Moj, tvoj, njegov: whose it is, and why svoj outranks them all
English possessives never bend: "my brother and my sister" — my stays my. Serbian moj, tvoj, naš, vaš bend with the THING owned: moj brat, moja sestra, moje dete. And njegov (his), njen (her), njihov (their) bend with the owned thing too, not with the owner: njegova sestra — his sister, njen brat — her brother. Where English swaps the word (his/her), Serbian swaps the ending. For example: “Моја ћерка има осам…
How it works
English possessives never bend: "my brother and my sister" — my stays my. Serbian moj, tvoj, naš, vaš bend with the THING owned: moj brat, moja sestra, moje dete. And njegov (his), njen (her), njihov (their) bend with the owned thing too, not with the owner: njegova sestra — his sister, njen brat — her brother. Where English swaps the word (his/her), Serbian swaps the ending.
Then comes the thing English has no obligatory rule for. Serbian requires svoj when the owner is the subject of the same sentence: Uzeo sam svoj kofer — I took my own suitcase. Saying Uzeo sam moj kofer is possible but sounds off — the way English would stumble over "I took the my suitcase"; the nearest feeling is that svoj packs in the word "own". With third persons the choice becomes real meaning: Marko je uzeo svoj kofer — his OWN suitcase, Marko je uzeo njegov kofer — someone else's. One letter decides who is left without luggage.
Third: from a person's name Serbian builds a possessive adjective. Not "the house of Marko" but Markov dom; not "the sister of Milica" but Miličina sestra. The suffix is -ov or -ev for male names, -in for female ones, and the adjective is capitalized — English "Mark's house", except it agrees like a full adjective. The of-form ("kuća Markova") exists too, but living speech prefers the adjective, just as English prefers "Mark's house" to "the house of Mark".
And the small detail that outs a foreigner fastest: in the family circle the possessive often walks after the noun, as a short to-form pronoun: brat mi se oženio — my brother got married, kako ti je majka? — how is your mother? It is the same second-position short pronoun you already know, only working as "my".
Table
| who | m. | f. | n. | in English |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ja | moj | moja | moje | my |
| ti | tvoj | tvoja | tvoje | your |
| on | njegov | njegova | njegovo | his |
| ona | njen | njena | njeno | her |
| mi, vi | naš, vaš | naša, vaša | naše, vaše | our, your (pl.) |
| oni | njihov | njihova | njihovo | their |
| the subject | svoj | svoja | svoje | one's own — required here |
| from a name | Markov | Markova | Markovo | Mark's |
By example
- Моја ћерка има осам годинаMoja ćerka ima osam godinaMy daughter is eight years old
- Марко је продао свој бициклMarko je prodao svoj biciklMarko sold his own bicycle
- Идемо на Миличино венчањеIdemo na Miličino venčanjeWe are going to Milica's 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
Svoj vs njegov in Serbian?
English possessives never bend: "my brother and my sister" — my stays my. Serbian moj, tvoj, naš, vaš bend with the THING owned: moj brat, moja sestra, moje dete. And njegov (his), njen (her), njihov (their) bend with the owned thing too, not with the owner: njegova sestra — his sister, njen brat…
Svoj or moj: which one Serbian takes?
Then comes the thing English has no obligatory rule for. Serbian requires svoj when the owner is the subject of the same sentence: Uzeo sam svoj kofer — I took my own suitcase. Saying Uzeo sam moj kofer is possible but sounds off — the way English would stumble over "I took the my suitcase"; the…
Markov dom or dom marka?
Third: from a person's name Serbian builds a possessive adjective. Not "the house of Marko" but Markov dom; not "the sister of Milica" but Miličina sestra. The suffix is -ov or -ev for male names, -in for female ones, and the adjective is capitalized — English "Mark's house", except it agrees like…
How to say his sister in Serbian?
And the small detail that outs a foreigner fastest: in the family circle the possessive often walks after the noun, as a short to-form pronoun: brat mi se oženio — my brother got married, kako ti je majka? — how is your mother? It is the same second-position short pronoun you already know, only…
What does it look like in an example sentence Serbian?
“Моја ћерка има осам година” (Moja ćerka ima osam godina) — My daughter is eight years old. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.