Moj, tvoj, njegov, njen — and svoj, which you can't do without
Possessives work like adjectives and follow the thing, not the owner: moj brat, moja sestra, moje darilo, pri mojem bratu. The root names the owner, the ending follows the thing. For example: “Pozabil sem svoj polnilec doma” — I forgot my charger at home. A rule from the Slovenian course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
Possessives work like adjectives and follow the thing, not the owner: moj brat, moja sestra, moje darilo, pri mojem bratu. The root names the owner, the ending follows the thing.
News for an English speaker: njegov and njen change as well. 'His' and 'her' are frozen in English; these two live a full life: njegova hčerka, njenega brata, z njenim avtom.
Two owners have their own words: najin — of us two, vajin — of you two, njun — of those two. Njun otrok is the child of that pair; njihov otrok belongs to a bigger crowd.
The key word is svoj. You need it wherever the owner is also the one acting: Vzel je svoj kovček — he took his own case. Say njegov kovček and the case turns out to be somebody else's.
Table
| who | possessive | example |
|---|---|---|
| I | moj | moj konjiček |
| you | tvoj | tvoja soba |
| he | njegov | njegov brat |
| she | njen | njena teta |
| we two | najin | najin sosed |
| you two | vajin | vajina hiša |
| they two | njun | njun otrok |
| they | njihov | njihovo dvorišče |
| the doer’s own | svoj | vzel je svoj kovček |
By example
- Pozabil sem svoj polnilec domaI forgot my charger at home
- Njena hčerka in njun sin sta sošolcaHer daughter and their son are classmates
- Najin naslov je isti kot vajinOur address is the same as yours
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
What svoj is for in Slovenian?
Possessives work like adjectives and follow the thing, not the owner: moj brat, moja sestra, moje darilo, pri mojem bratu. The root names the owner, the ending follows the thing.
Njegov vs svoj?
News for an English speaker: njegov and njen change as well. 'His' and 'her' are frozen in English; these two live a full life: njegova hčerka, njenega brata, z njenim avtom.
Najin, vajin and njun: our for two in Slovenian?
Two owners have their own words: najin — of us two, vajin — of you two, njun — of those two. Njun otrok is the child of that pair; njihov otrok belongs to a bigger crowd.
Do njegov and njen decline in Slovenian?
The key word is svoj. You need it wherever the owner is also the one acting: Vzel je svoj kovček — he took his own case. Say njegov kovček and the case turns out to be somebody else's.
What does it look like in an example sentence Slovenian?
“Pozabil sem svoj polnilec doma” — I forgot my charger at home. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.