овај / тај / онај

This and That

Level 1Sounds Like ovaǰ; taǰ; onaǰ u nominativu

Serbian uses a three-way system for pointing at things:
• Овај / ова / ово: this (close to the speaker)
• Тај / та / то: that (near the listener, or something just mentioned)
• Онај / она / оно: that over there (far from both speaker and listener)

How It Works

When using demonstrative pronouns as adjectives modifying a noun in the nominative case, choose the form that matches both the perspective and the grammatical gender/number of the noun:

Singular Forms:
• Masculine: овај / тај / онај (e.g., овај сто — this table)
• Feminine: ова / та / она (e.g., та књига — that book near you)
• Neuter: ово / то / оно (e.g., оно село — that village over there)

Plural Forms:
• Masculine: ови / ти / они (e.g., ови људи — these people)
• Feminine: ове / те / оне (e.g., те куће — those houses near you)
• Neuter: ова / та / она (e.g., она писма — those letters over there)

The Conversational Default:
English speakers often tend to translate 'that' directly as онај. However, in spatial and conversational reference, тај / та / то is far more often the natural equivalent of English 'that' for anything just mentioned, heard, or situated near the person you are speaking with. By contrast, онај / она / оно primarily marks things distant from both speaker and listener, though it also appears in specific idiomatic roles, such as contrastive pairs (овај... онај...) or referring to a known, remembered time or person.

Attributive Agreement vs. Pointing Sentences:
Do not confuse modifying a noun with the fixed introductory pattern ово је / то је / оно је ('this is / that is'). When you say 'This book is new', use agreement: Ова књига је нова. When identifying what something is ('This is a book'), use the invariant neuter singular: Ово је књига. Notice that in plural identifying sentences, the demonstrative still stays in the neuter singular while the verb becomes plural: Ово су књиге ('These are books') or То су људи ('Those are people').

Examples (5)

  1. Овај сто је нов, а онај у углу је стар.

    This table is new, and that one over in the corner is old.

    Word by Word: This table is new, and that in corner is old.

    Shows 'овај' for an object right here next to the speaker, and 'онај' for an object far away in the corner.

  2. Та књига поред тебе је моја.

    That book next to you is mine.

    Word by Word: That book next-to you is mine.

    'Та' is feminine singular agreeing with 'књига', used because the book is near the listener (2nd person zone).

  3. Ово дете чита књигу.

    This child is reading a book.

    Word by Word: This child reads book.

    'Ово' is the neuter singular form agreeing with the neuter noun 'дете'.

  4. Ови људи раде овде.

    These people work here.

    Word by Word: These people work here.

    'Ови' is the masculine plural form modifying the plural subject 'људи'.

  5. То питање је врло важно.

    That question is very important.

    Word by Word: That question is very important.

    'То' is neuter singular modifying 'питање', referring back to a topic just raised in conversation.

Common Mistakes

  • Using 'онај' where 'тај' points to something just mentioned.

    Different MeaningОнај проблем што си споменуо је тежак.
    Тај проблем што си споменуо је тежак.

    'Онај проблем што си споменуо је тежак' is correct and common: 'онај' with a defining clause points to something both speakers know. 'Тај проблем што си споменуо' points more directly to what was just said.

  • Using 'ова' instead of 'ово' in a 'this is' introduction.

    Different MeaningОва је моја сестра.
    Ово је моја сестра.

    'Ова је моја сестра' is correct, but 'ова' picks out one person among several ('this one is my sister'). For a plain introduction, Serbian uses the neuter 'Ово је моја сестра.'

  • Matching demonstratives to natural gender instead of grammatical gender.

    Овај дете се игра у парку.
    Ово дете се игра у парку.

    Grammatical gender always dictates agreement in Serbian. Since 'дете' is neuter, it requires 'ово'.

How It Connects

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

овај / тај / онајLevel 1This and That

Learn This First

To use the demonstratives 'овај', 'тај', and 'онај' correctly in the nominative, learners must understand the three-way demonstrative system (near speaker, near listener, distant) and know how to match the pronoun's form to the gender of the noun in the nominative case.

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Patterns that build on this one.

Words in This Pattern

овајтајонај