Svojho

Svojho is the genitive singular form of the Slovak reflexive possessive pronoun svoj, which means “one’s own.” It signals that the possessor of the described object is the subject of the clause, emphasizing ownership as belonging to that subject rather than to someone else. This makes it useful to avoid ambiguity that can arise when using non-reflexive possessives such as jeho (his) or tvoj (your).

In usage, svoj denotes possession related to the speaker or another referenced subject, and it is declined like an adjective to match the possessed noun in gender, number, and case. The form svojho specifically appears with masculine singular nouns in the genitive case (for example, svojho psa = one’s own dog). There are corresponding forms for other genders and for other grammatical cases, reflecting the same reflexive ownership pattern.

Examples include:

- Stratil svojho psa. (He lost his own dog.)

- Chcel kúpiť svoj dom. (He wanted to buy his own house.)

Etymology and relations: svoj is a Slavic reflexive possessive pronoun, cognate with Czech svůj, Polish swój, Russian svoj, and related forms in other Slavic languages. Its use in Slovak contrasts with non-reflexive possessives when the owner is not the subject, where forms like jeho, jej, or tvoj are appropriate.

See also: possessive pronouns in Slovak, reflexive verbs, grammar of adjectives in Slovak.