Subject Pronouns

Level 1

ja I, ty you, on / ona / ono he / she / it, my we, vy you, oni / ony they. Usually you leave them out: Som doma.

How It Works

The forms:

  • ja (I), ty (you, informal), on (he), ona (she), ono (it)
  • my (we), vy (you, plural or polite), oni / ony (they)

He, she, it follow grammar, not nature. On, ona and ono stand for masculine, feminine and neuter nouns, including things: stôl (table) is on, kniha (book) is ona, auto (car) and dieťa (child) are ono. See rod podstatných mien.

Oni or ony?

  • oni: a group of men, or any group with at least one man.
  • ony: groups of women, children, animals or things.

The same split appears in tí / tie a oni / ony.

Usually left out. Because the verb ending shows the person (see byť v prítomnom čase), Slovak usually drops the pronoun: Som doma is the neutral way to say it. Adding ja is not wrong, but it puts stress on the person. Use it when you stress or contrast the person: Ja pracujem a ty oddychuješ.

Vy is also the polite "you" for one person (see tykanie a vykanie). Other forms, like ma (me) and ho (him), come later in osobné zámená v akuzatíve.

Examples (6)

  1. Som doma.

    I'm at home.

    No pronoun is needed: som can only mean "I am".

  2. Ja pracujem a ty oddychuješ.

    I'm working and you're resting.

    The pronouns stress the contrast between two people.

  3. On je Slovák a ona je Češka.

    He's Slovak and she's Czech.

    On and ona contrast two people.

  4. My ideme do kina. A vy?

    We're going to the cinema. And you?

    Vy is needed in the short question because there is no verb.

  5. Peter a Jana? Oni sú v práci.

    Peter and Jana? They're at work.

    Oni, because the group includes a man.

  6. Jana a Eva? Ony sú v škole.

    Jana and Eva? They're at school.

    Ony, because the group has no man in it.

Common Mistakes

  • Using oni for a group of women.

    Oni sú moje sestry.
    Ony sú moje sestry.

    Oni is only for groups that include a man. Sisters are women, so use ony.

  • Using the wrong verb form with the pronoun.

    My je doma.
    My sme doma.

    Each pronoun needs its own verb form: my sme, vy ste, oni sú.

How It Connects

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Subject PronounsLevel 1

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ononaonomy