он/она/оно

Third-person Singular Pronouns

Level 1Sounds Like on/ona/ono

Он (He/It), Она (She/It), and Оно (It) are the Russian third-person singular pronouns. They must match the grammatical gender of the noun they replace, regardless of whether the object is alive or inanimate.

How It Works

Unlike English, where 'it' is used for almost all objects, Russian requires you to look at the word's ending to determine which pronoun to use:

  • Он: Replaces masculine nouns (usually ending in a consonant). Example: стол (table) → он.
  • Она: Replaces feminine nouns (usually ending in -а or -я). Example: книга (book) → она.
  • Оно: Replaces neuter nouns (usually ending in -о, -е, or -ё). Example: окно (window) → оно.

Important Nuances:
1. Biological Sex: For people, biological sex overrides spelling. Nouns like папа (dad) or дедушка (grandpa) are replaced by он even though they end in -а.
2. Soft Sign (-ь): Nouns ending in a soft sign can be masculine or feminine. You must check the dictionary to know if you should use он or она. For example, словарь (dictionary) is он, but тетрадь (notebook) is она.
3. Nouns in -мя: A small group of neuter nouns end in -мя (like имя - name). These are replaced by оно.
4. The 'н-' Prefix: When the oblique (changed) forms of these pronouns (like его, её) follow a preposition, they gain an initial н- (e.g., у него).
5. Distinction from 'Это': Use это to identify something for the first time ('This is a table'). Use он/она/оно to refer back to a noun you already mentioned ('It is here').

Examples (6)

  1. Где мой словарь? Он на столе.

    Where is my dictionary? It is on the table.

    Word by Word: Where my dictionary? He on table.

    'Словарь' ends in a soft sign and is masculine, so we use 'он' to refer to it.

  2. Это мой папа. Он врач.

    This is my dad. He is a doctor.

    Word by Word: This my dad. He doctor.

    Even though 'папа' ends in -а, it refers to a male person, so we use 'он'.

  3. Как твоё имя? Оно очень красивое.

    What is your name? It is very beautiful.

    Word by Word: How your name? It very beautiful.

    Nouns ending in -мя, like 'имя', are neuter and are replaced by 'оно'.

  4. Я вижу окно. Оно открыто.

    I see the window. It is open.

    Word by Word: I see window. It open.

    'Окно' is neuter, so we use 'оно'.

  5. Где газета? Она тут.

    Where is the newspaper? It is here.

    Word by Word: Where newspaper? She here.

    Even though a newspaper is an object, we use 'она' because 'газета' is grammatically feminine.

  6. У него есть машина.

    He has a car.

    Word by Word: At him is car.

    When the oblique (changed) form of 'он' follows a preposition like 'у', it gains an 'н-' prefix, becoming 'него'.

Common Mistakes

  • Using 'она' for masculine nouns that end in -а.

    Мой папа дома. Она отдыхает.
    Мой папа дома. Он отдыхает.

    For nouns referring to people, biological sex overrides the spelling. Since 'папа' is male, use 'он'.

  • Forgetting the 'н-' prefix for oblique forms after prepositions.

    Я иду к ему.
    Я иду к нему.

    When the changed forms of these pronouns (like 'его', 'её') follow a preposition, they must start with 'н-' (нему, неё).

  • Assuming all nouns ending in -я are feminine.

    Твоё имя длинная. Она мне нравится.
    Твоё имя длинное. Оно мне нравится.

    Nouns ending in -мя (имя, время) are actually neuter and require 'оно'.

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он/она/оноLevel 1Third-person Singular Pronouns

Learn This First

To use third-person singular pronouns correctly, a learner must first understand the concept of grammatical gender for nouns (masculine and feminine) and how these pronouns function as subjects in the nominative case.

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онаоно