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Today we are going to consider reflexive pronouns in Russian. You should learn them and know how to distinguish them from other pronouns which you will see during your study.
Возвратные местоимения [Vazratnye mistaim'eniya] - Reflexive pronouns
| Свой (masculine) | Своя (feminine) | Своё (neuter) | Свои (pl.one's own) |
| Свой ребёнок | Своя квартира | Своё дерево | Свои люди |
| Свой портфель | Своя картина | Своё платье | Свои вещи |
| Свой дом | Своя чашка | Своё блюдо | Свои руки |
| Свой конверт | Своя постель | Своё настроение | Свои деньги |
Reflexive pronouns are used when a subject in a sentence and an owner of any object is the same person, for example:
- Она потеряла свою семью во время войны в этой стране [Ana patir'yala svayu sim'yu va vrem'ya vayny v etay stran'e] - She lost all her family during the war in this country.
If we are talking about the first person, for example «Я» [ya] (I), it would be better to use reflexive pronoun, but the rule is not obligatory:
- Я люблю мою маму [Ya l'yubl'yu mayu mamu] = Я люблю свою маму [Ya l'yubl'yu svayu mamu] - I love my Mom
Reflexive pronouns show the difference between an owner and an object in a sentence:
- Таня любит своего брата [Tan'ya l'yubit svaivo brata] - Tanya loves her brother (her own bro)
- Таня любит её брата [Tan'ya l'yubit eyo brata] - Tanya loves her brother (someone else's bro)
There is an exception which you should memorize - reflexive pronouns are not used in Nominative case, except the following case:
- У него есть своя квартира [U nivo est' svaya kvartira] - He has his own flat
- У каждого свой характер [U kazhdava svoy kharakter] - Everyone has his own character
In these examples pronounces are in Nominative case and they agree with a noun.
It is worth to memorize that reflexive pronouns are declined in the same manner as the pronouns «мой» [moy] and «твой» [tvoy]:
- Женя часто вспоминает своих друзей [Zhenya chasta fspaminait svayikh druzey] - Zhenya often recalls her friends.
- Она рассказывала о своей семье [Ana razkazivala o svaey sim'ye] - She was talking about her family.
