Language/Slovak/Grammar/Pronouns

Slovak Grammar - Pronouns

Hi Slovak learners! 😊
In this lesson, we will talk about pronouns in Slovak grammar. Pronouns are words that replace nouns in a sentence. They are very important because they make our sentences shorter and more concise. Pronouns create cohesion in our language, making it easier to communicate with others. By learning pronouns, you can create more complex sentences and express yourself more effectively. So, let's get started!

Don't hesitate to look into these other pages after completing this lesson: Slovak Grammar, Plurals, The Verbs 'To Be' and 'To Have' & Basic Sentence Structure.

Personal Pronouns

Personal pronouns are used to replace people (or animals) in a sentence. In Slovak, we have two types of personal pronouns: subject and object pronouns. Subject pronouns are used as the subject of a sentence, while object pronouns are used as direct or indirect objects.

• Subject pronouns in Slovak:

Slovak	Pronunciation	English
Ja	yah	I
Ty	tee	You (singular informal)
On	own	He/It (masculine)
Ona	own-ah	She/It (feminine)
Ono	own-oh	It (neuter)
My	mee	We
Vy	vee	You (plural formal or singular formal)
Oni	on-ee	They (masculine or mixed)
Ony	on-ee	They (feminine)

• Object pronouns in Slovak:

Slovak	Pronunciation	English
Mňa	m-nah	Me (as an object)
Teba	teh-bah	You (singular informal, as an object)
Jeho	yay-hoh	Him/It (masculine, as an object)
Ju	yoo	Her/It (feminine, as an object)
Ho/To	hoh/toh	It (neuter, as an object)
Nás	nahs	Us (as an object)
Vás	vahs	You (plural formal or singular formal, as an object)
Ich	eekh	Them (masculine or mixed, as an object)
Ich	eekh	Them (feminine, as an object)

Let's see some examples so you can understand better:

Dialogue:

• Person 1: Ahoj, ja som Peter. (= Hello, I am Peter.)
• Person 2: Čau, ja som Veronika. (= Hi, I am Veronika.)
• Person 1: Čo robíš dnes? (= What are you doing today?)
• Person 2: Nič, iba sa učím slovenčinu. Ty? (= Nothing, just learning Slovak. And you?)
• Person 1: Ja idem do divadla s mojou mamou. (= I am going to the theatre with my mother.)
• Person 2: Pekne, užite si to. (= Nice, have fun.)

Possessive Pronouns

Possessive pronouns are used to indicate possession in a sentence. Possessive pronouns replace nouns used with a possessive adjective ("môj" = my, "tvoj" = your, etc.). In Slovak, possessive pronouns have a masculine and feminine form, which changes according to the gender of the noun they are replacing.

• Possessive pronouns in Slovak:

Slovak	Pronunciation	English
Môj	mo-y	My (masculine)
Moja	moh-yah	My (feminine)
Tvoj	tvo-y	Your (singular informal, masculine)
Tvoja	tvo-yah	Your (singular informal, feminine)
Jeho	yay-hoh	His/Its (masculine)
Jej	yay	Her/Its (feminine)
Náš	nahsh	Our (masculine)
Naša	nah-sha	Our (feminine)
Váš	vahsh	Your (plural or singular formal, masculine)
Vaša	vah-shah	Your (plural or singular formal, feminine)
Ich	eekh	Their (masculine or mixed)
Ich	eekh	Their (feminine)

Example:

Moje auto (= My car) Tvoj dom (= Your house) Jeho/jej kniha (= His/Her book) Naša kancelária (= Our office) Ich domy (= Their houses)

Reflexive Pronouns

Reflexive pronouns are used to indicate that the action of the verb is being done by the subject to itself. Reflexive pronouns in Slovak are the same as the object pronouns, but preceded by "sa" or "si".

• Reflexive pronouns in Slovak:

Slovak	Pronunciation	English
Seba	seh-bah	Myself
Sebe	seh-bay	Yourself (singular, informal)
Sa/nás/vas	sah/nahs/vahs	Himself/Itself/Ourselves/Themselves (masculine or mixed)
Si/jej	see/yay	Herself/Itself/(someone's) Own (feminine)
Sa	sah	Themselves (feminine)

Example:

Ja sa umyjem. (= I wash myself.) Ty si dáš obed. (= You will eat lunch.) On si verí. (= He believes in himself.) Ona sa oblieka. (= She is getting dressed.)

Demonstrative Pronouns

Demonstrative pronouns are used to indicate which object is being referred to in a sentence. In Slovak, we use "ten" (masculine), "tá" (feminine), and "to" (neuter). Their endings change according to the grammatical case and number (singular/plural) of the noun they refer to.

• Demonstrative pronouns in Slovak:

Slovak	Pronunciation	English
Ten/ Tí	tehn/teeh	This/These (masculine)
Tá/Tie	tah/tee-eh	This/These (feminine)
To/Tie	toh/tee-eh	This/These (neuter)

Example:

Ten muž je zamestnanec. (= This man is an employee.) Tá kniha je zaujímavá. (= This book is interesting.) To auto je veľké. (= This car is big.)

Interrogative Pronouns

Interrogative pronouns are used to ask questions in a sentence. In Slovak, we use "čo" which means "what" and "kto" which means "who".

Example:

Čo robíš? (= What are you doing?) Kto je tá osoba? (= Who is that person?)

To improve your Slovak Grammar, you can also use the Polyglot Club website. Find native speakers and ask them any questions!

Sources

• Slovak declension - Wikipedia
• 15+ Most Common Slovak Pronouns You Should Learn - Ling App
• Reflexive pronouns in Slovak | coLanguage

Other Lessons

• Conditional Mood
• Future Tense
• Negation
• Give your Opinion
• How to Use Be
• Plurals
• Nouns
• How to Use Have
• Questions