Secondary prepositions with the genitive
In short
| Preposition | Meaning | + genitive |
|---|---|---|
| tokom / u toku | during | tokom sastanka |
| usled | due to | usled kvara |
| radi | for the purpose of | radi provere |
| putem / pomoću | via / with the help of | putem interneta, pomoću aplikacije |
| povodom | on the occasion of, regarding | povodom praznika |
| umesto | instead of | umesto pasoša |
| protiv | against | protiv odluke, protiv vas |
radi = purpose (what for?); zbog / usled = cause (why?).
B2 · Lesson 14 · Izvedeni predlozi s genitivom: tokom, usled, radi
The full explanation, from the lesson that teaches this rule
Official notices rarely say because the system broke down or so that we can check your data. They say due to a system failure and for the purpose of checking: a whole clause is squeezed into one short noun phrase. Serbian offices, banks and news bulletins do exactly the same, and they do it with a small family of prepositions.
Most of these prepositions grew out of ordinary nouns: tok (course, flow) gives tokom and u toku, put (way) gives putem, povod (occasion) gives povodom, pomoć (help) gives pomoću. You do not need to decline them — they are frozen. What matters is the noun AFTER them: every one of them takes the genitive, the same case you already use after od, iz, bez and zbog.
The set
| Preposition | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| tokom / u toku | during, in the course of | tokom sastanka, u toku praznika |
| usled | due to, as a result of | usled kvara sistema |
| radi | for the purpose of, for the sake of | radi provere podataka |
| putem / pomoću | by means of, via / with the help of | putem interneta, pomoću aplikacije |
| povodom | on the occasion of; regarding | povodom praznika, povodom vašeg zahteva |
| umesto | instead of | umesto pasoša |
| protiv | against | protiv te odluke, protiv vas |
What they compress
The best way to feel these prepositions is to see the clause each one replaces. The clause is what you would say to a friend; the phrase is what the notice on the office door says.
| Everyday clause | Formal phrase |
|---|---|
| Dok traje sastanak, telefoni su isključeni. | Tokom sastanka telefoni su isključeni. |
| Šalter ne radi jer je sistem u kvaru. | Usled kvara sistema šalter ne radi. |
| Ponesite ličnu kartu da bismo proverili podatke. | Radi provere podataka ponesite ličnu kartu. |
| Zahtev pošaljite preko interneta. | Zahtev pošaljite putem interneta. |
- tokom and u toku mean the same thing; u toku is a little more official. Both replace a dok clause.
- usled replaces jer / zato što. It is used mostly for events and unwanted causes: a failure, a strike, bad weather, a large number of requests.
- radi replaces a purpose clause with da or kako bi: it looks FORWARD, to what you want to achieve.
- putem is for a channel (the internet, the post, a bank, the phone); pomoću is for a tool or device (an app, a certificate, a card).
- povodom names the occasion of something (a holiday, an anniversary) and, in letters, what the letter is about: Povodom vašeg zahteva… — Regarding your application…
- umesto (instead of) and protiv (against) are not formal at all, but they follow the same pattern and belong to the same family.
radi is not zbog. zbog looks BACK at a cause: Zbog gužve smo čekali dva sata — because of the crowd, we waited. radi looks FORWARD at a goal: Došli smo radi jedne potvrde — we came to get a certificate. If you can ask what for?, it is radi; if you can ask why, what caused it?, it is zbog or, in official style, usled.
Do not use usled, radi, putem or povodom in casual chat — they sound like a government form. In speech, say the clause or use zbog. In a notice, a letter or an application, these are exactly the words to use.
Pronouns follow the same rule and take their full genitive form: protiv njega, protiv vas, umesto nje.
Check what you read
6 of the 16 questions this lesson asks in the app. Type the form or pick the answer.
___ sastanka telefoni moraju biti isključeni.
U toku(pauza) šalter je zatvoren.
Šalter ne radi ___ kvara sistema.
Usled(štrajk) opština je zatvorena.
___ provere podataka, ponesite ličnu kartu.
Obrazac se popunjava pomoću(aplikacija).
Examples from the course
The marked word is where the rule applies. Press play to hear the sentence.
Tokom sastanka isključite telefone.
During the meeting, switch off your phones.
Obrazac se popunjava pomoću aplikacije.
The form is filled in with the help of an app.
Zahtev možete podneti putem interneta.
You can submit the application via the internet.
Umesto pasoša možete pokazati ličnu kartu.
Instead of a passport, you can show your ID card.
Zašto ste doneli kopiju umesto originala?
Why did you bring a copy instead of the original?
U toku praznika opština ne radi.
During the holidays the municipal office is closed.
Dokument se potpisuje pomoću elektronskog sertifikata.
The document is signed with the help of an electronic certificate.
Usled kvara sistema šalter danas ne radi.
Due to a system failure, the counter is closed today.
Povodom praznika, šalteri neće raditi u petak.
On the occasion of the holiday, the counters will be closed on Friday.
Juče smo dobili pismo povodom promene adrese.
Yesterday we received a letter regarding the change of address.
Sentences in the course that use this rule: 46
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
During the meeting, switch off your phones.