Noun + на + Owner
Possession with На
Say the thing first, then на and the owner: куќата на Марко (Marko's house), книгата на Ана (Ana's book).
How It Works
Word order. English puts the owner first. Macedonian puts the thing first:
- куќата на Марко (Marko's house)
- книгата на Ана (Ana's book)
- името на градот (the name of the city)
The article. A particular thing takes the article: колата на Марија. For one of several, leave it bare: Тој е пријател на Марко. (He is a friend of Marko's.)
No change to the owner. The name after на stays the same. See Nouns Without Case Endings.
Short answers. To the question Чија е книгата? (Whose is the book?) you can answer На Ана. See Asking Whose.
На, not од. Од means from: писмото од Марко is the letter from Marko.
When the owner is a pronoun, use a possessive instead: неговата куќа. See His Her Our Your and Their.
Examples (6)
- Ова е куќата на Марко.
This is Marko's house.
- Книгата на Ана е на масата.
Ana's book is on the table.
The first на shows the owner, and the second means on.
- Скопје е главниот град на Македонија.
Skopje is the capital of Macedonia.
- Чија е оваа торба? – На Ана.
Whose bag is this? – Ana's.
- Тој е пријател на мојот брат.
He is a friend of my brother's.
No article on пријател: one friend among several.
- Колата на Марија е црвена.
Maria's car is red.
Common Mistakes
Adding a case ending to the owner's name, as in Serbian or Russian.
Ова е колата на Марије.Ова е колата на Марија.Macedonian nouns do not change after на. The name stays Марија.
Leaving the article off a particular thing.
Куќа на Марко е голема.Куќата на Марко е голема.Marko's house is a particular house, so it takes the article.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Possession with на needs the article and the idea of no cases.
Related Patterns
- чиј / чија / чие / чииAsking Whose
Asking whose something is.
Level 2 - негов / нејзин / наш / ваш / нивенHis Her Our Your and Their
Possessives used in place of на + a pronoun.
Level 1 - When to Use the Article
Why the owned thing usually takes the article.
Level 2 - во / на + PlaceBeing Somewhere
The other main meaning of на: on or at.
Level 1 - татков / мајчинPossessive Adjectives from Nouns
Another way to show belonging: мајчин јазик.
Level 5
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Words in This Pattern
Practice Noun + на + Owner in Bubblegum
Poppy, your AI tutor, writes Macedonian lessons at your level. Tap any grammar point in a lesson to see its full explanation.
