THIS IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION!
In the last chapter, we’ve learned how to use many nouns as objects, i.e. how to form their accusative case forms. However, for some nouns, there are various fine points which will be dealt with in this chapter.
5.1 Nouns in -a with a change of tone
A small number of nouns which end in -a change their stress in A, and change it in a very special way, which will become interesting in the following chapters. For now, it’s enough to say that their stress becomes falling on the 1st syllable. But I will still put a special mark on the 1st syllable, to remind you there’s something special. A common noun is:
vo·da· water → A vo`du
So you can say (both words are stressed on the 1st syllable, with the falling tone):
Pi·jem vo`du. I’m drinking water.
There aren’t too many such nouns, and the only option is to remember them. To mark that they have a special stress in the accusative, I’ll put (A `) after them. Common ones are:
|
gla·va·
(A `) head ko·sa· (A `) hair no·ga· (A `) leg, foot |
ru·ka·
(A `) arm, hand ze·mlja· (A `) ground, country zv |
You cannot deduce it from the N form. For example, se·stra· looks quite similar to the words above – but nothing happens to its stress in A.
5.2 Nouns in a consonant with change in stress
There are also several nouns in a consonant which change tone when some ending is added to them. They normally have one syllable in N, and consequently the falling tone – the rising one is impossible – but happily switch to the rising tone when they get an ending. One of them is:
ko·nj horse → A ko·nja·
We can write it down like this:
ko·nj (· ·) horse
Again, there’s no other option but to remember them.
5.3 Nouns in a consonant with change in form
When endings are added to certain nouns ending in a consonant, they don’t get added to their nominative form, but to a usually slightly different form. One example is pa·s dog. In the accusative case, it looks like this:
A·na gle·da psa·. Ana is watching a dog.
The accusative ending is not added to pa·s, but to a slightly shorter form (ps). We can call that form the ‘case-base’ and list it after such nouns, in parentheses:
| nominative | ||||
| ‘case-base’ | ||||
| magarac | (magarc-) donkey | |||
| pa·s (ps-) dog vra·ba·c (vra·pc-) sparrow | ||||
The case-base form has usually just the last syllable shortened, but sometimes there’s a consonant alternation as well. (This form is also called oblique stem, or just stem; I’ve invented a simple name for it.)
5.4 Nouns in a consonant which shorten vowel
Finally, there is a number of nouns which have the last vowel long, but it’s shortened whenever anything is added to them. They have always falling tone, and the falling tone behaves a bit specially – which will become important in the following chapter. One of them is:
mu`ž husband → A mu`ža
Since not all nouns with that special falling stress shorten vowels, I’ll list them as:
mu`ž (-u`-) husband
5.5 Personal names
A few male names that end in either -o or -e behave as if they end in a consonant and have a specific case-base, usually just without the last vowel (j is added if the word ends in -io):
|
Ma·rko (Mark-) | some other names characteristic for Bosnia and Serbia?!?! |
For example:
A·na če·ka Ma·rka. Ana is waiting for Marko.
4.6 Summary
Now you know how to make accusative case of almost all nouns! We can summarize the rules we have learned in a table:
| noun type (N) | A (object) |
|---|---|
| nouns in -a | -a → -u |
| nouns in -o or -e | no change |
| nouns in a consonant (not people or animals) |
no change |
| nouns in a consonant (people or animals) |
add -a |
(These rules are not completely precise, but will work for almost all nouns; I will give you the exact rules a bit later.)
No comments:
Post a Comment