Possessive Pronouns — Czech Grammar

The words for my, your and our behave like adjectives in Czech: they agree with the thing owned in gender, number and case, and they take no notice at all of the owner's gender.

Můj dům.
My house.
Moje kniha.
My book.
Moje auto.
My car.

The Forms

Each is given here in its three nominative singular forms, one per gender, with a full set of case endings behind them.

, , - my
, , - your
, , - our
, , - your

Naše dcera studuje.
Our daughter is a student.
Vaše tašky jsou těžké.
Your bags are heavy.

Two Sets of Endings

, and have a long and a short form in several cases: beside . Both are correct, and the longer ones are what people say.

Moji rodiče pracují v bance.
My parents work at a bank.
Mojí dceři je dvacet let.
My daughter is twenty.

The Third Person Does Not Decline

and never change their form, whatever the case or gender of what follows. They are the easiest words in the language and the only possessives that behave this way.

Jeho kamarád je učitel.
His friend is a teacher.
Jejich děti jsou hlučné.
Their children are noisy.

- her - is the exception among the exceptions: it does decline, following the soft adjective pattern.

Její malý pejsek je roztomilý.
Her little dog is cute.

Owner or Owned

In English his and her tell you about the owner. In Czech the ending tells you about the thing owned; the owner is in the choice of word.

Její manžel.
Her husband.
Jeho žena.
His wife.

Agreement in Practice

Because these words agree with the thing owned, a single owner produces different forms all day long. The choice never depends on who is speaking.

Moje máma se jmenuje Lisa.
My mum's name is Lisa.
Můj dědeček je starý.
My grandfather is old.
Moje děti jsou tiché.
My children are quiet.

Polite Forms in Writing

Addressing someone formally, the possessive for is often capitalised in letters. It is a courtesy of spelling and nothing more.

Jsem studentka ve vašem kurzu.
I'm a student in your course.

Standing Without a Noun

A possessive can stand on its own where the noun is understood, and it still carries the ending that noun would have had.

Ta taška je moje.
That bag is mine.

Often Left Out

Czech omits the possessive where English keeps it, especially with family and parts of the body, where the owner is obvious.

Bolí mě hlava.
My head hurts.
Jdu k doktorovi.
I'm going to my doctor.

In the course

Sentences from Lingora’s Czech course

88 of the course's 500 sentences use this, the first in lesson 2. A few of them, with the words “Possessive Pronouns” is about in bold:

Tohle je moje kamarádka Anna. Studuje.
This is my friend, Anna. She is a student.
Lesson 2
Můj otec koupil dárek pro mou maminku.
My father bought a present for my mother.
Lesson 225
Kde je naše dcera? - Je ve škole.
Where is our daughter? - She's at school.
Lesson 242

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