svojo

Svojo is a Slovenian word that functions as a possessive determiner and a reflexive pronoun meaning one’s own. It is used to indicate that an item or relation belongs to the subject of the clause, rather than to someone else. The use of svojo helps to emphasize personal ownership and can reduce ambiguity when the possessor is the subject of the sentence.

In Slovenian, svojo agrees with the possessed noun in gender, number, and case, and is used in the same positions as other possessive adjectives. For example: imem svoj avto (I have my own car) uses masculine singular; kupila sem svojo knjigo (I bought my own book) uses feminine singular accusative. The form changes to reflect different nouns and cases, such as svoji/ svoja in other grammatical contexts, always aligning with the noun’s gender and number.

Usage notes: svojo is typically used to indicate ownership by the subject of the clause, distinguishing it from ownership by others. In contrast, forms like njen/njihov specify ownership by another person and can carry different nuances depending on context and emphasis. Svojo is common in everyday speech and writing when the intention is to highlight personal possession.

Origin and cross-linguistic context: The term stems from Slovenian’s reflexive possessive system and has parallels in other Slavic languages, where a reflexive possessive construction marks ownership as belonging to the subject. See also Slovenian possessive pronouns and reflexive verbs for related grammatical concepts.