The verbal noun
In short
| verb | verbal noun | + object |
|---|---|---|
| čitati (a) | čitanje | čitanje knjige |
| učiti (i) | učenje | učenje jezika |
| prevoditi (i) | prevođenje (d→đ) | prevođenje poezije |
| pisati / putovati (e) | pisanje / putovanje (from the infinitive!) | pisanje romana |
Neuter like more: čitanje, čitanja, čitanju, čitanje, čitanjem.
The verb's object goes into the genitive: čitam knjigu → čitanje knjige.
B1 · Lesson 24 · Glagolska imenica na -nje
The full explanation, from the lesson that teaches this rule
English turns an activity into a thing with -ing: reading is relaxing, I love singing. Serbian does the same with the ending -nje: čitati (to read) gives čitanje (reading), pevati (to sing) gives pevanje (singing). The result is an ordinary noun, and it is always neuter, so it behaves exactly like more or pismo: it can be a subject, an object, and it can stand after any preposition.
This noun is called the verbal noun. You build it from an imperfective verb, the kind that describes an ongoing or repeated activity (čitati, not pročitati), which fits: reading, learning, travelling are activities, not single finished acts.
How to build it: start from the infinitive
Always start from the infinitive, never from the present tense. Drop -ti and look at the vowel that is left at the end.
| Verb type | Infinitive | What you do | Verbal noun |
|---|---|---|---|
| a-verb (čitam) | čitati, pevati, svirati, slikati | -ati becomes -anje | čitanje, pevanje, sviranje, slikanje |
| i-verb (učim) | učiti, prevoditi | -iti becomes -enje, and the consonant before it may soften | učenje, prevođenje |
| e-verb (pišem, putujem) | pisati, plesati, putovati, izdavati | still from the INFINITIVE: -ati becomes -anje | pisanje, plesanje, putovanje, izdavanje |
The e-verbs are the trap. The present tense is pišem, plešem, putujem, izdajem, but the verbal noun ignores it: pisanje, not pišenje; putovanje, not putujenje. Look at the infinitive and simply swap -ti for -nje.
With i-verbs, the -i- turns into -e-, and a consonant in front of it often softens, just as it does in other forms you have met: d → đ (prevoditi → prevođenje), s → š (nositi → nošenje), t → ć, z → ž, and after b, p, v, m an lj appears. When the consonant is already soft (učiti), nothing changes: učenje.
It declines like any neuter noun in -e
Because the verbal noun is a neuter noun, it takes exactly the endings of more or polje. Whatever a preposition or a verb demands, the verbal noun follows.
| Case | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | čitanje | Čitanje je moj omiljeni hobi. |
| genitive | čitanja | posle čitanja (after reading) |
| dative / locative | čitanju | o čitanju (about reading) |
| accusative | čitanje | Volim čitanje. (I love reading.) |
| instrumental | čitanjem | sa čitanjem (with reading) |
The same endings on other verbal nouns: mnogo vežbanja, o pisanju, bavi se prevođenjem, u učenju.
The object of the verb goes into the genitive
This is the most important point of the lesson. A verb takes its object in the accusative: Čitam knjigu. (I read a book.) Once the verb becomes a noun, its object is no longer an object of a verb, it now belongs to a noun, so it goes into the genitive, the case you use for of: čitanje knjige, literally the reading of a book.
| With the verb (accusative) | With the verbal noun (genitive) |
|---|---|
| Čitam knjigu. | čitanje knjige |
| Pišem roman. | pisanje romana |
| Učim jezik. | učenje jezika |
| Prevodi poeziju. | prevođenje poezije |
| Sviram klavir. | sviranje klavira |
Do not carry the accusative over from the verb. English reading books hides the change, Serbian does not: it is always čitanje knjige / knjiga, never čitanje knjigu.
Some of them are simply words
Many verbal nouns have become ordinary words with their own meaning, and you already know some: pitanje (a question, from pitati), znanje (knowledge), mišljenje (an opinion, from misliti), obrazovanje (education). They decline in exactly the same way. Verbal nouns are built from imperfective verbs; from perfective verbs they are rare, so do not build them yourself.
Check what you read
6 of the 16 questions this lesson asks in the app. Type the form or pick the answer.
Njeno ___ je stvarno lepo.
Which sentence is correct?
Njen posao je ___ knjiga sa engleskog.
Posle(učenje) idemo u bioskop.
Razgovarali smo o(pisanje) pesama.
Ona se bavi(slikanje).
Examples from the course
The marked word is where the rule applies. Press play to hear the sentence.
Učenje jezika traje dugo.
Learning a language takes a long time.
Pisanje romana nije lako.
Writing a novel isn't easy.
Šta misliš o slikanju pejzaža?
What do you think about painting landscapes?
Posle čitanja uvek dugo razmišljam.
After reading I always think for a long time.
Posle učenja idemo u pozorište.
After studying we're going to the theatre.
Sviranje klavira zahteva mnogo vežbanja.
Playing the piano demands a lot of practice.
Čitanje je moj omiljeni hobi.
Reading is my favourite hobby.
Ona se bavi prevođenjem poezije.
She is engaged in translating poetry.
Čitanje knjige pre spavanja me opušta.
Reading a book before bed relaxes me.
Putovanje vozom je sporo, ali lepo.
Travelling by train is slow, but nice.
Sentences in the course that use this rule: 101
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 do you think about painting landscapes?