Own: svoj

Level 3

Svoj means own and points back to the subject. It changes like moj.

How It Works

In English "his" can mean the subject or another person. Bosnian separates the two.

SentenceWhose family?
Amir voli svoju porodicu.Amir's own
Amir voli njegovu porodicu.Another man's

Svoj has the same endings as moj: svoj (masculine), svoja (feminine), svoje (neuter). It also takes the case of the noun, so a feminine object ends in -u: svoju.

You use it mostly with the third person (he, she, they). With ja and ti you can use moj and tvoj or svoj: Volim svoju porodicu and Volim moju porodicu are both fine.

Svoj does not appear as the subject. You cannot use Svoja kuća je velika to mean "his house is big", because the possessor is not the subject of the sentence.

It also means "one's own" in general sayings: Svako voli svoj grad.

Examples (4)

  1. Amir voli svoju porodicu.

    Amir loves his own family.

    Svoju points back to Amir, the subject.

  2. Selma zove svoju sestru.

    Selma is calling her own sister.

    Svoju agrees with sestru.

  3. Haris vidi njegovu sestru.

    Haris sees his sister (another man's).

    Njegovu points to someone other than Haris.

  4. Svako voli svoj grad.

    Everyone loves their own city.

    Svoj fits a general saying.

Common Mistakes

  • Using njen for her own thing, which suggests another woman.

    Emina čita njenu knjigu.
    Emina čita svoju knjigu.

    Njenu is usually read as another woman's book. Use svoju for Emina's own book.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Own: svojLevel 3

Learn This First

Svoj refers back to the subject.

Words in This Pattern

svoj