svoj

One's Own: Svoj

Level 3

Svoj is a possessive that points back to the subject of the clause, whoever that is: I, you, he, we or they.

How It Works

Forms. Svoj changes like môj: svoj brat, svoja sestra, svoje auto, svoje knihy. In other cases: svojho, svojmu, svojom, svojím; svojej, svoju, svojou; svojich, svojim, svojimi (see pronouns in the cases).

Third person: it changes the meaning.

  • Peter hľadá svoje okuliare. – Peter is looking for his own glasses.
  • Peter hľadá jeho okuliare. – Peter is looking for another man's glasses.

The same goes for jej and ich: Jana býva so svojou mamou (her own mom) but Jana býva s jej mamou (another woman's mom).

First and second person. Standard Slovak also uses svoj when the owner is the subject: Pripravte si svoje doklady. Kedy nám predstavíš svoju priateľku? You will hear môj and tvoj in such sentences in everyday speech, but language guides recommend svoj.

Only its own clause. Svoj refers to the subject of the clause it is in: Peter povedal, že Jana stratila svoj kľúč. – Jana lost her key.

Not in the subject. Svoj cannot describe the subject itself: say Jeho sestra prišla.

Often left out. When it is obvious, Slovak skips the possessive: Umyl som si ruky. (I washed my hands.) See si.

Examples (6)

  1. Mám svoj kľúč.

    I have my own key.

    Word by Word: I-have own key.

  2. Peter hľadá svoje okuliare.

    Peter is looking for his glasses.

    Word by Word: Peter looks-for own glasses.

  3. Jana býva so svojou mamou.

    Jana lives with her mom.

    Word by Word: Jana lives with own mom.

  4. Deti si upratali svoje izby.

    The children tidied their rooms.

    Word by Word: Children themselves tidied own rooms.

  5. Pripravte si, prosím, svoje doklady.

    Please have your documents ready.

    Word by Word: Prepare yourselves, please, own documents.

  6. Každý má svoj názor.

    Everyone has their own opinion.

    Word by Word: Everyone has own opinion.

Common Mistakes

  • Using jej or jeho for the subject's own thing.

    Jana býva s jej mamou.
    Jana býva so svojou mamou.

    Jej mama would be another woman's mother. For Jana's own mother, use svoj.

  • Using svoj in the subject.

    Svoja sestra býva v Nitre.
    Moja sestra býva v Nitre.

    Svoj refers back to the subject, so it cannot be part of the subject itself.

  • Making svoj agree with the owner instead of the thing owned.

    Peter predal svoja auto.
    Peter predal svoje auto.

    Auto is neuter, so the form is svoje, whoever the owner is.

How It Connects

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

svojLevel 3One's Own: Svoj

Learn This First

Before One's Own: svoj, learn My, Your and Our and Myself and Yourself: seba. svoj replaces môj, tvoj and náš when the owner is the subject. svoj is the possessive of the reflexive seba.

Words in This Pattern

svoj