# All Slavic: Possessive pronouns



## franknagy

Why do not show the possesive pronouns of the Slavic languages the gender of the possessed object, and why don't have they cases unlike the pronouns in the 1st and 2d persons?


----------



## Eirwyn

Because they are basically just the genitive forms of "he", "she" and "they". You can't decline what's already been declined.


----------



## Panceltic

They do in Slovenian:

one male/neuter possessor: *njegov* (m.sg.), *njegova* (f.sg.), *njegovo* (n.sg.); *njegova* (m.du.), *njegovi* (f.du.), *njegovi* (n.du.); *njegovi* (m.pl.), *njegove* (f.pl.), *njegova* (n.pl.)

one female possessor: *njen* (m.sg.), *njena* (f.sg.), *njeno* (n.sg.); *njena* (m.du.), *njeni* (f.du.), *njeni* (n.du.); *njeni* (m.pl.), *njene* (f.pl.), *njena* (n.pl.)

two possessors: *njun* (m.sg.), *njuna* (f.sg.), *njuno* (n.sg.); *njuna* (m.du.), *njuni* (f.du.), *njuni* (n.du.); *njuni *(m.pl.), *njune* (f.pl.), *njuna* (n.pl.)

3+ possessors: *njihov* (m.sg.), *njihova* (f.sg.), *njihovo* (n.sg.); *njihova* (m.du.), *njihovi* (f.du.), *njihovi* (n.du.); *njihovi* (m.pl.), *njihove* (f.pl.), *njihova* (n.pl.)

All these forms also have cases, just like *moj*, *tvoj*, *svoj*, *najin*, *vajin*, *naš* and *vaš*.

I am pretty sure it works like this in other South Slavic languages as well.


----------



## bibax

It is similar to the Latin pronoun *eius* _'his, her, its'_ (= genitive of is/ea/id _'he/she/it'_; one form for all genders in sing.) and *eorum/earum* _'their'_ (= genitive of ii/eae/ea _'they'_; two forms in plural; earum is feminine, gen. of eae).

The declension in Slovenian and some other Slavic languages is later development, an analogy to moj, tvoj, etc.


----------



## Ukrainito

So your question was only about *3rd-person* possessive pronouns.

As stated in the above reply, the 3rd-person possessive pronouns are basically the Genitive case of the corresponding 3rd-person personal pronouns.

In *Russian*, 3rd-person possessive pronouns never change their form.
*его, её, его / их (his, her, its /  their)
*
In *Ukrainian*, only the plural 3rd-person possessive pronoun (*their*) has gender, number, and case.
Nom.: *їхній син, їхня дочка, їхній стіл, їхні діти (their son, their daughter, their table, their children)*
Gen.: *їхнього сина, їхньої дочки, їхнього столу, їхніх дітей*
Dat.: *їхньому сину, їхній дочці, їхньому столу, їхнім дітям*
etc.

In *Belorussian*, all of the 3rd-person possessive pronouns have gender, number, and case, but _only_ when the possessor is a person.
*ягоны сын, ягоная дачка, ягонае сямейства, ягоныя дзеці (his son, his daughter, his family, his children)
ейны сын, ейная дачка, ейнае сямейства, ейныя дзеці (her son... etc)
іхны сын, іхная дачка, іхнае сямейства, іхныя дзеці (their son... etc)*

However, when the possessor is inanimate, the Belorussian 3rd-person possessive pronouns are "fixed", just like in Russian:
*яго, яе, яго / іх (his, her, its /  their)
*
E.g.:
*Бацька і ягоныя дзеці (The father and his children) 
but 
Вучылішча і яго дзеці (The school and its children)*


----------



## Panceltic

Ukrainito said:


> Note: both *father *and *school *are masculine nouns in Belorussian.



Isn't _вучылішча_ neuter?


----------



## Ukrainito

Panceltic said:


> Isn't _вучылішча_ neuter?


You're right. It's neuter. What I meant was that both masculine nouns and neuter nouns go with *his*, not *his *and *its.*


----------



## bibax

Russian has also declinable *"ихний"* (их), *"евоный"* (его), *"ейный"* (её). Details here.


----------



## Panceltic

Ukrainito said:


> both masculine nouns and neuter nouns go with *his*



That's right, because in Slavic languages "he" and "it" are only ever distinguished in nominative and accusative.


----------



## rusita preciosa

bibax said:


> Russian has also declinable *"ихний"* (их), *"евоный"* (его), *"ейный"* (её). Details here.


No, this is not standard Russian. 
In Russian these are not declinable, it is always его, её, их (his, her, their)


----------



## ilocas2

In Czech *jeho* (his, its) and *jejich* (their) are indeclinable but *její* (her) is declined like soft adjectives.


----------



## bibax

rusita preciosa said:


> No, this is not standard Russian.
> In Russian these are not declinable, it is always его, её, их (his, her, their)


Well, I did not invent these words (егоный, еёшний, etc.). In any case, in the Slavic languages there is a long lasting tendency to make the possessive pronouns of the 3rd person declinable.

In older Czech *její < *jejie* (her, её) was indeclinable as expected (like Russian её):

N. její pes, G. její psa, D. její psovi, etc.

Nowadays we say:

N. její pes, G. její*ho* psa, D. její*mu* psovi, etc.


----------



## ilocas2

Possessive pronouns for 3rd person in Southern Slavic languages are not cognates with possessive pronouns for 3rd person in Western and Eastern Slavic languages.


----------



## franknagy

It is strange for me that the pronouns *"ихний"* (их), *"евоный"* (его), *"ейный" *are
 low level мужик spoken words --- but used in high level poetry.


----------



## rusita preciosa

franknagy said:


> It is strange for me that the pronouns *"ихний"* (их), *"евоный"* (его), *"ейный" *are
> low level мужик spoken words --- but used in high level poetry.


It's not used in poetry, especially "high-level poetry" (whatever it means).
It is used in literature occasionally to portray low-register/uneducated speech.


----------

