# BCS: Feminine Nouns Vocative



## 123xyz

I have read that the vocative forms of feminine nouns are derived with "-e" rather than "-o" as long as the noun ends in the suffix "-ica" and has three or more syllables. However, while browsing through Wiktionary, I have found the vocative form of "posljedica" as "posljedico" (I realize that "posljedica" cannot really have a vocative form due to its meaning, but never mind that - it can still have a hypothetical form) and of "bezobraznica" as "bezobraznico", which apparently violates the aforementioned rule. So, are these given forms wrong (I suppose they very well might be, since Wiktionary is hardly reliable)? I also found several hits for "bezobraznico" using Google Search, though. 

Thank you in advance


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## Jeki

I would say "bezobraznice" and "posledice". I have never heard or said "bezobraznicO". 
I looked for some rule in serbian grammar and I found that *polysyllabic *feminine nouns ending in *-ica *in vocative have *-e* instead of -o (for example, učiteljica-učiteljice; drugarica-drugarice), while *disyllabic *nouns ending in -ica in vocative have *-o* (ptica-ptico; maca-maco). 
I hope it's clear enough.


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## Милан

Пијаница, кукавица, издајица могу да имају и облик вокатива пијаницо, кукавицо, издајицо. Ово каже Клајн.


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## iobyo

It seems as though _-ica_ has the vocative form _-ice_ only when the noun is animate, naturally (and exclusively) feminine and not synchronically a diminutive. Nouns ending in _-ica_ which do not satisfy all of these criteria either have the vocative form _-ico_ or both.


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## 123xyz

Thank you for the replies. I understand better now.


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## Vanja

Милан said:


> Пијаница, кукавица, издајица могу да имају и облик вокатива пијаницо, кукавицо, издајицо. Ово каже Клајн.


Pijanice, kukavice, izdajice are more common forms. 
The vocative form is used exclusively for persons, or in personification of things (_Sunce moje što me miluješ..._). The vocative case of "posledico/e" does exist, but almost never in use.


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## klemen

iobyo said:


> It seems as though _-ica_ has the vocative form _-ice_ only when the noun is animate, naturally (and exclusively) feminine and not synchronically a diminutive. Nouns ending in _-ica_ which do not satisfy all of these criteria either have the vocative form _-ico_ or both.


I think that it is not 100 % correct. Vocative of Verica (feminine name) is Verice and Verica is diminutive of Vera.


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## iobyo

klemen said:


> Verica is diminutive of Vera.



_Verica_ may have originally been a hypocorism of _Vera_, but _Verica_ isn't always a diminutive of _Vera_; Verica Šerifović, for example, was not registered as Vera Šerifović at her time of birth. Similarly, not all women called _Sn(j)eža_ were registered as _Sn(j)ežana_.


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