_Свој_ and asking _чији?_
The rule
Prisvojne zamenice

The part of the grammar page this lesson drills — read it here, then use it.

Свој - the reflexive possessive

Use свој whenever the possessor is the same person as the subject of the clause, in any grammatical person - not only the third. Марко воли своју кућу. means Marko loves his own house; Марко воли његову кућу. would mean Marko loves some other man's house.

Свој declines exactly like мој/твој and, being reflexive, never has its own separate first- or second-person form - Ја читам своју књигу. (I'm reading my own book) is just as correct, and just as common, as using моју there.

Чији? - asking whose

Чији/чија/чије (whose) is the question word that possessive pronouns answer, and - like који/која/које in questions-a1 - it agrees with the gender and number of the thing possessed, not with whoever might own it.

Свој across persons
SubjectExampleEnglish
ja Čitam svoju knjigu. I'm reading my (own) book.
ti Čitaš svoju knjigu. You're reading your (own) book.
on Čita svoju knjigu. He's reading his (own) book.
mi Čitamo svoju knjigu. We're reading our (own) book.
Read the whole rule
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