Possessive Pronouns and Adjectives in Slovak

In Slovak grammar, *Possessive Pronouns (Privlastňovacie zámená)* indicate possession and agree in gender, number, and case with the possessed noun:

1. The Inventory of Possessives: - 1st sg.: môj (masc.), moja (fem.), moje (neut.), moji/moje (pl.). - 2nd sg.: tvoj, tvoja, tvoje, tvoji/tvoje. - 3rd sg. Masc./Neut.: jeho (invariable in all cases: jeho brat, jeho sestra, jeho auto). - 3rd sg. Fem.: jej (declines like soft adjective cudzí: jej brat, jej sestre, jej brata). - 1st pl.: náš, naša, naše, naši/naše. - 2nd pl.: váš, vaša, vaše, vaši/vaše (capitalized Váš in formal polite correspondence). - 3rd pl.: ich (invariable in all cases: ich dom, ich rodina, ich deti).

*2. The Reflexive Possessive 'Svoj' (Privlastňovacie zvratné zámeno): When the subject of the clause owns the object, Slovak obligatorily uses svoj/svoja/svoje rather than personal possessives: - Peter číta svoju knihu. (Peter reads his own book - not jeho knihu!). - Milujem svoju rodinu.* (I love my own family).

Learner Mistake: Using jeho instead of svoj when referring back to the clause's subject (Peter navštívil jeho mamu means Peter visited someone else's mother; Peter visiting his own mother must be Peter navštívil svoju mamu).