In this episode of Slovak Sound Check, we dive into the world of possessive pronouns — an essential building block for introducing people and talking about family, friends, and belongings in Slovak. You’ll learn how pronouns like my, your, our, and their change depending on gender, number, and case, as well as practical examples for real-life situations: pointing out family members, describing relationships, and forming basic sentences.
Vocabulary
môj (m) / moja (f) / moje (n) = my
tvoj (m) / tvoja (f) / tvoje (n) = your
jeho = his / its
jej = her
náš (m) / naša (f) / naše (n) = our
váš (m) / vaša (f) / vaše (n) = your
ich = their
moji / moje = my (plural)
tvoji / tvoje = your (plural)
naši / naše = our (plural)
vaši / vaše = your (plural)
toto je … = this is …
rodina = family
syn = son
dcéra = daughter
brat = brother
sestra = sister
deti = children
otec = father
This is my family. = Toto je moja rodina.
Toto je jej dcéra. = This is her daughter.
Tvoj brat má tri deti. = Your brother has 3 children.
Jeho syn je môj otec. = His son is my father.
Note 1: In Slovak, possessive pronouns always come before the noun they describe, and if there is an adjective, they stand before that as well. The typical word order is therefore: pronoun, adjective (if used), and then the noun. For example, in “moja dobrá kamarátka” (my good friend - feminine), the possessive pronoun moja precedes both the adjective “dobrá” (good) and the noun “kamarátka” (friend).
Note 2: Except for the third person, possessive pronouns in Slovak behave like adjectives. This means they change according to the gender and case of the noun they describe. For instance, we say “môj otec” (my father – masculine), “moja mama” (my mother – feminine), and “moje dieťa” (my child – neutral). The ending “-a” marks the feminine form, while “-e” indicates the neutral.
Note 3: Third person possessive pronouns, both in the singular and plural, are invariable — they do not change form. For the masculine or neutral subject (his or its), Slovak uses “jeho”, as in “jeho dcéra” (his daughter). For the feminine (her), the form is “jej”, as in “jej brat” (her brother). For the plural (their), the form is “ich”, as in “ich sestra” (their sister).
Note 4: In the plural, Slovak possessive pronouns have distinct forms depending on gender. The masculine plural usually (but not always) uses “moji, tvoji, naši, and vaši”, while the feminine and neutral plural use “moje, tvoje, naše, and vaše”. For example, “moji bratia” means my brothers, and “moje sestry” means my sisters. These endings follow the same agreement rules as adjectives in Slovak grammar.
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