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Serbian Pronouns (Zamenice)
What is a pronoun?
A pronoun is a substitute for a noun or a noun phrase, or
things previously mentioned or understood from the context.
These are words like ja
I, mene me,
sebe himself,
herself,
ovo this,
ko who,
koji which,
neko somebody,
niko nobody,
svi all,
svako everybody.
Based on their meaning and the function in the sentence,
pronouns are classified in the following categories:
Table 1: Classification of pronouns
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Types of pronouns |
Examples
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Demonstrative pronouns
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ovo this,
to that,
ovde
here, tamo
there
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Indefinite or impersonal pronouns
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neko somebody,
neto something
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Interrogative pronouns
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ko who,
koga whom,
ta what
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Personal pronouns
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ja I,
ti you,
on he,
ona she,
ono it
mi we
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Possessive pronouns
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my moj,
tvoj your,
njen
her, njegov
his,
na our
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Relative pronouns
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koji which,
to that,
θiji
whose
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Reflexive and reciprocal pronouns
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sebe herself,
himself,
se self,
jedno drugo one another
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Universal pronouns
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svi all,
svako everybody,
svata
everything, svaki
each,
svuda everywhere
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Just like nouns, Serbian pronouns also change their forms
depending on their position in a sentence, i.e., whether
they function as a subject (ex. ja
I), a direct object (njega
him), an object of a preposition (od
nje from her). This different
positioning of a pronoun in a sentence is called a case (or
pade).
Serbian pronouns (as well as nouns and adjectives) have
seven cases: nominative,
accusative,
genitive,
dative,
locative,
instrumental
and vocative, in both singular and plural.
Because of their complex inflections but also similarities
among various types of pronouns, Serbian pronouns are
usually the hardest items to memorize. I suggest that you
tackle each pronominal class separately, starting with
personal pronouns.
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