) switch to -u; masculine words for things, and neuter words, stay as they are; a number phrase keeps the shape the number gives it.
| The setting | Set to it | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| srednja vatra | na srednju vatru | feminine: -a → -u |
| tiha vatra | na tihu vatru | feminine: -a → -u |
| treća brzina | na treću brzinu | feminine: -a → -u |
| jedinica (setting one) | na jedinicu | feminine: -a → -u |
| minimum / maksimum | na minimum / na maksimum | masculine thing: no change |
| tihi režim | na tihi režim | masculine thing: no change |
| fabrička podešavanja | na fabrička podešavanja | neuter plural: no change |
| dvesta stepeni | na dvesta stepeni | number: shape set by the number |
| dvadeset dva stepena | na dvadeset dva stepena | number: shape set by the number |
The verbs that carry this are the verbs of adjusting: staviti (put), podesiti (set, adjust), uključiti (switch on), pojačati (turn up), smanjiti (turn down, reduce), spustiti (lower), prebaciti (switch over), vratiti (put back, reset), navijati / naviti (set an alarm clock). A finished setting can be described too: Frižider je podešen na četiri stepena. — The fridge is set to four degrees.
To ask about the value, put na in front of the question word, also in the accusative: Na koju temperaturu da stavim rernu? — What temperature should I set the oven to? Na koliko stepeni? — To how many degrees?
Setting it (na + accusative) vs. being at it (na + locative). The accusative is for the moment you change the setting: Stavi supu na srednju vatru. Once the soup is simply cooking there, it is a place, and you use the locative: Supa se kuva na srednjoj vatri. — The soup is cooking on medium heat. Ask yourself: is the dial moving? Then accusative.
na = to, za = by. Smanji temperaturu na dvadeset stepeni means the new value is twenty. Smanji temperaturu za dva stepena means lower it by two. Use na for the target value, never for the size of the change.
Check what you read
3 of the 13 questions this lesson asks in the app. Type the form or pick the answer.
Put the pot on high heat.
Switch the fan to second speed.
What temperature should I set the air conditioner to?
Examples from the course
The marked word is where the rule applies. Press play to hear the sentence.
Smanji zvuk na minimum.
Turn the volume down to the minimum.
Stavi supu na srednju vatru.
Put the soup on medium heat.
Na koju temperaturu da stavim rernu?
What temperature should I set the oven to?
Povećaj snagu mikrotalasne na hiljadu vati.
Increase the microwave's power to a thousand watts.
Zašto si pojačao grejanje na maksimum?
Why did you turn the heating up to the maximum? (to a man)
Podesila sam frižider na četiri stepena.
I set the fridge to four degrees. (woman speaking)
Možeš li da spustiš muziku na normalnu jačinu?
Can you turn the music down to a normal volume?
Podesi termostat na dvadeset dva stepena, molim te.
Set the thermostat to twenty-two degrees, please.
Stavila sam grejalicu na jedinicu, dovoljno je toplo.
I put the heater on setting one, it's warm enough. (woman speaking)
Podesi tajmer na četrdeset minuta i ne otvaraj rernu.
Set the timer to forty minutes and don't open the oven.
Sentences in the course that use this rule: 17
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
What temperature should I set the oven to?