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When it comes to learning a language, small things can make a big difference. Take, for instance, those little gems like bre and baš — they can rocket your Serbian from textbook blandness straight into native-like territory. But before that, you’ll need to tackle another set of small but mighty words: Serbian pronouns.
Though compact, pronouns pack a powerful punch. Think of them as the nuts and bolts of grammar, holding your sentences together and making your speech and writing clearer and less repetitive.
To help you master this essential grammar point without feeling overwhelmed, this article will cover personal, demonstrative, and possessive pronouns. Ready? Let’s dive in!
Simply put, pronouns (Serbian: zamenice) are words that replace nouns in a sentence. As such, they help specify who or what you’re talking about without repeating the same phrases. At the same time, they allow you to speak more clearly and concisely, cutting the clatter from your sentences.
Perhaps you already know that ja means I, and ti stand for you. If so, congrats — you’ve got the basics. Now, it’s time to expand that knowledge and take your Serbian to the next level.
For your reference, there are eight types of pronouns in Serbian:
But since we don’t wish to give you a headache, we’ll stick to the first three in this guide.
The answer is — yes. Serbian pronouns have gender, number, and case. That means that you’ll need to spend some time memorizing different forms. But don’t worry — you won’t have to stuff your head with tons of suffixes and grammar rules. You can pick them up along the way — through practice.
In short, personal pronouns replace specific nouns and refer to people or things. For instance, you can use them to introduce yourself:
Ja se zovem Marija.
(My name is Marija. [literally: I am called Marija])
Here’s what Serbian personal pronouns look like:
singular | plural | |||||
1. | ja (I) | mi (we) | ||||
2. | ti (you) | vi (you) | ||||
3 | on (he) | oni (they – m.) | ||||
ona (she) | one (they – f.) | |||||
ono (it) | ona (they – n.) | |||||
Let’s apply this to the following sentences:
Ana je moja najbolja drugrica. Ana ima plavu kosu i lep osmeh.
(Ana is my best friend. Ana’s got blond hair and a pretty smile.)
Although correct, repeating the same words is unnecessary and even sounds dull. So, instead, it’s better to say:
Ana je moja najbolja drugrica. Ona ima plavu kosu i lep osmeh.
(Ana is my best friend. She’s got blond hair and a pretty smile.)
I just love cases — said no one ever. Still, they are necessary if you’re serious about mastering Serbian. So, here are the personal pronouns in all seven cases.
case | I | you | he | she | it | we | you | they | ||
nominative | ja | ti | on | ona | ono | mi | vi | oni | one | ona | ||
genitive | mene | tebe | njega | nje | njega | nas | vas | njih | ||
dative | meni (mi) | tebi (ti) | njemu | njoj | njemu (mu | joj | mu) | nama (nam) | vama (vam) | njima (im) | ||
accusative | mene (me) | tebe (te) | njega | nju | njega (ga | ju | ga) | nas | vas | njih (ih) | ||
vocative | / | ti | / | / | vi | / | ||
instrumental | mnom | tobom | njim | njom | njim | nama | vama | njima | ||
locative | meni | tebi | njemu | njoj | njemu | nama | vama | njima | ||
Things to pay attention to:
Now, tables like this one take a bit of cramming. But, once you commit it to memory, you won’t even have to think about different forms. You’ll intuitively know what case to use and how.
For instance, let’s take the locative case:
Volim da pričam o svojoj devojci.
(I like to talk about my girlfriend.)
What pronoun will you use?
Volim da pričam o njoj.
(I like to talk about her.)
As the name suggests, possessive pronouns indicate ownership. For instance, they come in handy when you wish to brag:
Moj pas je pametniji od tvog.
(My dog is smarter than yours.)
Or when you feel like sharing:
Slobodno uzmi moj sladoled.
(Feel free to take my ice cream.)
Here’s what possessive pronouns look like:
singular | |||
m. | f. | n. | |
my | moj | moja | moje |
your | tvoj | tvoja | tvoje |
his | njegov | njegova | njegovo |
her | njen | njena | njeno |
its | njegov | njegova | njegovo |
plural | |||
m. | f. | n. | |
our | naš | naša | naše |
your | vaš | vaša | vaše |
their | njihov | njihova | njihovo |
In addition to these, there’s one more possessive pronoun:
You should use this special pronoun whenever the sentence subject and the owner of the object that this pronoun refers to are the same person. Take this sentence, for instance:
Ja šetam svog psa.
(I’m walking my dog.)
As you can see, the sentence subject and the dog owner are the same person — ja. Here’s another example:
Marko šeta svog psa
(Marko is walking his dog.)
In this case, Marko is the subject and the owner. So, again, you need to use the pronoun svog.
On the other hand, if Marko is walking your dog, you’ll say:
Marko šeta mog psa.
Possessive pronouns always pair with nouns. Because of that, they agree with the gender, number, and case of that noun. For instance, the pronoun moj (my) can take any of the following forms:
Also, whenever the noun changes the case, so does the possessive pronoun. For example:
Nominative: Moj sin je dobar dečak. (My son is a good boy.)
Dative: Daj ovo pismo mom sinu. (Give this letter to my son.)
The same is true for any possessive pronouns.
Nominative: Njegova mama je učiteljica. (His mom is a teacher.)
Accusative: Video sam njegovu mamu u prodavnici. (I saw his mom at a shop.)
Finally, you don’t have to memorize the forms for all genders and cases right away — you’ll get the hang of them bit by bit. But if you wish to do so, you can find all the forms here.
Demonstrative pronouns can refer to people or things that are:
Here’s what different forms look like:
singular | |||
m. | f. | n | |
this | ovaj | ova | ovo |
that | to | ta | to |
that over there | onaj | ona | ono |
plural | |||
m. | f. | n. | |
these | ovi | ove | ova |
those | ti | te | ta |
those over there | oni | one | ona |
Just like possessive ones, demonstrative pronouns act like adjectives. As a result, they agree with the noun in terms of gender, number, and case.
Ovaj auto je brz kao munja. [masculine, singular, nominative]
(This car is lightning-fast.)
Voz je sporiji od ovog auta. [masculine, singular, genitive]
(The train is slower than this car.)
Ove ptice lete brzo. [feminine, plural, nominative]
(These birds fly fast.)
Again, we won’t dive into every form, but you can find more info here.
Have you ever noticed the word vi capitalized even though it’s in the middle of the sentence? For example:
Kako se Vi zovete?
(What’s your name?)
No, it’s not a typo. When capitalized, the pronoun Vi isn’t plural — it’s singular. Using Vi instead of ti is a way of showing respect, usually used in formal situations. For instance, when talking to someone you don’t know well, older people, your boss, or your friend’s parents, it’s polite to address them with Vi, not ti. Similarly, you’ll use the possessive pronoun Vaš instead of tvoj.
Actually, using ti instead of Vi in these situations is considered impolite and you can only do it if the other person insists.
Want to learn more about this topic? Check out our guide on how to sound polite in Serbian.
Before wrapping up, let’s practice Serbian pronouns with a quick quiz. You’ll find the correct answers at the end of the article.
a) ti b) on c) ona
a) tvoj b) to c) ti
a) moj b) me c) svoj
a) ta b) moj c) ovaj
Finally, you’ve got a decent idea of Serbian pronouns, and you can tell the difference between personal, possessive, and demonstrative ones. With that knowledge, you’ll be able to communicate in Seriban with more clarity and confidence.
Sure, all the cases and different forms may seem daunting at first, but with a bit of practice, you’ll get the hang of them in no time.
Speaking of practice, we know the perfect place to brush up on your Serbian. In our group online classes, students team up with fellow learners and join lots of fun and efficient activities. Give it a go and boost your conversational skills in a motivating yet relaxed environment.
Answer Key
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