Montenegrin and Serbian Bosnian, Croatian, Montenegrin and Serbian: An Essential Grammar is intended for beginners and intermediate students who need a reference that explains grammar in straightforward terms. It covers all the main areas of the modern single BCMS grammatical system in an accessible way, and free from jargon. When linguistic terminology is used, it is explained in layman’s terms, the logic of a rule is presented simply and near parallels are drawn with English. This book covers all the grammar necessary for everyday communication (reaching B1 and B2 of the CEFR, ACTFL Intermediate–Intermediate-Mid). The book comprises of extensive chapters on all parts of speech, the creation of different word forms (endings for cases in nouns and adjectives, case forms for pronouns, tenses, verbal modes, verbal aspect etc.) and their uses in sentences. Each rule is illustrated with numerous examples from everyday living language used in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro and Serbia. It is a unique reference book in English aimed at this level of language study that treats BCMS as a single grammar system, explaining and highlighting all the small differences between the four variants of this polycentric language. Željko Vrabec has professional translation experience gained at the BBC and the UN. He is a multilingual specialist with over 25 years of BBC editorial experience in different roles – from copy-editing breaking European stories and writing in-depth political analytical reports to media landscape surveys. Recently he has worked as a dialogue coach and cultural approximation consultant to Oscar-winning actors. In the past few years he has been teaching BCMS at a language school in London.
Essential Grammars describe clearly and succinctly the core rules of each language and are up-to-date and practical reference guides to the most important aspects of languages used by contemporary native speakers. They are designed for elementary to intermediate learners and present an accessible description of the language, focusing on the real patterns of use today. Essential Grammars are a reference source for the learner and user of the language, irrespective of level, setting out the complexities of the language in short, readable sections that are clear and free from jargon. Essential Grammars are ideal either for independent study or for students in schools, colleges, universities and adult classes of all types. Essential Grammars are available for languages including: Bosnian, Croatian, Montenegrin and Serbian Catalan Chinese Czech Danish Dutch English Finnish German Greek Hindi Hungarian Korean Latvian Modern Hebrew North Sámi Norwegian Polish Portuguese Romanian Serbian Spanish Swedish Thai Turkish Urdu Vietnamese West Greenlandic For a full list of available languages and more information about this series, please visit: www.routledge.com/Routledge-Essential-Grammars/book-series/SE0549
Montenegrin and Serbian An Essential Grammar Željko Vrabec
by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2022 Željko Vrabec The right of Željko Vrabec to be identifed as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identifcation and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names:Vrabec, Zeljko, author. Title: Bosnian, Croatian, Montenegrin and Serbian : an essential grammar / Zeljko Vrabec. Description: London ; New York : Routledge, 2021. | Series: Routledge essential grammars | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifers: LCCN 2021010130 (print) | LCCN 2021010131 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: Serbo-Croatian language—Grammar. | Serbian language—Montenegro—Grammar. Classifcation: LCC PG1229 .V73 2021 (print) | LCC PG1229 (ebook) | DDC 491.8/282421—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021010130 LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021010131 ISBN: 978-0-367-72364-4 (hbk) ISBN: 978-0-367-72363-7 (pbk) ISBN: 978-1-003-15452-5 (ebk) DOI: 10.4324/9781003154525 Typeset in Times New Roman by Apex CoVantage, LLC
who taught me two variants of this rich and beautiful language.
Introduction How to use this book List of abbreviations Chapter 1 The story of “four languages” 1.1 Ekavian and Iyekavian pronunciations 1.2 Number of speakers, official language names 1.3 Brief outline of main grammatical differences Chapter 2 Alphabet, pronunciation, spelling 2.1 2.2 Vowels Consonants 2.2.1 Voiced/unvoiced consonants 2.2.2 Soft/hard consonants 2.3 Consonant and vowel alternations 2.3.1 Consonant softening before -E (palatalisation) 2.3.2 Consonant softening before -I (sibilarisation) 2.3.3 J-changes (yotation) 2.3.4 Voicing assimilation 2.3.5 L/O changes 2.3.6 Fleeting -a2.3.7 Removal of a duplicated consonant 2.3.8 Multiple alternations Chapter 3 Nouns 3.1 Gender 3.1.1 Masculine nouns 3.1.2 Feminine nouns 3.1.3 Neuter nouns xiv xvi xviii 1 2 3 5 9 10 10 12 12 13 13 14 14 16 17 18 20 21 22 22 23 24 24 vii
3.2 Plural (nominative plural) 3.2.1 Masculine nouns 3.2.2 Feminine nouns 3.2.3 Neuter nouns 3.2.4 Neuter collective nouns 3.3 Cases 3.3.1 Cases in English and BCMS 3.3.2 The First and Second Declensions – singular 3.3.3 Nominative 3.3.4 Genitive 3.3.5 Dative 3.3.6 Accusative 3.3.7 Vocative 3.3.8 Instrumental 3.3.9 Locative 3.3.10 Accusative vs locative (destination vs location) 3.3.11 The First and Second Declensions plural 3.3.12 Genitive plural 3.3.13 The Third Declension (feminine nouns ending in a consonant) 3.3.14 Frequently used nouns with irregularities in declension 3.3.15 Only plural nouns (pluralia tantum) Chapter 4 Adjectives 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Descriptive and relational adjectives Gender Short–long forms Case endings 4.4.1 Short form declension 4.5 Possessive adjectives (Markov, Vesnin) 4.6 Comparison 4.6.1 Comparative 4.6.2 Superlative 4.6.3 How to say “than” Chapter 5 viii 5.1 5.2 Pronouns Personal pronouns Possessive pronouns 5.2.1 Svoj – possessive-reflexive pronoun for all persons 25 25 28 28 29 30 30 32 32 33 39 43 48 49 53 54 55 56 58 59 65 67 67 68 69 69 71 72 73 73 76 76 78 78 82 88
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