Possession With the Genitive

Level 2

dom mojej sestry = my sister's house. The owner comes after the thing and goes in the genitive.

How It Works

The pattern

thing + owner in the genitive

  • dom mojej sestry my sister's house (sestra → sestry)
  • auto môjho otca my father's car (otec → otca)
  • koniec filmu the end of the film (film → filmu)
  • centrum mesta the town centre (mesto → mesta)
  • hlavné mesto Slovenska the capital of Slovakia (Slovensko → Slovenska)

For the endings, see Genitive Singular Endings. Words like môj and tvoj take -ho or -ej: môjho, tvojho, mojej, tvojej.

Not just people

The same pattern shows a part of a whole or what something is about: farba auta (the colour of the car), začiatok leta (the beginning of summer).

One person as owner

When the owner is a single word for a person, Slovak usually prefers a possessive adjective: otcovo auto (Dad's car), sestrin dom (the sister's house), Petrova kniha (Peter's book). As soon as the owner has another word with it, use the genitive: auto môjho otca, kniha Petra Nováka. See Possessive Adjectives in -ov and -in.

Asking whose

Use čí, čia, čie: Čie je to auto? (Whose car is this?) See Whose.

Examples (6)

  1. Toto je dom mojej sestry.

    This is my sister's house.

    Word by Word: This is house of-my sister.

  2. Hlavné mesto Slovenska je Bratislava.

    The capital of Slovakia is Bratislava.

    Word by Word: Main city of-Slovakia is Bratislava.

  3. Bývame v centre mesta.

    We live in the town centre.

    Word by Word: We-live in centre of-town.

  4. Koniec filmu je smutný.

    The end of the film is sad.

    Word by Word: End of-film is sad.

  5. Poznáš brata môjho kamaráta?

    Do you know my friend's brother?

    Word by Word: You-know brother of-my friend?

    Brat is the object; môjho kamaráta is the owner in the genitive.

  6. Farba auta sa mi páči.

    I like the colour of the car.

    Word by Word: Colour of-car itself to-me pleases.

Common Mistakes

  • Leaving the owner in the nominative.

    dom moja sestra
    dom mojej sestry

    The owner must be in the genitive: moja sestra becomes mojej sestry.

  • Forgetting the genitive ending on a thing.

    koniec film
    koniec filmu

    The whole that something belongs to is also in the genitive: film becomes filmu.

How It Connects

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

Possession With the GenitiveLevel 2

Learn This First

Before Possession With the Genitive, learn Genitive Singular Endings. Possession uses the genitive singular endings.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.