Ta, tisti, oni: this, that, and 'the one we talked about'
Slovenian has three demonstratives, not two. ta — this, right here; tisti — that, the one further away or already known to us; oni — that one over there, truly distant. The third word has all but died in live speech, and in Ljubljana people say the colloquial un instead: un dan — the other day, una hiša — that house over there. un is never written. For example: “Ta telefon je moj, tisti pa je od brata” — This phone…
How it works
Slovenian has three demonstratives, not two. ta — this, right here; tisti — that, the one further away or already known to us; oni — that one over there, truly distant. The third word has all but died in live speech, and in Ljubljana people say the colloquial un instead: un dan — the other day, una hiša — that house over there. un is never written.
All three agree with the noun in gender, number and case, like an ordinary adjective: ta kovček, ta torba, to darilo, tega gumba, s tem telefonom. The dual here is its own and audible: ta dva fanta — these two boys, ti dve punci — these two girls. The plural differs by one letter: ti fantje — these (three or more).
The most useful job of the demonstratives is not pointing with a finger but referring to what was said. For that Slovenian uses the neuter to: To je res — that's true, Tega nisem vedel — I didn't know that, Zato — therefore, literally 'for that'. And tisto points back to what was said earlier and what both speakers remember: Se spomniš tistega filma? — remember that film? English 'that very one' is exactly tisti, and Slovenians use it noticeably more often than English uses 'that'.
In conversation a booster particle -le sticks to the demonstratives: tale telefon — this very phone, tistile teden — that very week. It is not a mistake and not village talk — everyone in Ljubljana says it — but in a written application it is better to keep to plain ta.
Table
| this (ta) | that (tisti) | |
|---|---|---|
| masculine | ta gumb | tisti gumb |
| feminine | ta torba | tista torba |
| neuter | to darilo | tisto darilo |
| two (m.) | ta dva | tista dva |
| two (f.) | ti dve | tisti dve |
| many | ti gumbi | tisti gumbi |
| genitive | tega | tistega |
By example
- Ta telefon je moj, tisti pa je od brataThis phone is mine, and that one is my brother’s
- To sem ti povedal že prejšnji tedenI told you that already last week
- Ta dva bratranca sta prišla na porokoThese two cousins came to the wedding
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
Ta, tisti, oni: how does it work in Slovenian?
Slovenian has three demonstratives, not two. ta — this, right here; tisti — that, the one further away or already known to us; oni — that one over there, truly distant. The third word has all but died in live speech, and in Ljubljana people say the colloquial un instead: un dan — the other day, una…
What does it look like in an example sentence Slovenian?
“Ta telefon je moj, tisti pa je od brata” — This phone is mine, and that one is my brother’s. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.