Non-spatial genitive prepositions
In short
| after protiv / osim / umesto | |
|---|---|
| noun sg | protiv predloga, umesto kafe |
| noun pl | protiv promena, umesto obećanja |
| pronoun | mene, tebe, njega, nje, nas, vas, njih |
All three take the genitive. Pronouns: long form only (osim mene, never osim me).
B2 · Lesson 52 · Genitive prepositions: protiv, osim, umesto
The full explanation, from the lesson that teaches this rule
In any discussion you need three small tools: saying what you are against, what is excepted from a statement, and what you choose instead of something else. Serbian does this with three prepositions: protiv (against), osim (except, apart from) and umesto (instead of).
None of them is about place or movement, but they behave exactly like bez, do or zbog, which you already know: the word after them goes into the genitive. Predlog becomes protiv predloga, kafa becomes umesto kafe, ja becomes osim mene.
| What follows | Nominative | After protiv / osim / umesto |
|---|---|---|
| a noun, singular | taj predlog, kafa, direktor | protiv tog predloga, umesto kafe, osim direktora |
| a noun, plural | te promene, prazna obećanja, svi detalji | protiv tih promena, umesto praznih obećanja, osim nekoliko detalja |
| a personal pronoun | ja, ti, on, ona, mi, vi, oni | mene, tebe, njega, nje, nas, vas, njih |
What each one means
- protiv + genitive — against: Ja sam protiv novog zakona. On its own it also means 'against' in a vote: Ko je za, a ko protiv?
- osim + genitive — except, apart from: Peticiju su potpisali svi osim direktora. At the start of a sentence it often means 'besides, apart from': Osim tebe, niko me ne razume.
- umesto + genitive — instead of, in place of: Umesto kafe popiću čaj. With a person it means 'on someone's behalf': Govoriću umesto tebe.
Pronouns: always the full form
After any preposition a pronoun takes its long, stressed form, never the short one. The genitive has short forms (me, te, ga, je, nas, vas, ih), but they cannot stand after protiv, osim or umesto.
Say protiv mene, osim njega, umesto nje — never protiv me, osim ga or umesto je. And do not copy English, where 'except me' keeps the plain pronoun: osim ja is wrong, it is always osim mene.
When what you do instead is an action, not a thing, use umesto da + a verb: Umesto da čekamo, idemo peške. Before a noun or pronoun it is always umesto + genitive.
Check what you read
6 of the 17 questions this lesson asks in the app. Type the form or pick the answer.
Which case follows protiv, osim and umesto?
Glasali smo protiv(predlog).
Umesto(kafa) pijem čaj.
Svi su bili za, osim jednog(profesor).
Ima mnogo argumenata protiv ___ rešenja.
Umesto ___ sastanaka, pišemo kratke izveštaje.
Examples from the course
The marked word is where the rule applies. Press play to hear the sentence.
Umesto kafe popiću čaj.
Instead of coffee I'll have tea.
Govoriću na sastanku umesto tebe.
I'll speak at the meeting instead of you.
Ja sam protiv novog zakona.
I am against the new law.
Zašto si uvek protiv nas?
Why are you always against us?
Niko nije glasao protiv njega.
Nobody voted against him.
Protiv kojih pravila se studenti bune?
Which rules are the students protesting against?
Osim tebe, niko me ne razume.
Apart from you, nobody understands me.
Mnogi stanari su protiv tih promena.
Many residents are against those changes.
Ne mogu da odlučim umesto vas.
I can't decide for you.
Osim nje, svi su prihvatili kompromis.
Except for her, everyone accepted the compromise.
Sentences in the course that use this rule: 26
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
Instead of coffee I'll have tea.