Ovaj, taj, onaj: three "thises" instead of two
English splits the world in two — this near me, that far from me. Serbian splits it in three, and the third rung appears exactly where English never needed one. For example: “Овај телефон је мој, а тај је твој” — This phone is mine, and that one is yours. A rule from the Serbian course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
English splits the world in two — this near me, that far from me. Serbian splits it in three, and the third rung appears exactly where English never needed one.
Ovaj — at mine, the speaker's: ovaj telefon — this one, in my hand. Taj — at yours, the listener's, or the thing we just mentioned: Daj mi taj punjač — the one lying next to you. Onaj — far from both of us: Onaj autobus ide do centra — that one over there. The English-speaker's mistake is always the same: taking ovaj and onaj and skipping the middle taj altogether — which sounds as if nobody else were in the room.
The place adverbs keep the same layout: ovde — here, by me; tu — there, by you, close; tamo — way over there. Sedi tu means "sit right here, next to me" and is not the same sentence as Sedi tamo.
These words point with more than a finger. Taj refers back to what was said — its second job, and the main one on paper: Kupio sam novi računar. Taj računar radi brzo. Here taj works like English "that/the": the very computer from the previous sentence. All three decline like ordinary adjectives, with fleeting vowels: ovog, ovom, ovim.
Table
| where | m. | f. | n. | adverb | in English |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| at mine | ovaj | ova | ovo | ovde | this, here |
| at yours | taj | ta | to | tu | that, right by you |
| far away | onaj | ona | ono | tamo | that over there |
| back in the text | taj | ta | to | — | the one already mentioned |
| other cases | ovog, ovom | ove, ovoj | ovog, ovom | — | like an adjective |
By example
- Овај телефон је мој, а тај је твојOvaj telefon je moj, a taj je tvojThis phone is mine, and that one is yours
- Дај ми ону кутију са ормараDaj mi onu kutiju sa ormaraGive me that box from the wardrobe
- Тај обичај је веома старTaj običaj je veoma starThat custom is very old
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
Ovaj, taj, onaj: how does it work in Serbian?
English splits the world in two — this near me, that far from me. Serbian splits it in three, and the third rung appears exactly where English never needed one.
What does it look like in an example sentence Serbian?
“Овај телефон је мој, а тај је твој” (Ovaj telefon je moj, a taj je tvoj) — This phone is mine, and that one is yours. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.