I can ask “Čí je to mobil? Čia je to taška?” and answer: môj mobil, moja taška, moje auto, jeho kniha, jej pero.
Môj, moja, moje: whose is it?
Môj, moja, moje: whose is it?
Why: to say whose something is and to ask about it.
The question “whose?” changes with the gender of the thing: čí mobil? čia kniha? čie auto? Čí je to počítač? — Môj.
Unlike English “my”, môj, tvoj, náš, váš change their ending with the gender of the THING, not of the owner: môj mobil, moja kniha, moje auto; tvoj — tvoja — tvoje; náš — naša — naše; váš — vaša — vaše.
Watch the spelling: ô is only in môj, á only in náš and váš; moja, naša, vaša have a plain o and a.
jeho (his), jej (her), ich (their) never change, like English his, her, their: jeho kniha, jej auto, ich počítač.
English has one “your”; Slovak has tvoj for ty and váš for vy. Pani Šimková gets váš, your friend Lucia gets tvoj.
Common mistakes:
• NOT “moja mobil” → môj mobil (mobil is masculine)
• NOT “Čí je to taška?” → Čia je to taška?
• NOT “môja” → moja (ô only in môj)
• NOT “Lucia, je to váš mobil?” → Lucia, je to tvoj mobil? (use ty with a friend)
Whose: by the gender of the thing
Môj, tvoj, náš, váš change with the gender of the thing; jeho, jej, ich don't change.
| Whose | Masculine (mobil) | Feminine (kniha) | Neuter (auto) |
|---|---|---|---|
| ja | môj | moja | moje |
| ty | tvoj | tvoja | tvoje |
| on | jeho | jeho | jeho |
| ona | jej | jej | jej |
| my | náš | naša | naše |
| vy | váš | vaša | vaše |
| oni | ich | ich | ich |
| question | čí? | čia? | čie? |
Lesson notes
Môj, moja, moje: whose is it?
Why: to say whose something is and to ask about it.
The question “whose?” changes with the gender of the thing: čí mobil? čia kniha? čie auto? Čí je to počítač? — Môj.
Unlike English “my”, môj, tvoj, náš, váš change their ending with the gender of the THING, not of the owner: môj mobil, moja kniha, moje auto; tvoj — tvoja — tvoje; náš — naša — naše; váš — vaša — vaše.
Watch the spelling: ô is only in môj, á only in náš and váš; moja, naša, vaša have a plain o and a.
jeho (his), jej (her), ich (their) never change, like English his, her, their: jeho kniha, jej auto, ich počítač.
English has one “your”; Slovak has tvoj for ty and váš for vy. Pani Šimková gets váš, your friend Lucia gets tvoj.
Common mistakes:
• NOT “moja mobil” → môj mobil (mobil is masculine)
• NOT “Čí je to taška?” → Čia je to taška?
• NOT “môja” → moja (ô only in môj)
• NOT “Lucia, je to váš mobil?” → Lucia, je to tvoj mobil? (use ty with a friend)