свой vs мой / твой
svoy vs moy / tvoy — one's own vs my / your
Register: neutral
What it really means
"Свой" means one's own and refers back to the subject of the sentence. It changes for gender and number (свой, своя, своё, свои) but not for the person who owns the thing. "Мой," "твой," and the other possessive pronouns name the owner directly.
Using свой avoids repeating the subject and can clarify that the subject owns the item: "Я люблю свою работу" (I love my own work). Compare "Она любит свою собаку" (her own dog) with "Она любит её собаку" (someone else's dog).
Examples in natural speech
Я взял свою сумку.
I took my own bag.
Она любит свою работу.
She loves her own work.
Он позвонил своей сестре.
He called his own sister.
Она взяла её сумку.
She took her (another woman's) bag.
Мы пригласили своих друзей.
We invited our own friends.
Common mistakes
The key error is using мой or её when the owner is the sentence subject. "Она любит её собаку" normally means she loves another woman's dog; "Она любит свою собаку" means she loves her own dog. Remember that свой follows the subject, not the grammatical gender of the owner.
Memory tip
"Свой" points back to the subject: I → my own, she → her own, they → their own. The subject owns it.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between свой and мой in Russian?
"Свой" means one's own and refers back to the subject, while "мой" specifically means my. "Я взял свою сумку" = I took my own bag; "Он взял мою сумку" = He took my bag.
Why does Russian use свою instead of мою?
When the subject owns the item, Russian often uses свой: "Она любит свою работу" (She loves her own work). Мою would mean my work, owned by the speaker, not her work.
Does свой change for gender?
Yes, it agrees with the thing owned: свой стол, своя книга, своё окно, свои друзья. It refers to the subject regardless of whether that subject is masculine, feminine, or plural.
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