| Singular | Plural |
| Serbo-Croatian | English | Serbo-Croatian | English | |
| 1 | ja | 'I' | mi | 'we' |
| 2 | ti | 'you' | vi/Vi | 'y'all/You sir' |
| 3 | on | 'he' | oni | 'they (masculine gender)' |
| 3 | ona | 'she' | one | 'they (feminine gender)' |
| 3 | ono | 'it' | ona | 'they (neuter gender)' |
There are two differences between Serbo-Croatian and English which need to be noted
here:
First, in Serbo-Croatian there are three equivalents of the English 'you' -- informal for one person (ti 'you'), informal for two or more persons (vi
'y'all, you guys') and formal for both one or more persons (Vi 'you sir/madam/ladies/gentlemen'). Formal means that people address each other in a manner similar to the English use of Mr./Ms. + last name. Informal, on the other hand, is similar to English
in addressing other people by their given names. This distinction is more rigid than in English. For example, students would never address their professors by their given name (i.e., informally). The distinction between formal and informal forms of address will be discussed throughout this course.
Second, Serbo-Croatian uses three different pronouns in the third person plural as opposed to only one in English. The English they is thus either oni, one, or ona. Take a look at the Gender section for more information.