Svém

Svém is the locative singular form of the Czech possessive determiner svůj, meaning “one’s own.” It marks ownership by the subject of the clause and agrees with the possessor rather than the possessed noun. In standard prose it is used after prepositions such as v or ve to indicate location relative to one’s own thing, for example ve svém domě (in one’s own house) or ve svém životě (in one’s own life).

Morphology and usage notes: svém corresponds to the masculine or neuter singular in the locative case. Other forms of svůj include svůj (nominative/accusative masculine singular), svého (genitive singular), svému (dative singular), and svým (instrumental singular). For feminine nouns and plural forms, the endings differ accordingly. The word originates as a possessive determiner separate from personal pronouns and functions to express ownership by the subject, a nuance that distinguishes svůj from simple possessive pronouns like jeho or její in complex sentences.

In usage, svůj is common in neutral, standard Czech and appears frequently in written and spoken language. It is especially employed when the speaker wants to emphasize that the owner of the object is the subject of the clause, avoiding potential ambiguity in sentences with multiple possible owners.