Ovaj, taj, onaj in a sentence
Ten minutes putting the three-way system to work: build three sentences that point at a package, a box and a button with the right distance and the right gender ending, catching the mistake every beginner makes forcing one form onto every noun, before the unit's own materials ask you to follow someone choosing between two things at a shop.
The part of the grammar page this lesson drills — read it here, then use it.
The three-way system: овај / тај / онај
Овај points to something physically close to the speaker: Овај сто је нов. (This table [right here] is new.) Онај points to something far from both speaker and listener, often literally out of reach or across the room: Онај сто тамо је стар. (That table over there is old.)
Тај is the genuine middle term: something close to the person you're talking to, rather than to you - Та књига коју држиш је моја. (That book you're holding is mine.) In everyday speech тај also does double duty as the default, neutral "that" whenever distance from speaker and listener isn't really the point.
Agreement: gender and number
All three demonstratives decline exactly alike, and exactly like adjectives (see the tables below). Овај сто (masc.), ова књига (fem.), ово село (neut.) all point to the same physical closeness - only the ending changes.
| Gender | овај (near speaker) | тај (near listener) | онај (far from both) |
|---|---|---|---|
| muški | ovaj | taj | onaj |
| ženski | ova | ta | ona |
| srednji | ovo | to | ono |