marek hlavac-slovak language

8/20/2019 Marek Hlavac-Slovak Language

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Marek Hlavac:

Slovak Language Lessons for Beginners

Table of ContentsLesson 1 ............................................................................................................................................................ 1

SAYING HELLO AND GOODBYE ............................................................................................................ 1

INTRODUCING YOURSELF .................................................................................................................... 1

HOW ARE YOU? ...................................................................................................................................... 1

SAYING THANK YOU .............................................................................................................................. 2

THE VERB "TO BE" (byť) ......................................................................................................................... 2

ABECEDA = Alphabet ............................................................................................................................... 2

COMMON SLOVAK FIRST NAMES AND NICKNAMES ......................................................................... 3

HOW TO ADDRESS PEOPLE ................................................................................................................. 3

MEETING PEOPLE .................................................................................................................................. 4

Lesson 2 ............................................................................................................................................................ 5

BASIC PHRASES ..................................................................................................................................... 5

USEFUL WORDS ..................................................................................................................................... 5

THIS IS..., THAT IS..., THAT OVER THERE IS... .................................................................................... 5

GRAMMATICAL GENDER ....................................................................................................................... 6

POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS ..................................................................................................................... 6

MOJA RODINA = my family ...................................................................................................................... 7

SLOVENSKO = Slovakia .......................................................................................................................... 9

Lesson 3 .......................................................................................................................................................... 10

BASIC PHRASES AND USEFUL WORDS ............................................................................................ 10

THIS, THAT, THAT OVER THERE + NOUN .......................................................................................... 10

WHOSE IS THIS... ? ............................................................................................................................... 11

ADJECTIVES .......................................................................................................................................... 11

WHAT IS ____ LIKE ? ............................................................................................................................ 12

CHARACTERISTICS .............................................................................................................................. 12

COLORS ................................................................................................................................................. 13

SLOVENSKÉ ŠKOLSTVO = THE SLOVAK EDUCATION SYSTEM ..................................................... 14



Lesson 4 .......................................................................................................................................................... 16

USEFUL WORDS AND PHRASES ........................................................................................................ 16

ADVERBS ............................................................................................................................................... 16

QUALIFIERS ........................................................................................................................................... 16

..., ISN'T IT? ..., AREN'T THEY? ..., AREN'T I? ..., RIGHT? .................................................................. 17

ČÍSLA = NUMBERS ................................................................................................................................ 18

SLOVENSKÁ POLITIKA = SLOVAK POLITICS ..................................................................................... 19

IDENTIFICATION CARDS ...................................................................................................................... 20

Lesson 5 .......................................................................................................................................................... 21

EITHER... OR..., NEITHER... NOR........................................................................................................ 21

OCCUPATIONS ...................................................................................................................................... 21

ANIMALS ................................................................................................................................................ 22

Lesson 6 .......................................................................................................................................................... 24

BASIC PHRASES ................................................................................................................................... 24

HOW MUCH DOES _____ COST? ........................................................................................................ 24

UNITS OF TIME ...................................................................................................................................... 24

WHAT TIME IS IT? ................................................................................................................................. 25

DNI V TÝŽDNI = days of the weeks ....................................................................................................... 25

MESIACE = months ................................................................................................................................ 26

ROČNÉ OBDOBIA = seasons of the year .............................................................................................. 26

BIRTHDAYS AND NAME DAYS ............................................................................................................. 27

NEW YEAR'S EVE AND NEW YEAR'S DAY ......................................................................................... 27

EASTER .................................................................................................................................................. 28

CHRISTMAS ........................................................................................................................................... 28

SAINT NICHOLAS DAY .......................................................................................................................... 29

Lesson 7 .......................................................................................................................................................... 30

BASIC WORDS AND PHRASES............................................................................................................ 30

LAST WEEK/MONTH/YEAR, NEXT WEEK/MONTH/YEAR .................................................................. 30

THE VERB 'TO BE': PAST AND FUTURE TENSE ................................................................................ 30

IF..., WHEN... .......................................................................................................................................... 32

SVETOVÉ STRANY = COMPASS POINTS (literally: 'world sides') ...................................................... 32

TALKING ABOUT THE WEATHER ........................................................................................................ 33



JÁNOŠÍK ................................................................................................................................................. 34

NAD TATROU SA BLÝSKA - THE SLOVAK NATIONAL ANTHEM ...................................................... 35

SLOVAK WEDDING TRADITIONS ........................................................................................................ 35

Lesson 8 .......................................................................................................................................................... 37


OBLEČENIE = CLOTHING ..................................................................................................................... 37

POSSESSIVES FORMS OF NAMES ..................................................................................................... 38

HOW OFTEN? ........................................................................................................................................ 38

ĽUDSKÉ TELO = HUMAN BODY ........................................................................................................... 39

THE VERB 'TO HAVE' - PRESENT TENSE .......................................................................................... 40

ACCUSATIVE CASE (DIRECT OBJECT) .............................................................................................. 40

SUFFIX -EVER, PREFIX ANY- ............................................................................................................... 41

ONLY, AS MANY AS... ........................................................................................................................... 42

SLOVAK MEDIA ..................................................................................................................................... 42

Lesson 9 .......................................................................................................................................................... 44


HOW OLD ARE YOU? ............................................................................................................................ 44

OVOCIE = FRUIT ................................................................................................................................... 44

ZELENINA = VEGETABLES .................................................................................................................. 45

I LIKE, I DON'T LIKE + NOUN ................................................................................................................ 45

NÁPOJE = drinks .................................................................................................................................... 45

ORDERING FOOD AND BUYING THINGS ........................................................................................... 46

TRADITIONAL SLOVAK DISHES .......................................................................................................... 46

Lesson 10 ........................................................................................................................................................ 47

IMPORTANT AND INTERESTING WORDS .......................................................................................... 47

MORE FOOD-RELATED VOCABULARY .............................................................................................. 47

THE VERB 'TO HAVE' IN THE PAST AND FUTURE TENSES ............................................................. 48

DAILY MEALS......................................................................................................................................... 49

HOUSES AND APARTMENTS ............................................................................................................... 49

PREPOSITIONS ..................................................................................................................................... 50

SLOVAK TRADITIONAL MUSIC, DANCE AND COSTUMES ............................................................... 51



Lesson 11 ........................................................................................................................................................ 52


CONJUGATION OF VERBS ................................................................................................................... 52

CONJUGATION IN THE PRESENT TENSE .......................................................................................... 52

CONJUGATION IN THE FUTURE TENSE ............................................................................................ 53

CONJUGATION IN THE PAST TENSE ................................................................................................. 53

WHAT'S IN A CITY? ............................................................................................................................... 54

CONTEMPORARY SLOVAK MUSIC ..................................................................................................... 56

Lesson 12 ....................................................................................................................................................... 58


ZÁĽUBY = HOBBIES / I LIKE ................................................................................................................. 58

PREPOSITIONS: WITH, WITHOUT, FOR, ABOUT ............................................................................... 59

VOCABULARY: NATURE ....................................................................................................................... 60

PAST TENSE CONJUGATION OF VERBS WITH -IEŤ INFINITIVES ................................................... 60

UP, DOWN, LEFT, RIGHT ...................................................................................................................... 61

REFLEXIVE VERBS WITH "SA" AND "SI" ............................................................................................. 61

SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS: "ŽE" AND "ČI" ........................................................................... 63

SLOVAK PROVERBS AND SAYINGS ................................................................................................... 64

THE LEGEND OF SVÄTOPLUK ............................................................................................................ 64

LASICA AND SATINSKÝ ........................................................................................................................ 65

Lesson 13 ........................................................................................................................................................ 66

HYGIENICKÉ POTREBY = ITEMS OF PERSONAL HYGIENE ............................................................ 66

SOME USEFUL VERBS ......................................................................................................................... 66

DIRECT OBJECT (ACCUSATIVE CASE) WITH ADJECTIVE + NOUN ................................................ 67

DIRECT OBJECT (ACCUSATIVE CASE) OF PERSONAL PRONOUNS ............................................. 67

EXPRESSING CERTAINTY ................................................................................................................... 68

WORDS USEFUL IN CHRONOLOGICAL NARRATION ....................................................................... 69

SLOVAK SPORTS .................................................................................................................................. 70

Lesson 14 ........................................................................................................................................................ 71

FINANCIAL AND ECONOMIC TERMS .................................................................................................. 71

ALSO ....................................................................................................................................................... 72

HYPOTHETICAL CONDITIONAL: WOULD + NOUN ............................................................................ 72



MODAL VERBS ...................................................................................................................................... 73

SUBORDINATE CLAUSES: WHICH, THAT AND WHO ........................................................................ 74

INDEFINITE PRONOUNS: EVERY, SOME, NO, ANOTHER ................................................................ 75

Lesson 15 ........................................................................................................................................................ 76


USEFUL VERBS ..................................................................................................................................... 76

THE 'SVOJ' POSSESSIVE PRONOUN.................................................................................................. 77

THIS, THAT, THAT OVER THERE IN THE ACCUSATIVE CASE ......................................................... 77

POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS IN THE ACCUSATIVE CASE ................................................................... 78

ALTHOUGH, DESPITE, ETC. ................................................................................................................ 79

USING 'EVEN' FOR EMPHASIS ............................................................................................................ 80

Lesson 16 ........................................................................................................................................................ 81

USEFULLY EVASIVE WORDS AND PHRASES ................................................................................... 81

NEWS-RELATED AND POLITICAL VOCABULARY.............................................................................. 81

DESCRIBING ABSTRACT PROPERTIES: -NESS, -ITY ....................................................................... 82

NOUNS THAT DESCRIBE ACTIVITIES: THE '-NIE' SUFFIX ................................................................ 83

PREPOSITIONS AND THE ACCUSATIVE CASE OF PERSONAL PRONOUNS ................................ 83

PREPOSITIONS ASSOCIATED WITH THE ACCUSATIVE CASE ....................................................... 83

GIVEN..., GIVEN THAT... ....................................................................................................................... 84

Lesson 17 ........................................................................................................................................................ 85

N-TIMES: ONCE, TWICE, THREE TIMES, ... ........................................................................................ 85

ORDINAL NUMERALS: FIRST, SECOND, THIRD... ............................................................................. 85

FOR THE Nth TIME, ON THE Nth ATTEMPT ........................................................................................ 86

LAST, FORMER, PREVIOUS ................................................................................................................. 86

COUNTRIES, NATIONALITIES AND LANGUAGES OF THE WORLD ................................................. 87

NAMES OF FOREIGN CITIES ............................................................................................................... 89

Lesson 18 ........................................................................................................................................................ 90


HOUSEHOLD AND ELECTRONIC APPLIANCES ................................................................................. 90

WHERE, WHERE TO, ETC. ................................................................................................................... 90

CONJUGATION OF THE VERB 'TO GO' (ÍSŤ) ...................................................................................... 91

EXPRESSING INTENTION USING 'ABY' = 'SO THAT' ......................................................................... 92



AS IF ....................................................................................................................................................... 93

WHILE, UNTIL ........................................................................................................................................ 93

Lesson 19 ........................................................................................................................................................ 94


VOCABULARY: NATURAL AND MAN-MADE DISASTERS .................................................................. 94

DATIVE CASE: PERSONAL PRONOUNS ............................................................................................. 95

DATIVE CASE: NOUNS ......................................................................................................................... 96

Lesson 20 ........................................................................................................................................................ 97

VOCABULARY: CRIME, PUNISHMENT AND (IN)JUSTICE ................................................................. 97

DATIVE CASE: POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS ......................................................................................... 98

DATIVE CASE: THIS, THAT, THAT OVER THERE ............................................................................... 99

DATIVE CASE: PREPOSITION 'K'/'KU' ................................................................................................. 99

DATIVE CASE: ADJECTIVES .............................................................................................................. 100

CRIME AND PUNISHMENT IN THE SLOVAK MEDIA ........................................................................ 101

Lesson 21 ...................................................................................................................................................... 102

VOCABULARY: MATERIALS ............................................................................................................... 102

HOW TO TURN NOUNS INTO ADJECTIVES ..................................................................................... 102

JUST (TEMPORAL MEANING) + RIGHT NOW ................................................................................... 103

MAŤ RÁD VS. PÁČIŤ SA FOR EXPRESSING LIKES AND DISLIKES ............................................... 103

Lesson 22 ...................................................................................................................................................... 105

ART ....................................................................................................................................................... 105

LITERATURE AND BOOKS ................................................................................................................. 105

GENITIVE CASE: WHEN TO USE IT ................................................................................................... 106

GENITIVE CASE: NOUNS ................................................................................................................... 107

GENITIVE CASE: POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS ................................................................................... 108

GENITIVE CASE: THIS, THAT, THAT OVER THERE ......................................................................... 108

GENITIVE CASE: ADJECTIVES .......................................................................................................... 109



Lesson 23 ...................................................................................................................................................... 110

VOCABULARY: VISITING THE DOCTOR ........................................................................................... 110

VOCABULARY: DISEASES ................................................................................................................. 111

VOCABULARY: MEDICAL DRUGS ..................................................................................................... 112

GENITIVE CASE: PERSONAL PRONOUNS AFTER A PREPOSITION ............................................. 113

GENITIVE CASE: PREPOSITIONS ..................................................................................................... 113



Lesson 1 - SAYING HELLO AND GOODBYE 1

Lesson 1

SAYING HELLO AND GOODBYEDobré ráno! = Good morning!

Dobrý deň! = Good day! (formal "hello" that is appropriate at any time of day)

Dobrý večer! = Good evening!

Dobrú noc! = Good night! (before going to bed)

Ahoj! = hello/bye (informal; when talking to one person)

Ahojte! = informal hello/bye (informal; when talking to two or more people)

Čau! = hello/bye (informal and more relaxed than 'ahoj'; when talking to one person)

Čaute! = hello/bye (same when talking to two or more people) Dovidenia! = goodbye (formal)

When picking up the phone, you can say "Haló?" ('Hello?'), "Prosím?" ('please?') or "Áno?" ('yes?').

Haló?:

Prosím?:

Áno?:

INTRODUCING YOURSELF

Ako sa voláš? = What's your name? (informal)

Ako sa voláte? = What's your name? (formal)

Volám sa Marek. = My name is Marek.

HOW ARE YOU?

Ako sa máš? = How are you? (informal)

Ako sa máte? = How are you? (formal)

Dobre. = Good. (Literally: Well.)

Veľmi dobre. = Very good. (Literally: Very well.)

Zle. = Bad. (Unlike in the US, it is not taboo to say so in Slovak.)

Veľmi zle. = Very bad.

Áno. = Yes.

Hej. = Yes. (very informal; like 'yeah' in English)

Nie. = No.

Neviem. = I don't know. Viem. = I know.



Lesson 1 - SAYING THANK YOU 2

SAYING THANK YOU

Nech sa páči. = Here you are. / Here you go.

Ďakujem. = Thank you.Ďakujem pekne. = Thank you very much. (Literally: I thank you nicely.)

Ďakujem veľmi pekne. = Thank you very much. (Literally: I thank you very nicely.)

Prosím. = You are welcome. (Also means 'please' and 'pardon?'.)

THE VERB "TO BE" (byť)

byť = to be (infinitive)

Note: The infinitives of Slovak verbs end in -ť.

ja som (I am) my sme (we are)

ty si (you are - sing. informal) vy ste (you are - sing. formal, and plural)

on je (he is) oni sú (they are - group of males, and mixed groups)

ona je (she is) ony sú (they are - group of females)

NEGATION:

ja nie som (I am not) my nie sme (we are)

ty nie si (you are not - sing. informal) vy nie ste (you are not - sing. formal, and plural)

on nie je (he is not) oni nie sú (they are not - group of males, and mixed groups)

ona nie je (she is not) ony nie sú (they are not - group of females)

ABECEDA = Alphabet

- Like English, Slovak uses the Latin alphabet, with some minor modifications:

a á ä b c č d ď dz dž e é f g h ch i í j k l ľ ĺ m n ň o ó ô p q r ŕ s š t ť u ú v w x y ý z ž

Notes:

- The small / accent mark (dĺžeň - the "lengthener") above a, e, i, y, o, u, l, r makes the sound longer: á, é, í,

ý, ó, ú, ĺ, ŕ

- The small \/ accent mark (mäkčeň - the "softener") above č, ď, dž, ľ, ň, š, ť, ž softens the consonant: It

turns a c sound into an English "ch" sounds, a s sound into an English "sh" sound, and so on.

In e-mails, it is common to not include any accent marks.

In general, you read as you write, and vice versa. The one major exception to this rule is that you read:de, te, ne, di, ti, ni

softly as: ďe, ťe, ňe, ďi, ťi, ňi (you would never write this, though)



Lesson 1 - COMMON SLOVAK FIRST NAMES AND NICKNAMES 3

So, for instance, you would write dovidenia (goodbye) and nedeľa (Sunday), but pronounce it as if it was

doviďenia and ňeďeľa.

Rejoice: You can now read anything written in Slovak.

COMMON SLOVAK FIRST NAMES AND NICKNAMES

name --> nickname (English translation)

Ján --> Jano (John = Jack)

Jozef --> Jožo (Joseph = Joe)

Michal --> Mišo (Michael = Mike)

Martin --> Maťo (Martin = Marty)

Marián (male name) --> MajoFrantišek --> Fero (Francis = Frank)

Lukáš (Lucas)

Matúš (Matthew)

Karol --> Kajo (Charles, Karl)

Vladimír --> Vlado

For male names that end in -slav (such as Miroslav, Jaroslav), the nickname is usually whatever comes

before the ending (i.e., Miro, Jaro).

Katarína --> Katka (Catherine)

Zuzana --> Zuzka (Susan)

Mária --> Maja, Majka, Maruška (Mary)

Jana --> Janka (Jane)

Júlia --> Julka (Julia)

HOW TO ADDRESS PEOPLE

- Slovaks distinguish between the informal ty, which is used with friends, family and children, and the formal

vy, which is used when talking politely to strangers (including young adults).

- When in doubt, use vy.

- We do not usually have middle names. My full name is Marek Hlaváč, and consists only of my first name

(meno) and my family name (priezvisko) - Female last names usually end in -ová. My mother's and sister's

last name is thus Hlaváčová. - We commonly add -ová to foreign last names as well: Hillary Clintonová,

Michelle Obamová, Condoleeza Riceová.

pán Novák = Mr. Novák pani Nováková = Mrs. Nováková or Ms. Nováková (both for married women, and

women in general) slečna Nováková = Miss Nováková



Lesson 1 - MEETING PEOPLE 4

- If you are not sure whether a woman is married, or is a stranger, always use pani - it is much safer than

slečna, which can occasionally come across as slightly derogatory.

MEETING PEOPLE

- It is customary to shake hands, like in the US, when meeting strangers in formal situations. In informal

situations, a handshake is common, but not always necessary.

- Strangers do not kiss when they meet for the first time. However, it is common to kiss once on each cheek

when meeting a family member or a good friend of the opposite sex. Such kisses are common, but (again)

not necessary

- Some people kiss, others don't. In general, it is best to go with whatever your counterpart is going. I am not

aware of any rule about which cheek goes first - just do what your counterpart is doing, and things will workout.



Lesson 2 - BASIC PHRASES 5

Lesson 2

BASIC PHRASES

Vitaj! = Welcome! (informal)

Vitajte! = Welcome! (formal, or plural you)

Prepáč! = I'm sorry! Excuse me! (informal)

Prepáčte! = I'm sorry! Excuse me! (formal)

S dovolením! = Excuse me! (when asking someone to get out of your way/make space) (literally: "with

[your] permission")

V poriadku! = Alright! (literally: "in order")

Na zdravie! = Cheers! (when drinking/toasting), Bless you! (after someone sneezes) (literally: "To [your]

health!")

Note: You should always look the other person in the eye when you toast.

Ako sa po slovensky povie _____ ? = How does one say ____ in Slovak?

Ako sa po anglicky povie _____ ? = How does one say ____ in English?

Mohli by ste to zopakovať, prosím? = Could you repeat that, please?

Hovorte pomalšie, prosím. = Speak more slowly, please.

Výborne! = Excellent!

Poďme! = Let's go!

USEFUL WORDS

a = and

ja a ty = me and you

alebo = or

Áno alebo nie? = Yes or no?

ale = but (usually preceded by a comma)

Ja som Karol, ale on je Michal. = I am Charles but he is Michael.

THIS IS..., THAT IS..., THAT OVER THERE IS...

Čo je to? = What is it? What is that?

Kto je ____? = Who is?

Kto ste vy? = Who are you?

Toto je ____ = This is _____

To je ____ = It is _____ / That is _____

Tamto je ____ = That over there is _____

Toto je stôl = This is a table.



Lesson 2 - GRAMMATICAL GENDER 6

Toto je stolička = That is a chair.

Tamto je okno. = That over there is a window.

GRAMMATICAL GENDER

Each Slovak noun has a grammatical gender: Each noun can be either masculine, feminine, or neuter .

Gender is just a grammatical category, and does not necessarily reflect any actual male or female properties

of the nouns.

Whereas in English, things are always it , in Slovak, they can be a he, a she, or an it .

Here is a simple rule of thumb for identifying the gender:

- Masculine nouns tend to end in a consonant. Examples: stôl (table), pes (dog), kôň (horse)

- Feminine nouns usually end in -a. For example: stena (wall), stolička (chair), mačka (cat)- Neuter nouns typically end in -o. Examples: okno (window), pivo (beer), víno (wine)

Note: These are only rough guidelines. Many Slovak nouns, sadly, do not follow these rules.

Knowing the gender is important, because it determines what forms pronouns and adjectives take on, when

they refer to a particular word.

POSSESSIVE PRONOUNSgender: masculine feminine neuter

my môj moja moje

your tvoj tvoja tvoje (singular, informal)

his jeho jeho jeho

her jej jej jej

our náš naša naše your váš vaša vaše (singular, formal; or plural)

their ich ich ich

Remember to use the appropriate form of the possessive pronoun, based on the noun's gender.

Examples:

môj stôl (my table), moja stolička (my chair), moje okno (my window)

tvoj pes (your dog), tvoja mačka (your cat), tvoje víno (your wine)

jeho telefón (his telephone), jeho stena (his wall), jeho pivo (his beer)

jej televízor (her TV set), jej matka (her mother), jej mesto (her city)



Lesson 2 - MOJA RODINA = my family 7

náš fotoaparát (our photo camera), naša ceruzka (our pencil), naše divadlo (our theater)

váš koberec (your carpet), vaša voda (your water), vaše zlato (your gold)

ich list (their letter), ich slivovica (their plum brandy), ich euro (their euro)

Rejoice: We can now form quite complex sentences!

Toto je ich pero a tamto je ich auto. = This is their pen and that over there is their car.

Je tamto vaša mačka alebo naša? = Is that over there your cat or ours?

To nie je moja fľaša, ale tamto je môj mobil. = That is not my bottle, but that over there is my cell phone.

MOJA RODINA = my family

rodičia = parents

otec = father (formal)ocinko, oco, oci, tatinko, tato, tati = father, dad, daddy (colloquial)

matka = mother (formal)

mamička, maminka, mama, mami = mother, mom, mommy (colloquial)

súrodenci = siblings

brat = brother

sestra = sestra

dieťa = child (note: neuter gender)

syn = son

dcéra = daughter

stará mama, babka, babička = grandmother

starý otec, dedko, deduško = grandfather

vnuk = grandson

vnučka = granddaughter

You can add pra- to the beginning of these words to come up with great-grandmother, great-grandson, etc.

teta = aunt (mother's sister)

ujo = uncle (mother's brother)

stryná = aunt (father's sister)

strýko = uncle (father's brother)

That's the theory at least. In practice, each family has its own conventions: In my family, for instance,

everyone is either a teta or an ujo, regardless of whether they are from my father's or from my mother's side.

No one really cares if you say ujo instead of strýko, or vice versa.



Lesson 2 - MOJA RODINA = my family 8

bratranec = male cousin

sesternica = female cousin

synovec = nephew

neter = niece

manžel = husband

manželka = wife

muž = man, also colloquial for 'husband'

žena = woman, also colloquial for 'wife'

snúbenec = fiancé (male)

snúbenica = fiancée (female)

zať = son-in-law

nevesta = daughter-in-law (also means 'bride')

svokra = mother-in-law (the butt of many Slovak jokes)

svokor = father-in-law

švagor = brother-in-law

švagriná = sister-in-law

krstný otec = godfather

krstná mama = godmother

priateľ = good male friend, or boyfriend

priateľka = good female friend, or girlfriend

frajer = boyfriend (colloquial, and always romantic)frajerka = girlfriend (colloquial, and always romantic)

kamarát = male friend

kamarátka = female friend



Lesson 2 - SLOVENSKO = Slovakia 9

SLOVENSKO = Slovakia

Slovakia (Slovensko), or officially the Slovak Republic (Slovenská republika), is a country in Central

Europe with a population of about 5.4 million. ( Important: Do not make the embarrassing mistake of sayingSlovakia is in Eastern Europe. You will incur the wrath of whoever you are speaking to, including myself.)

It gained independence in 1993, after the split-up of Czechoslovakia. It has been a member of the European

Union (Európska únia, or EÚ) since 2004: This means all Slovak can freely travel and work in any other EU

country. Since 2009, our currency has been the euro. Before that, we used the koruna (literally: the crown):

A lot of people still find it easier to think and talk about money amounts in korunas.

Our capital is Bratislava, a city of about 470,000 that is located close to the Austrian border and on the river

Danube (Dunaj). The second largest city is Košice (population: 240,000) in the eastern part of the country.My hometown Liptovský Mikuláš (population: 33,000) is the north of the country, quite close to the famous

Tatry mountains. You should visit. In general, Slovakia has a very mountainous north, and very flat plains in

the south.

We have borders with five countries: The Czech Republic (Česká republika, or simply Česko) to the west,

Poland (Poľsko) to the north, Ukraine (Ukraina) to the east, Hungary (Maďarsko) to the south, and Austria

(Rakúsko) to the south-west.

The Slovak flag (above) consists of three parallel stripes: white, blue and red (biela, modrá, červená) -

traditional Slavic colors. On the stripes is the Slovak national symbol, which consists of three mountains

(Tatra, Matra, Fatra), and a double cross to symbolize Christianity.



Lesson 3 - BASIC PHRASES AND USEFUL WORDS 10

Lesson 3

BASIC PHRASES AND USEFUL WORDS

samozrejme = of course

mimochodom = by the way

ešte raz = once again / one more time

Prečo? = Why?

Lebo... = Because... (less formal)

Pretože... = Because (more formal)

Hovoríte po anglicky? = Do you speak English?

Rozumiete po slovensky? = Do you understand Slovak?

Trochu. = A little bit.

Veľa šťastia! = Good luck!

Šťastnú cestu! = Have a good trip!

Blahoželám! = Congratulations!

Gratulujem! = Congratulations!

Všetko najlepšie (k narodeninám)! = Happy Birthday! (literally: "All the best (to your birthday)!")

Dobrú chuť! = Bon appetit! Enjoy your meal! (literally: "[Have a] good taste!")

THIS, THAT, THAT OVER THERE + NOUN

In [Lesson 2], we learned how to form sentences using the standalone 'this', 'that' and 'that over there': "Toto

je..." ('This is...'), "To je..." ('That is...'), "Tamto je..." (That over there is...)

This is how you can connect 'this', 'that' and 'that over there' with nouns (either actual or implied by context):

gender: masculine feminine neuter

this tento táto toto

that ten tá to

that over there tamten tamtá tamto

You will need to use the appropriate form, depending on the noun's gender.

Examples:

tento vlak (this train), táto vidlička (this fork), toto mesto (this city)

ten vtip (that joke), tá žuvačka (that chewing gum), to kreslo (that armchair)

tamten strom (that tree over there), tamtá cesta (that road over there), tamto lietadlo (that airplane over

there)

Tento dom je môj, ale tamto auto je vaše. = This house is mine, but that car over there is yours.

Tá škola je jeho, ale tamtá je jej. = That school is his, but that one over there is hers.

(Here, the noun 'škola' is implied by context in the second clause.)



Lesson 3 - WHOSE IS THIS... ? 11

WHOSE IS THIS... ?

If you want to ask who an object belongs to, you can use koho (which retains the same form, regardless of

the gender of the object you are asking about):

Koho je ____ ? = Whose is _____ ?

Koho je tento sveter? = Whose is this sveter?

Koho je táto lyžička? = Whose is this spoon?

Alternatively, you can use čí, čia, čo - but you have to be careful about gender:


whose čí čia čie Čí je tamten nôž? = Whose is that knife over there?

Čia je tá záhrada? = Whose is that garden?

Čie je toto dieťa? = Whose is this child? (Note: "dieťa" is of neuter gender, even though it ends in -a)

ADJECTIVES

Once again, you will need to know the gender of the noun the adjective refers to, and use the right form of

the adjective. Let us take the adjective pekný (nice, as in beautiful/pretty), for example:


nice pekný pekná pekné

With some exceptions, the masculine form of the adjective will end in -ý, the feminine in -á, and the neuter in

-é (or -y, -a, -e, respectively, if the preceding syllable is long).

From now on, I will only list the masculine form of the adjective, but you should be aware that you always

need to change its form to match the noun you want to use.

Môj dom je pekný, ale moje auto nie je veľmi pekné. = My house is nice, but my car is not very nice.

Tamto je moja pekná dcéra. = That over there is my pretty daughter.



Lesson 3 - WHAT IS ____ LIKE ? 12

WHAT IS ____ LIKE ?

To ask what someone or some thing is like, you should use aký, aká, aké:


aký aká aké

Aký je tamten obrázok? = What is that picture over there like?

Aká je táto záhrada? = What is this garden like?

Aké je jeho vysvedčenie? = What is his school report like?

(vysvedčenie = school report with grades, issued at the end of the academic year)

CHARACTERISTICS

dobrý = good

zlý = bad

veľký = big, large

malý = small

vysoký = tall

nízky = short (about height)

mladý = young

starý = old

nový = new

tučný = fat

chudý = thin

pekný = nice (pretty)

škaredý = ugly

atraktívny = attractive

široký = wide

úzky = narrow dlhý = long

krátky = short (length)

milý = nice (personality trait), dear (ofter used in letters, e.g. milý pán Novák - 'dear Mr. Novak')

príjemný = pleasant, agreeable

nepríjemný = unpleasant

múdry = smart, clever

hlúpy = stupid

inteligentný = intelligent

silný = strong

slabý = weak



Lesson 3 - COLORS 13

usilovný = hard-working

pracovitý = hard-working

lenivý = lazy

vtipný = funny (witty)

smiešny = funny (ha-ha) zábavný = entertaining

nudný = boring

čistý = clean

špinavý = dirty

skromný = humble

drzý = arrogant

arogantný = arrogant

veselý = happy (cheerful)

šťastný = happy (in life), lucky

smutný = sad

COLORS

farba = color

Akej farby je ____? = What color is _____?

Akej farby je vaša nová košeľa? = What color is your new shirt?

čierny = black

biely = white

sivý = grey

červený = red

zelený = green

modrý = blue

žltý = yellow

oranžový = orange

hnedý = brown

ružový = pink fialový = violet (the usual Slovak word for 'purple')

purpurový = purple (somewhat unusual in Slovak - better to use fialový in most cases)

béžový = beige

zlatý = golden (also means 'cute', 'nice' [personality trait])

strieborný = silver

You can use tmavo- and svetlo- prefixes to indicate dark and light shades of individual colors, e.g.

tmavomodrý (dark blue) or svetlozelený (light green).



Lesson 3 - SLOVENSKÉ ŠKOLSTVO = THE SLOVAK EDUCATION SYSTEM 14

Rejoice: Our sentences can now be more complex still!

Tento modrý sveter je veľmi pekný, ale nie je čistý. = This blue sweater is very nice, but it is not clean.

Ich mladá sestra nie je škaredá, ale veľmi atraktívna a milá. = Their young sister is not ugly, but is very

attractive and nice.

Prečo sa nemáš dobre? Lebo som smutný. = Why aren't you feeling good? Because I am sad.

SLOVENSKÉ ŠKOLSTVO = THE SLOVAK EDUCATION SYSTEM

Elementary school (základná škola) lasts for eight or nine years, and children enroll at the age of six. After

that, the students continue on to secondary school (stredná škola), which typically lasts for four years.There are several different types of secondary schools - some of them offer vocational training, while others

(especially the 'academic' secondary schools - gymnázium) focus on preparing students for university.

Secondary school studies finish with a school-leaving examination (maturita) that is quite demanding -

students have to pass oral exams in several subjects before a committee of teachers. Before leaving

secondary school, of course, the students organize their prom - stužková. Universities (vysoká škola or

univerzita) typically last for five years. Doctors and lawyers often spend six years in university, and can

begin their studies - unlike in the United States - immediately after finishing their secondary education.

In Slovak elementary and secondary schools run from 1 to 5, where 1 is the best grade, and 5 is the worst:

1 = výborný (excellent)

2 = chválitebný (praiseworthy)

3 = dobrý (good)

4 = dostatočný (sufficient)

5 = nedostatočný (insufficient - failing grade)

1s and 2s are seen as relatively 'good' grades, whereas 3, 4, 5 are not seen as good. A 1* ( jednotka s

hviezdičkou - 'one with a star') is roughly equivalent to an A+.

Unlike most people in the United States, Slovaks wear their university degrees on their sleeves - they will

use them in e-mail signatures, in official documents and letters, and put in on their apartment doors and

mailboxes. There is, in fact, a time-honored tradition to spray your last name, along with your newly-attained

degree, on the sidewalk in front of your university building when you graduate. (Not everyone does this, of

course.)

Here are some degrees you might see:

Ing. (inžinier , inžinierka) for someone with a 5-year degree in, say, engineering, mathematics or economics

Mgr. (magister , magistra) for 5-year degree in the social sciences or law (most teachers have this degree)



Lesson 3 - SLOVENSKÉ ŠKOLSTVO = THE SLOVAK EDUCATION SYSTEM 15

MUDr. (often shortened simply as doktor ) is a medical degree

MVDr. for veterinarians

JUDr. is a law degree (like juris doctor )

RNDr. is an advanced graduate degree in the natural sciences (mathematics, physics, biology, etc.)

Bc. is a bachelor's degree

A Bc. is rarely someone's final degree. Someone with only a bachelor's degree is, in fact, often seen as a

university dropout. This is because, in the past, university programs lasted five years. Only recently did

Slovak universities have to adjust, due to Europe-wide harmonization efforts, to the 'Bologna system' of a

three-year Bachelor's degree, followed by a two-year Master's degree.

Most degrees come before the name: Ing. Ján Novák, Mgr. Anna Petríková, MUDr. Jozef Dúbravec, Bc.

Katarína Slaná. The exceptions are doctoral degrees: Today, these would mostly be Ph.D., but in earlier

times common doctoral degrees included CSc. (candidate of the sciences) and DrSc. (doctor of the

sciences). So you could see something like this: Ing. Juraj Kolesár, Ph.D., or Mgr. Veronika Nagyová, CSc .

There is a persistent, commonly repeated, myth in Slovakia that our elementary and secondary school

education is world-class. This is false: Slovak students, in fact, achieve only average results on international

education comparison tests - not very far, as it happens, from the United States, and well below the best

performers (East Asian countries and Finland). Slovak universities are generally regarded as low-quality, and

in fact are quite terrible, with - sadly - very little original research activity and ripe with plagiarism. Partly for

this reason, employers often simply require that someone has a university degree, but do not care much

about which university it came from, or what grades the student earned.



Lesson 4 - USEFUL WORDS AND PHRASES 16

Lesson 4

USEFUL WORDS AND PHRASES

znovu = again

naopak = the other way around; can also mean 'inside out' and, at the beginning of a sentence, 'on the

contrary' or 'conversely'

Ako sa máš? = How are you?

V pohode. = Alright. (very youthful; can also be used to give permission)

Ujde to. = It's alright. (literally: something like 'It will run away.')

Ako-tak. = So-so. (literally: 'How-so.' or 'As-so.')

ADVERBSIt is quite easy to turn adjectives into adverbs. In most cases, you simply need to replace the final vower

(say, -y/-ý, -a/-á, -e/-é) with -o. For instance:

rýchly = fast (adjective) ---> rýchlo = fast (adverb)

lenivý = lazy (adjective) ---> lenivo = lazily (adverb)

dlhý = long (adjective) ---> dlho = 'longly' (adverb)

(Note: This means 'for a long time.' I know 'longly' does not really exist in English, but you get the idea.)

krátky = short (adjective) ---> krátko = 'shortly' (adverb)(Note: Unlike in English, where 'shortly' means 'soon', krátko means 'for a short time' in Slovak.)

For many adjectives that end in -ný, -ná, -né, the corresponding adverb will end in -e. For example:

pekný = nice (adjective) ---> pekne = nicely (adverb)

úprimný = sincere (adjective) ---> úprimne = sincerely (adverb)

The above rules, of course, have exceptions. Here's a very common example:

dobrý = good (adjective) ---> dobre = well (adverb)

Based on what I wrote above, you might expect the corresponding adverb to end in -o, but this is not the

case here.

QUALIFIERS

veľmi = very

celkom = quite

príliš = too (meaning 'excessively')

vôbec = at all

naozaj / skutočne = really



Lesson 4 - ..., ISN'T IT? ..., AREN'T THEY? ..., AREN'T I? ..., RIGHT? 17

úžasne = awesomely

príšerne / hrozne / strašne = very (somewhat exaggerated; literally: 'monstrously', 'awfully' or 'horribly')

relatívne / pomerne = relatively

tak = so

taký (masc.), taká (fem.), také (neut.) = so; such a...Táto hnedá topánka je veľmi úzka. = This brown shoe is very tight.

Moja nová vetrovka je celkom pohodlná, ale je príliš veľká . = My new winter coat is quite comfortable,

but it is too big.

Tá jeho zelená mikina vôbec nie je škaredá. Naopak, je naozaj pekná. = That green sweatshirt of his is

not ugly at all. On the contrary it’s very nice

Som tak dobrý ako ty. = I am as good as you are.

Naozaj neviem, prečo je vaša teta taká príšerne šialená. = I really don't know why your aunt is so terribly

crazy.

To je taký pekný sveter a je pomerne lacný. = That's such a nice sweater, and it is relatively cheap.

dosť = enough

In English, 'enough' usually comes after the adjective. In Slovak, we put dosť before the adjective. (You can

also use 'dostatočne' to express 'enough.')

Ten chlapec nie je dosť inteligentný. = That boy is not intelligent enough.

Jeho nová škola nie je dostatočne dobrá. = His new school is not good enough.

A už dosť! = That's enough! (literally: 'And enough already!')

In affirmative/positive sentences, dosť means something like 'very' or 'pretty':

Jeho auto je dosť pekné, ale jeho motorka nie je dosť silná. - His car is pretty nice, but his motorbike is

not strong enough.

..., ISN'T IT? ..., AREN'T THEY? ..., AREN'T I? ..., RIGHT?

To ask for confirmation at the end of a sentence - the way 'isn't it?' is used in English - you can use však.

In Slovak, we don't care about the 'it', 'they', 'I', etc. part - you can use však regardless of what you arereferring to.

Ich záhrada je veľmi veľká, však? = Their garden is very big, isn't it?

Táto informácia je tajná, však? = This information is secret, right?

Som celkom atraktívny, však? = I am quite attractive, aren't I?

You cannot use však as an answer. Instead, use áno or nie.



Lesson 4 - ČÍSLA = NUMBERS 18

ČÍSLA = NUMBERS

0 = nula

1 = jeden (masc.), jedna (fem.), jedno (neut.)2 = dva (masc.), dve (fem. and neut.)

3 = tri

4 = štyri

5 = päť

6 = šesť

7 = sedem

8 = osem

9 = deväť

10 = desať 11 = jedenásť

12 = dvanásť

13 = trinásť

14 = štrnásť

15 = pätnásť

16 = šestnásť

17 = sedemnásť

18 = osemnásť

19 = devätnásť

20 = dvadsať

30 = tridsať

40 = štyridsať

50 = päťdesiat

60 = šesťdesiat

70 = sedemdesiat

80 = osemdesiat

90 = deväťdesiat 100 = sto

1 000 = tisíc

1 000 000 = milión

1 000 000 000 = miliarda (Note: In American English, this would be a billion)

1 000 000 000 000 = bilión (Note: In American English, this is a trillion)

Note: We do not separate thousands by commas - instead, we insert a blank space. If a number has decimal

places, we separate them by a decimal comma, not a decimal point: 3,14



Lesson 4 - SLOVENSKÁ POLITIKA = SLOVAK POLITICS 19

The above numbers can be quite easily combined to create just about any other number you may need.

When you do so, you can write them out as a single word:

35 = tridsaťpať

142 = stoštyridsaťdva 3251 = tritisícdvestopäťdesiaťjeden

83% = osemdesiattri percent

We read years as though they were regular numbers, and do not separate the hundreds from the rest:

The year 1984, for instance, would not be 'nineteen eighty-four' in Slovak, but rather 'one thousand nine

hundred and eighty-four.'

1997 = tisícdeväťstvodeväťdesiatsedem

2011 = dvetisícjedenásť

SLOVENSKÁ POLITIKA = SLOVAK POLITICS

The Slovak Republic (Slovenská republika) is a parliamentary democracy. The relationship between the

branches of government, as well as the powers of national political actors, are outlined in the Constitution of

the Slovak Republic (Ústava Slovenskej republiky). If you are bored, you can read it [here].

We have a president (prezident) who is elected for a five-year term in office (funkčné obdobie) through a

direct popular vote. The president, however, has very limited powers: Although he is the official head of state

(hlava štátu) and is - in theory - commander-in-chief (hlavný veliteľ) of the armed forces, his role is largely

ceremonial. [Here] is the president's website.

Every four years, national parliamentary elections (parlamentné voľby) are held. All Slovak citizens who are

at least 18 years old can vote. In the parliamentary elections, we vote for political parties (politické strany),

which prepare party lists with up to 150 candidates. If voters prefer some candidates to others, they can

select up to four specific candidates on the party list that they'd like to support. The entire country is, in

effect, a single electoral district: Voters do not vote for candidates that would formally represent their regions.Instead, people living in all parts of the country select from the same national candidate lists.

Political parties that receive at least 5 percent of the popular vote obtain seats in the parliament ( parlament),

whose official name is the National Council of the Slovak Republic (Národná rada Slovenskej republiky).

There are 150 Members of Parliament (poslanci), and seats are divided up between parties based on a

proportional representation system: Parties that got a higher share of the popular vote will obtain more seats.

The Members of Parliament are drawn from the top of the party lists, with some adjustment for preferential

votes for specific candidates. The parliament's website is [here].

http://www.vlada.gov.sk/8576/ustava-slovenskej-republiky.php



http://www.prezident.sk/



http://www.nrsr.sk/

http://www.nrsr.sk/

http://www.nrsr.sk/

http://www.nrsr.sk/





Lesson 4 - IDENTIFICATION CARDS 20

Since a single party does not usually obtain a majority of seats in the parliament (so far, it has never

happened), several parties typically have to form a coalition (koalícia) that would have the support of a

parliamentary majority and could thus form the executive government (vláda). The leader of the most

successful coalition party usually becomes the Prime Minister (predseda vlády or premiér ), the most

important political office in the country. The cabinet (vládny kabinet) consists of the Prime Minister and allthe ministers. Each minister leads a ministry (ministerstvo), which is an institution that is responsible for a

specific policy area (similar to a Department in the United States). Two of the more important ministries are

the Ministry of Finance (Ministerstvo financií), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Ministerstvo zahraničných

vecí). The minister's deputy is called a state secretary (štátny tajomník). Ministers and state secretaries are

roughly equivalent, respectively, to Secretaries and Deputy Secretaries in the U.S. executive. The executive

government's website is [here].

The parties that made it to the parliament, but were unable to join a coalition government are collectively

referred to as the opposition (opozícia).

On the municipal level (samospráva - literally, 'self-administration'), each city, town and village has its own

mayor. In larger cities, the mayor is called a primátor , whereas in smaller towns and villages, the mayor is a

starosta. Municipal elections take place every four years: Voters pick from a selection of specific candidates

for mayor, and can also vote for party lists that include candidates for local parliaments ( miestne

zastupiteľstvá).

IDENTIFICATION CARDSEvery Slovak citizen who is at least 15 years old, and whose permanent residence (trvalé bydlisko) is in

Slovakia, has a national ID card (občiansky preukaz, or simply občiansky - literally, 'a citizen's

identification card'). Showing one's national ID card is the most common way of proving one's identity, when

dealing with the government or, say, banks or insurance companies. Every person born in Slovakia,

furthermore, is assigned an identification number (rodné číslo - literally, a 'birth number'), which is often

used on official documents.

A driver's license (vodičský preukaz, or simply vodičský) entitled its holder to drive a car. One has to be atleast 18 years old to drive a car. Unlike in the United States, the driver's license is only good for driving a car,

and does not substitute for any other form of government-issued ID.

Finally, many Slovaks have a passport (cestovný pas, or simply pas), which they can use when traveling

abroad.

http://www.vlada.gov.sk/






Lesson 5 - EITHER... OR..., NEITHER... NOR... 21

Lesson 5

EITHER... OR..., NEITHER... NOR...

buď..., alebo... = either... or...

Tento nový počítač je buď môj alebo jeho. = This new computer is either mine or his.

ani..., ani... = neither... nor...

Táto červená motorka nie je ani pekná, ani dostatočne silná. = This red motorcycle is neither nice, nor is

it strong enough.

OCCUPATIONS

učiteľ / učiteľka = teacher (male / female)

profesor / profesorka = professor (m/f )

študent / študentka = student (m/f )

žiak / žiačka = schoolboy / schoolgirl

policajt / policajtka = policeman / policewoman

vojak / vojačka = soldier (m/f )

požiarnik (or hasič) = fireman

polovník = hunter

lesník = forester

poľnohospodár = agricultural worker robotník = worker (e.g. in construction)

murár = mason, bricklayer

opravár = repairman

inžinier / inžinierka = engineer (m/f )

politik / politička = politician (m/f )

úradník / úradníčka = bureaucrat (public servant) (m/f )

poštár / poštárka = postman / postwoman

predavač / predavačka = salesman/saleswoman, store clerk, cashier (m/f )

obchodník / obchodníčka = businessman / businesswoman

podnikateľ / podnikateľka = entrepreneur (m/f )

manažér / manažérka = manager (m/f )

účtovník / účtovníčka = accountant (m/f )

ekonóm / ekonómka = economist (m/f )

zamestnanec / zamestnankyňa = employee (m/f )

kňaz = priest

farár = (parish) priest

mních / mníška = monk / nun

umelec / umelkyňa = artist (m/f )

spevák / speváčka = singer (m/f )



Lesson 5 - ANIMALS 22

herec / herečka = actor / actress(m/f )

tanečník / tanečníčka = dancer (m/f )

vodič (or šofér ) = driver

kamionista = truck driver

lekár / lekárka (or doktor / doktorka) = physician (m/f ) zubár / zubárka = dentist (m/f )

zdravotná sestra (or simply sestrička) = nurse (female), literally : 'health sister' or 'little sister'

ošetrovateľ = nurse (male)

veterinár (or zverolekár ) = veterinarian

nezamestnaný = unemployed (adj.)

bezdomovec = homeless

ANIMALS

zviera = animal

pes = dog

mačka = cat

kocúr = tomcat (male cat)

prasa = pig (Note: prasa is neuter)

sviňa = swine

krava = cow

ovca = sheep

koza = goat

sliepka = chicken, hen

moriak = turkey

hus = goose

kačka = duck

medveď = bear

jeleň = stag

srnka = deer

veverička = squirrelsomár (or osol) = donkey

kôň = horse

vôl = ox

slon = elephant

žirafa = giraffe

lev = lion

tiger = tiger

gepard = cheetah

zebra = zebra

ťava = camel



Lesson 5 - ANIMALS 23

opica = monkey

korytnačka = turtle, tortoise

škrečok = hamster

morské prasa (or simply morča) = guinea pig (literally : 'sea pig')

hmyz = insectchrobák = bug, beetle

mucha = fly

vážka = dragonfly

pavúk = spider

červík = worm

húsenica = caterpillar

motýľ = butterfly

vták = bird

sova = owl

orol = eagle

jastrab = hawk

sokol = falcon

lastovička = swallow

vrabec = sparrow

holub = pigeon

holubica = dove

pštros = ostrich

ryba = fish

losos = salmon

veľryba = whale (literally : 'grand fish')

žralok = shark

delfín = dolphin



Lesson 6 - BASIC PHRASES 24

Lesson 6

BASIC PHRASES

Milujem ťa. = I love you.

Mám ťa rád. = I like you. (if the speaker is male)

Mám ťa rada. = I like you. (if the speaker is female)

HOW MUCH DOES _____ COST?

koľko = how much, how many

Koľko to stojí? = How much is it? How much does it cost?

Koľko stojí _____? = How much is _____? How much does _____ cost?

Prosím vás, koľko stojí tento modrý sveter? = Excuse me, how much does this blue sweater cost?

_____ stojí ... = _____ costs ...

... jedno euro = one euro

... dve/tri/štyri eurá = two/three/four euros

... päť/šesť/sedem eúr = five/six/seven euros (used for numbers higher than, or equal to, 5)

... jeden dolár = one dollar

... dva/tri/štyri doláre = two/three/four dollars

... päť/šesť/sedem dolárov = five/six/seven dollars (number highers than, or equal to, 5)

... pätnásť deväťdesiat = 15,90 (say, 15 euros/dollars, 90 cents)Tento zelený uterák stojí tridsaťosem eúr, ale tamten hnedý stojí dvadsaťdeväť tridsať . = This green

towel costs 38 euros, but that brown one over there costs 29,30.

drahý = expensive

lacný = cheap

cena = price

vysoká cena = high price

nízka cena = low price

zľava = discount

Káva je lacná, ale kvalitná káva je veľmi drahá. = Coffee is cheap, but quality coffee is very expensive.

Prepáčte, ale toto nové auto je naozaj príliš drahé. = I'm sorry, but this new car is really too expensive.

UNITS OF TIME

rok = year

mesiac = month

týždeň = week

hodina = hour

minúta = minute

sekunda = second



Lesson 6 - WHAT TIME IS IT? 25

WHAT TIME IS IT?

Koľko je hodín? = What time is it? (literally, something like: 'How many hours are there?')

Je jedna hodina... = It is one o'clock...ráno = in the morning

...doobeda = a.m. (literally: before lunch)

...dopoludnia = a.m. (literally: before noon)

...poobede = p.m. (literally: after lunch)

...popoludní = p.m. (literally: after noon)

...večer = in the evening

...v noci = at night

Sú dve/tri/štyri hodiny... = It is 2/3/4 o'clock...

Je päť/šesť/sedem hodín... = It is 5/6/7 o'clock... (for numbers higher than, or equal to, 5)Je dvanásť päťdesiatosem. = It is 12:58.

To say it is 'quarter past' or 'quarter to', you need to think about how much 'progress' has been made towards

the next hour. For English speakers, this can be quite confusing. See these examples:

Je štvrť na päť. = It is 4:15. (literally: 'It is quarter on five.')

Sú tri štvrte na sedem. = It is 6:45. (literally: 'It is three quarters on seven.')

To say it is 'half past', you need to use ordinal numerals (which we'll cover in [Lesson 17],):

Je pol ôsmej. = It is half past seven. (literally: 'It is half of the eighth (hour).')

DNI V TÝŽDNI = days of the weeks

pondelok = Monday

utorok = Tuesday

streda = Wednesday

štvrtok = Thursday

piatok = Friday

sobota = Saturday

nedeľa = Sundayv pondelok = on Monday

v utorok = on Tuesday

v stredu = on Wednesday

vo štvrtok = on Thursday

v piatok = on Friday

v sobotu = on Saturday

v nedeľu = on Sunday

víkend = weekend

cez víkend = during the weekend



Lesson 6 - MESIACE = months 26

dnes = today

zajtra = tomorrow

pozajtra = the day after tomorrow

včera = yesterday

predvčerom = the day before yesterday

MESIACE = months

január = January

február = February

marec = March

apríl = April

máj = May

jún = June júl = July

august = August

september = September

október = October

november = November

december = December

v januári = in January

vo februári = in February

v marci = in March

v apríli = in April

v máji = in May

v júni = in June

v júli = in July

v auguste = in August

v septembri = in September

v októbri = in October

v novembri = in Novemberv decembri = in December

ROČNÉ OBDOBIA = seasons of the year

jar = spring

leto = summer

jeseň = fall, autumn

zima = winter

na jar = in the spring

v lete (or cez leto) = in the summer



Lesson 6 - BIRTHDAYS AND NAME DAYS 27

na jeseň = in the fall, in the autumn

v zime (or cez zimu) = in the winter

BIRTHDAYS AND NAME DAYS

To wish someone a happy birthday, you can say "Všetko najlepšie k narodeninám!" (literally: 'All the best

for [your] birthday!"), or simply "Všetko najlepšie!" ('All the best!').

If you're in a group, you can also sing the following song to the tune of the English 'Happy Birthday to you!':

Veľa šťastia, zdravia!


Veľa šťastia, milý (or milá) [name]!


which means:

A lot of happiness, [and] health!


A lot of happiness, dear [name]!


In older generations, another song is common:

"Živió, živió, živió, mnoga leta, mnoga leta, mnoga leta!" (roughly translated: 'May you live long, may you

live long, may you live long, many years, many years, many years!')

Please note that this song is not in Slovak (or, at least, not in modern Slovak) - I have no idea what other

Slavic language it is in.

In addition to celebrating their birthdays (narodeniny), some people also celebrate name days (meniny):

each day in the calendar is associated with one of more first names. Originally, the name days were

associated with Roman Catholic saints, but have since been extended to include most common names. To

wish someone a happy name day, you can say "Všetko najlepšie k meninám!" For a list of Slovak namedays, see [here].

NEW YEAR'S EVE AND NEW YEAR'S DAY

The name that celebrates its name day on December 31st is Silvester, and Slovaks therefore refer to New

Year's Eve as Silvester . Slovaks typically spend Silvester watching TV - most channels show long Silvester-

specific shows (that involve a lot of singing, dancing and some attempts at humor) - and try to stay up until

midnight. After the countdown to midnight, many people will throw pyrotechnics or launch fireworks from their

balconies, making it quite dangerous to be in the streets during the first minutes of a new year.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Name_days_in_Slovakia






Lesson 6 - EASTER 28

No one really cleans up, so Slovaks tend to wake up to a very messy Nový rok (New Year's Day). To wish

someone a Happy New Year, you can say "Šťastný nový rok!" Some people make resolutions

(predsavzatia) to, say, quit smoking or lose weight, on New Year's Eve.

On New Year's postcards, you will often see the letters PF, followed by the year - e.g. PF 2011, or PF 1998.This comes from the French pour féliciter (loosely translated as 'to wish you happiness').

EASTER

On Easter (Veľká noc, literally: 'the great night'), Slovaks sometimes blow and paints eggs. Two important

tradition are the šibačka (the symbolic 'whipping' of women) and the oblievačka (the pouring of water over

women): Men will often plaid willow canes, and symbolically 'whip' the women, while saying "Šibi, ribi,

mastné ryby" (loosely: 'whippy-whippy, greasy fish'). They will also pour buckets of water over (fully clothed)

women, or put them in the shower. These traditions date back to pre-Christian times, and are meant toensure that women are healthy and fertile. In return for the šibačka and oblievačka, women are supposed to

give money or candy to the men who found them.

CHRISTMAS

For Christmas (Vianoce), Slovaks decorate Christmas trees (vianočný stromček).

On Christmas Eve (Štedrý večer , literally 'the generous evening' - December 24th), the family meets for a

Christmas dinner. This often involves round Chris wafers (oblátky, or oplátky), served with honey. Many

families also make the traditional Christmas sauerkraut soup (kapustnica). Some families will buy a

Christmas carp (vianočný kapor ) a few days before Christmas and let the fish swim in the bathtub. On

Christmas Eve, the father will kill the carp, and the fish will be served for dinner. Each family, however, has

its own twist on the Christmas dinner: In my own family, for instance, we always had chicken noodle soup,

and never made kapustnica.

After dinner, the children find their Christmas presents under the Christmas tree. The person bringing the

Christmas presents is, according to Slovak tradition, 'little Jesus' ( Ježiško).

Slovaks generally consider December 24th to be the most important day of Christmas. Although December

25th is also a holiday, it does not have the same significance as Christmas Eve.



Lesson 6 - SAINT NICHOLAS DAY 29

SAINT NICHOLAS DAY

December 6th is Saint Nicholas Day (usually referred to simply as Mikuláš). The night before Mikuláš,

children leave their boots by the window, and find them filled with fruits, peanuts and other gifts in themorning. If a child has behaved poorly, he or she may find coal (uhlie) instead.

We imagine Saint Nicholas (Svätý Mikuláš, or simply Mikuláš) as an old, white-haired and bearded man

dressed in red - similar to how Americans imagine Santa Claus. Occasionally, cultural centers or schools

organize Mikuláš-themed shows for children - in these, Mikuláš is often accompanied by a čert, a

disheveled, unshaven man, whose clothes are usually dirty and covered in coal traces, and who symbolically

represents the devil.

On Saint Nicholas Day, furthermore, schoolchildren would also often write "Na Svätého Mikuláša, neučí sa,neskúša sa!" ('On St. Nicholas Day, one does not learn/teach, one does not examine!') on the blackboard in

a (usually futile) attempt to stop their teachers from asking them questions that day.



Lesson 7 - BASIC WORDS AND PHRASES 30

Lesson 7

BASIC WORDS AND PHRASES

napríklad = for example

tu = here

tam = there

teraz = now

vonku = outside

vnútri = inside

To ma mrzí. = I am sorry. (used to express sympathy, rather than to apologize; literally, something like: That

saddens me., or even I regret that.)

Teším sa. = I am looking forward (to it).

Teším sa na... = I look forward to...

Teším sa na teba. = I look forward to (seeing) you. (informal)

LAST WEEK/MONTH/YEAR, NEXT WEEK/MONTH/YEAR

minulý = previous (adj.)

minulý týždeň = last week

minulý mesiac = last month

minulý rok = last yearbudúci = future (adj.)

budúci týždeň = next week

budúci mesiac = next month

budúci rok = next year

THE VERB 'TO BE': PAST AND FUTURE TENSE

The Slovak language, unlike English, only has three tenses: past , present and future.

Recall, from [Lesson 1], the present tense forms of the verb 'to be' (byť):

ja som (I am), ty si (you are - sing. informal), on je (he is), ona je (she is), ono je (for neuter nouns; rare)

my sme (we are), vy ste (you are - sing. formal, and plural), oni sú (they are - group of males, and mixed

groups), ony sú (they are - group of females)



Lesson 7 - THE VERB 'TO BE': PAST AND FUTURE TENSE 31

To negate byť in the present tense, you can insert nie:

ja nie som (I am not), ty nie si (you are not - sing. informal), on nie je (he is not), ona nie je (she is

not), ono nie je (for neuter nouns; rare)

my nie sme (we are), vy nie ste (you are not - sing. formal, and plural), oni nie sú (they are not - group of

males, and mixed groups), ony nie sú (they are not - group of females)

PAST TENSE:

In the past tense, the verb byť takes on the following forms:

ja som bol (I was; speaker is male) my sme boli (we were)

ja som bola (I was; speaker is female) vy ste boli (you were - sing. formal, and plural)

ty si bol (you were - sing. informal; for males) oni boli (they were - group of males, and mixed groups)

ty si bola (for females) ony boli (they were - group of females)

on bol (he was)

ona bola (she was)

To negate, use the prefix ne-:

ja som nebol (I was not; speaker is male) my sme neboli (we were not)

ja som nebola (I was not; speaker is female) vy ste neboli (you were not - sing. formal, and plural)

ty si nebol (you were not -sing. Inf. for males) oni neboli (they were not-group of males,and mixed groups)

ty si nebola (for females) ony neboli (they were not - group of females)

on nebol (he was not)

ona nebola (she was not)

Jeho stolička nebola dostatočne vysoká. = His chair was not high enough.

Ten náš kolega bola v pondelok poobede taký pracovitý. = That (female) colleague of ours was so hard-

working on Monday afternoon.

FUTURE TENSE:

In the future tense, the verb byť has these forms:

ja budem (I will be) my budeme (we will be)

ty budeš (you will be - sing. informal) vy budete (you will be - sing. formal, and plural)

on bude (he will be) oni budú (they will be - group of males, and mixed groups)

ona bude (she will be) ony budú (they will be - group of females)

Again, use the ne- prefix to negate:

ja nebudem (I will not be) my nebudeme (we will not be)

ty nebudeš (you will not be - sing. Inf.) vy nebudete (you will not be - sing. formal, and plural)

on nebude (he will not be) oni nebudú (they will not be - group of males, and mixed groups)

ona nebude (she will not be) ony nebudú (they will not be - group of females)



Lesson 7 - IF..., WHEN... 32

Zajtra bude veterný deň, ale bude veľmi teplo. = Tomorrow will be a windy day, but it will be very warm.

Vo februári budem v Bratislave a v marci znovu v Amerike. = In February, I will be in Bratislava, and in

March again in America.

IF..., WHEN...

Ak..., (tak)... = If..., (then)...

Ak je dnes sobota, tak zajtra bude nedeľa. = If today is Saturday, then tomorrow will be Sunday

Ak bol predvčerom štvrtok, včera bol piatok. = If the day before yesterday was a Thursday, yesterday

was a Friday.

Kedy...? = When...? (in questions)

Kedy bude medzinárodný filmový festival? = When will the international film festival be?

Keď..., ... = When..., ... (to introduce a clause)Keď som bol mladý, bol som pekný, ale nebol som vôbec inteligentný. = When I was young, I was

good-looking, but I was not intelligent at all.

SVETOVÉ STRANY = COMPASS POINTS (literally: 'world sides')

sever = the north

juh = the south

východ = the east

západ = the west

na severe = in the north

na juhu = in the south

na východe = in the east

na západe = in the west

Related adjectives:

severný = north(ern)

južný = south(ern)

východný = east(ern) západný = west(ern)

severné Slovensko = northern Slovakia

Južná Amerika = South America

Severná Karolína = North Carolina

východné pobrežie = East Coast

západná Afrika = West Africa

východná Ázia = East Asia

južná Európa = southern Europe



Lesson 7 - TALKING ABOUT THE WEATHER 33

TALKING ABOUT THE WEATHER

Aké je dnes počasie? = What is the weather like today?

Ako je dnes? = What is the weather like today? (literally: How is (it) today?)Ako je vonku? = What is the weather like outside? (literally: How is (it) outside?)

Dnes je... = Today, it is...

...pekne. = nice.

...škaredo. = ugly.

...nádherne / krásne. = beautiful.

...príjemne. = pleasant.

...akurát. = just right.

...oblačno. = cloudy.

...zamračené. = overcast.

...polooblačno. = 'semi-cloudy.'

...daždivo. = rainy.

...hmlisto. = foggy.

...veterno. = windy.

...chladno. = cold.

...teplo. = warm.

...horúco. = hot.

... slnečno. = sunny.

Note: All of the above are adverbs. It is quite easy to turn them into adjectives: From the adverb veterno

('windily'), for instance, you can derive the adjective veterný ('windy').

Prší. = It is raining.

Mrholí. = It is raining. (lightly)

Sneží. = It is snowing.

Mrzne. = It is freezing.

Svieti slnko. = The sun is shining.Padá dážď. = Rain is falling.

Padá sneh. = Snow is falling.

Padajú krúpy. = It is hailing.

Fúka vietor. = The wind is blowing.

Blýska sa. = There is lightning.

Hrmí. = There is thunder.



Lesson 7 - JÁNOŠÍK 34

teplota = temperature

teplomer = thermometer

Koľko je dnes stupňov? = What's the temperature today? (literally: 'How many degrees are there today?')

Dnes... = Today...

...je jeden stupeň. = (the temperature) is one degree.

...sú dva, tri, štyri stupne. = ...two, three, four degrees.

...je (plus) päť, šesť, sedem stupňov. = (plus/positive) five, six, seven degrees. (for 5 or more degrees)

...je mínus dvanásť stupňov. = ...negative twelve degrees.

Note: We use degrees Celsius in Slovakia, and do not understand - at all - the Fahrenheit scale. Here's a

quick guide:

0°C - freezing point (bod mrazu)

20°C - room temperature (izbová teplota)

30°C - very warm day

100°C - boiling point (bod varu)

slnko = the sun

oblak (or mrak) = cloud

obloha = the sky

vzduch = air

vietor = wind

dážď = rain

mrholenie = light rain (neuter )

hmla = fog

sneh = snow

ľad = ice

mráz = frost, biting cold

búrka = storm

blesk = lightning (also flash on a camera)

hrom = thunder

Rejoice: With all the language skills and vocabulary you now possess, you should be able to make sense ofa Slovak weather forecast (predpoveď počasia).

JÁNOŠÍK

The Slovak national hero (národný hrdina) is an early 18th century bandit by the name of Juraj Jánošík, or

simply Jánošík. Jánošík was the leader of a band of outlaws in the Liptov region in northern Slovakia. He is

said to have 'taken from the rich, and given to the poor' (bohatým bral, chudobným dával). Most of his

band's victims were wealthy merchants. According to legend, Jánošík was arrested in a pub, after an old

lady spilled peas on the floor: Jánošík slipped, and the authorities were able to apprehend him. He was then

imprisoned, tried and executed in Liptovský Mikuláš: As was commonly the case for bandits, Jánošík was



Lesson 7 - NAD TATROU SA BLÝSKA - THE SLOVAK NATIONAL ANTHEM 35

given the death sentence. The legend says that he died a particularly gruesome death: The authorities drove

a hook through the left side of his book, and left him hanging on it. Right before he died, the legend goes,

Jánošík said: Keď ste si ma upiekli, tak si ma aj zjedzte! ('Now that you have baked me, you should eat

me as well!'). He then supposedly threw himself on the hook. As is often the case with folk tales, however, it

is unclear how similar the historical figure of Juraj Jánošík was to the bandit from the legend.

The late Michal Dočolomanský, a famous Slovak actor, played Jánošík's part in a musical.

NAD TATROU SA BLÝSKA - THE SLOVAK NATIONAL ANTHEM

The Slovak national anthem (národná hymna) is called 'Nad Tatrou sa blýska' ('There is lightning above

the Tatras'). The words were written by Janko Matuška, a 19th century publicist, and the tune comes from a

popular folk song.

The text is here, along with a translation, which I took from [a wikipedia article about the anthem]:

Nad Tatrou sa blýska, There's lightning over the Tatras,

hromy divo bijú. thunderclaps wildly beat

Zastavme ich, bratia, Let us stop them, brothers,

veď sa ony stratia, They'll just disappear,

Slováci ožijú. the Slovaks will revive.

To Slovensko naše That Slovakia of ours

posiaľ tvrdo spalo has been fast asleep so far

Ale blesky hromu But the thunder's lightning

vzbudzujú ho k tomu, is rousing it

aby sa prebralo to come awake

SLOVAK WEDDING TRADITIONS

In Slovakia, some people have their wedding (svadba) in a church, while others go to city hall. There is a lotof variation in the wedding traditions that families follow. In some families, furthermore, weddings are lavish

affairs with many guests, while others prefer them to be intimate, and only invite their closest family

members.

On the day of the wedding, the groom (ženích) and the bride (nevesta) often meet before the ceremony to

take pictures (or video) together. After the wedding ceremony, the newlyweds and the wedding guests

proceed to a reception/feast.

Traditionally, the owner of the space where the reception takes place throws a plate on the ground, and

breaks it. The groom and the bride then take a broom, and have to work together to clean up the mess.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nad_Tatrou_sa_bl%C3%BDska






Lesson 7 - SLOVAK WEDDING TRADITIONS 36

According to some accounts, it is important that no broken pieces are left on the ground, as they symbolize

how many children the groom would have with other women. After all the broken pieces are swept up, the

groom carries the bride over the threshold into the reception area.

The newlyweds will often feed each other soup and other dishes during the dinner that follows. There isusually no best man to give a speech at Slovak weddings. After dinner, there is a lot of dancing. A popular

dance is the broom dance: One person dances with the broom. When the music stops, that person drops the

broom, as everyone finds a new partner. Whoever is left without the partner must spend the next round

dancing with the broom. It is also customary for each wedding guest to dance at least once with either the

groom or the bride: Guests are, moreover, supposed to pay for the privilege of this dance, and deposit some

money in a hat that makes the rounds.

At some point during the reception, the bride will throw a bouquet of flowers behind her. Whichever woman

catches the bouquet first will, according to the tradition, be the one most likely to marry next.

Around midnight, the groom's male friends may kidnap the bride, and take her to a nearby pub. When the

groom finds her in the pub, his friends have usually already ordered drinks. To get his bride back, the groom,

of course, has to foot his friends' bill.




Lesson 8


Pozor! = Attention! (often used on warnings)

varovanie = warning

zákaz = literally: prohibition (used on signs that prohibit various activities)

dámy a páni = ladies and gentlemen

Presne tak. = That's right. (literally: 'Exactly so.')

To je jedno. = It doesn't matter. (literally: 'It is one [and the same].")

To je mi jedno. = I don't care. (literally: "It is one [and the same] to me.")

Čo znamená _____ ? = What does _____ mean?

OBLEČENIE = CLOTHING

vetrovka (or bunda) = winter/warm jacket, anorak

kabát = coat

šál = scarf

rukavica, rukavice = glove, gloves

mikina = a fleece, a hoodie

sveter = sweater

pulóver = pullover blúzka = blouse

tričko = T-shirt

košeľa = shirt

sako = formal jacket

kravata = tie

nohavice = trousers/pants

rifle (alebo džínsy) = jeans

tepláky = sweatpants

opasok = belt

sukňa = skirt

spodné prádlo = underwear

slipy = briefs

trenírky = boxers (or shorts)

nohavičky = panties

podprsenka = bra

topánka, topánky = shoe, shoes

ponožka, ponožky = sock, socks

čižma, čižmy = boot, boots

čiapka = hat (for cold weather)



Lesson 8 - POSSESSIVES FORMS OF NAMES 38

klobúk = a traditional, gentleman's hat

šiltovka = cap

prsteň = ring

náramok = bracelet

náhrdelník = necklace

POSSESSIVES FORMS OF NAMES

When an item's owner is male, we use - depending on the grammatical gender of the owned item - the

suffixes -ov, -ova, or -ovo:

Michalov počítač = Michal's computer

Michalova košeľa = Michal's shirt

Michalovo auto = Michal's car

When an item's owner is female, we use the suffixes -in, -ina, or -ino. If the female name ends in a vowel

(such as -a) - as it often does - the vower is typically dropped:

Janin počítač = Jana's computer

Janina košeľa = Jana's shirt

Janino auto = Jana's car

Consider these examples:

Bratislava je Jurajovo obľúbené mesto. = Bratislava is Juraj's favorite city.

Karolova košeľa je príliš veľká, ale jeho nohavice sú akurát. = Karol's shirt is too big, but his pants are

just right.

Zuzanina červená sukňa je celkom pekná, ale jej tričko je škaredé. = Zuzana's red skirt is quite nice, but

her T-shirt is ugly.

Prepáč, ale naozaj neviem, kde je Máriina čierna topánka. = I'm sorry, but I really don't know where

Mária's black shoe is.

HOW OFTEN?

Ako často ____? = How often ____?

nikdy = never

niekedy = sometimes

často = often

vždy = always

príležitostne = occasionally

raz za čas (or sem-tam) = once in a while



Lesson 8 - ĽUDSKÉ TELO = HUMAN BODY 39

ĽUDSKÉ TELO = HUMAN BODY

telo = body

hlava = head krk = neck

hruď = chest

prsia = breasts, female chest

brucho = stomach (tummy)

zadok = bottom

vlasy = hair

brada = chin, beard

fúzy = mustache

obočie = eyebrows čelo = forehead

líce = cheek (neuter)

oko, oči = eye, eyes

ucho, uši = ear, ears

nos = nose

ústa = mouth

zub, zuby = tooth, teeth

jazyk = tongue

hrdlo = throat

In Slovak, we do not distinguish between arms and hands, between legs and feet, and between fingers and

toes:

ruka, ruky = hand/arm, hands/arms

noha, nohy = foot/leg, feet/legs

prst = finger/toe

päsť = fist

lakeť = elbow

koleno = knee stehno = thigh

lýtko = calf

päta = heel

srdce = heart (neuter)

mozog = brain

žalúdok = stomach

pľúca = lungs



Lesson 8 - THE VERB 'TO HAVE' - PRESENT TENSE 40

THE VERB 'TO HAVE' - PRESENT TENSE

In the present tense, the verb mať (to have) takes on these forms:

ja mám (I have) my máme (we have)

ty máš (you have - sing. informal) vy máte (you have - sing. formal, and plural)

on má (he has) oni majú (they have - group of males, and mixed groups)

ona má (she has) ony majú (they have - group of females)

ono má (it has; for neuter - rare)

To negate the verb mať, use the usual prefix ne-:

ja nemám (I don't have) my nemáme (we don't have) ty nemáš (you don't have) vy nemáte (you don't have)

on nemá (he doesn't have) oni nemajú (they don't have)

ona nemá (she doesn't have) ony nemajú (they don't have)

ono nemá (it doesn't have)

ACCUSATIVE CASE (DIRECT OBJECT)

When a word is used as the direct object in a Slovak sentence, we use the accusative case. What we have

seen so far, by contrast, are nouns and adjectives in their nominative case form - the form they take on when

they are the subject (i.e., the actor) in a sentence. I have underlined direct objects in these English

examples:

I have a younger sister.

I see the green house.

I heard the music yesterday.

In this lesson, we will only learn how to deal with a direct object that consists only of one noun. We will learnhow to say things like 'I have a car.'

In a later lesson, we'll also cover direct objects that include adjectives: 'I have a new car.'

How we form the accusative case in Slovak depends on the grammatical gender of the direct object.



Lesson 8 - SUFFIX -EVER, PREFIX ANY- 41

Masculine gender: If the direct object is a person or an animal, we add the -a suffix. Otherwise, the word

remains unchanged.

nominative case (basic form) accusative case (direct object)

brat = brother brataJozef má brata. = Jozef has a brother.

počítač = computer počítač

Naša domácnosť má počítač. = Our household has a computer.

Feminine gender: We change the final -a into a -u ending.


kravata = tie kravatu

Milan má vždy kravatu. = Milan always has a tie.

čiapka = hat čiapku

Jej otec má niekedy čiapku. = Her father sometimes has a hat.

Neuter gender: The word does not change.


okno = window okno

divadlo = theater divadlo

Ich dom má okno. = Their house has a window.

Mesto Nitra má divadlo. = The city of Nitra has a theater.

SUFFIX -EVER, PREFIX ANY-

Recall all the interrogative pronouns we have already learned:

kto = whočo = what

kedy = when

kde = where

koľko = how many, how much

ako = how

aký = what kind of



Lesson 8 - ONLY, AS MANY AS... 42

We can use the suffix -koľvek in the same way that -ever is used in English:

ktokoľvek = whoever

čokoľvek = whatever

kedykoľvek = whenever

kdekoľvek = whereverkoľkokoľvek = however many, however much

akokoľvek = however (meaning: in whichever way)

akýkoľvek = any (meaning, roughly: whatever kind of)

We can also use the prefix hoci- in the same way that any- is used in English:

hocikto = anyone

hocičo = anything

hocikedy = anytime

hocikde = anywhere

hocikoľko = however many, however much

hocijako = in any way

hocijaký = any (meaning, roughly: whatever kind of, any kind of)

ONLY, AS MANY AS...

iba = only

len = only

až = as many as (emphasizes that there is a lot of something)

Toto lacné auto stojí iba päťtisíc eúr, ale tamto drahé stojí až šesťdesiattisíc. = This cheap car costs

only 5,000 euros, but that expensive one over there costs as much as 60,000.

Zajtra bude veľmi chladno - len dva stupne. = Tomorrow will be very cold - only two degrees.

SLOVAK MEDIA

There are several newspapers (noviny) with a national circulation, as well as a number of regional

publications. Among the serious newspapers, SME and Pravda ('The Truth') are most widely read. The mostpopular tabloid is Nový čas ('New Time') - infamous for its overblown headlines that usually focus on

scandalous celebrity affairs.

SME: [http://www.sme.sk/]

Pravda: [http://www.pravda.sk/]

Nový čas: [http://www.cas.sk/]

Popular weekly magazines include Plus sedem dní ('Plus seven days'), Život ('Life') and Týždeň ('Week'):

Plus sedem dní: [http://plus7dni.pluska.sk/plus7dni/]

Život: [http://zivot.lesk.cas.sk/]

Týždeň: [http://www.tyzden.sk/]

http://www.sme.sk/

http://www.sme.sk/

http://www.sme.sk/

http://www.pravda.sk/



http://www.cas.sk/

http://www.cas.sk/

http://www.cas.sk/

http://plus7dni.pluska.sk/plus7dni/



http://zivot.lesk.cas.sk/



http://www.tyzden.sk/






http://www.cas.sk/


http://www.sme.sk/



Lesson 8 - SLOVAK MEDIA 43

Slovakia has a state-owned TV company called Slovenská televízia ('Slovak Television'), much like the

American PBS, which broadcasts on three channels. Private TV channels are more popular, however, and

include TV Markíza and Joj. There is also a channel called TA3 (a pun on Tatry, the mountain range) that

only broadcasts news all day. You can watch shows from these TV channels online at the following

websites:

Markíza: [http://www.markiza.sk]

Joj: [http://www.joj.sk]

Slovenská televízia: [http://www.stv.sk/]

TA3: [http://www.ta3.com/]

There is also a state-owned radio company Slovenský rozhlas ('Slovak Radio Broadcasting'), not unlike

NPR in the United States, which broadcasts on several radio stations. The most popular private radio station

today is Rádio Expres, which plays a lot of pop music. You can listen to these radio stations online:

Slovenský rozhlas: [http://www.rozhlas.sk/]

Rádio Expres: [http://www.expres.sk/]

http://www.markiza.sk/



http://www.joj.sk/

http://www.joj.sk/

http://www.joj.sk/

http://www.stv.sk/

http://www.stv.sk/

http://www.stv.sk/

http://www.ta3.com/

http://www.ta3.com/

http://www.ta3.com/

http://www.rozhlas.sk/



http://www.expres.sk/





http://www.ta3.com/

http://www.stv.sk/

http://www.joj.sk/





Lesson 9


Ja nič, ja muzikant. = Literally: 'I [am] nothing, I [am] a musician.'; means something like: 'Don't blame me.' /

'Stop looking at me.' / 'It's not my fault.' / 'Leave me alone.'

Som hladný. / Mám hlad. = I am hungry. / 'I have hunger.'

Som smädný. / Mám smäd. = I am thirsty. / 'I have thirst.'

HOW OLD ARE YOU?

Koľko máš rokov? = How old are you? (informal 'you'; literally: 'How many years do you have?')

Koľko máte rokov? = How old are you? (formal 'you') Mám ... = I am ...

... jeden rok. = one year old.

... dva/tri/štyri roky. = two, three, four years old.

... päť/šesť/sedem rokov. = five, six, seven years old.

Moja sestra je veľmi mladá. Má len sedemnásť rokov. = My sister is very young. She is only seventeen

years old.

OVOCIE = FRUIT

ovocie = fruit

jablko = apple

hruška = pear

pomaranč = orange

mandarínka = clementine

marhuľa = apricot

broskyňa = peach

jahoda = strawberry

malina = raspberry

čerešňa = cherry

višňa = black cherry

slivka = plum

banán = banana

ananás = pineapple

citrón = lemon

hrozno = grapes



Lesson 9 - ZELENINA = VEGETABLES 45

ZELENINA = VEGETABLES

zelenina = vegetables

paradajka = tomato paprika = pepper

mrkva = carrot

šalát = lettuce (also: salad)

zemiak = potato

cibuľa = onion

cesnak = garlic

ryža = rice

fazuľa = beans

hrach = peas orech = nut

tekvica = pumpkin

baklažán = eggplant

kapusta = cabbage

petržlen = parsley

brokolica = broccoli

kaleráb = kohlrabi

špenát = spinach

kel = kale

I LIKE, I DON'T LIKE + NOUN

Mám rád _______. = I like ... (if the speaker is male)

Mám rada _______. = I like ... (if the speaker is female)

Note: Please use the accusative case - whatever follows Mám rád/rada... is the direct object. To negate,

use the prefix ne- (as usual).

Nemám rád špenát, ale mám veľmi rád mrkvu. = I don't like spinach, but I like carrots very much.

Môj brat Jozef má rád kávu, ale ja mám rád čaj. = My brother Jozef likes coffee, but I like tea.

NÁPOJE = drinks

nápoj = drink, beverage

nealkoholický nápoj (or nealko, for short) = non-alcoholic beverage

voda = water

čaj = tea káva = coffee

kakao = hot chocolate



Lesson 9 - ORDERING FOOD AND BUYING THINGS 46

minerálka = mineral water

kola = cola

malinovka = any kind of soft drink other than cola

džús = juice

alkoholický nápoj = alcoholic beveragealkohol = alcohol

pivo = beer

víno = wine

vodka = vodka

slivovica = plum brandy

rum = rum

šampanské = champaigne

ORDERING FOOD AND BUYING THINGS

If you walk into a store, or sit down in a restaurant, the shop assistant or waitress will most likely ask you the

following question:

Čo si prajete? = What would you like? (literally: 'What do you wish for?')

You should answer.

Prosím si _______. = I would like a ....

Please note that the noun after Prosím si should be in the accusative case, as it is the direct object in the

sentence.

Dobrý deň, pán Novák. Čo si prajete? = Hello, Mr. Novák. What would you like?

Prosím si šalát a kávu. Dnes nie som veľmi hladný. = I would like a salad and coffee. I am not very

hungry today.

TRADITIONAL SLOVAK DISHES

The Slovak national dish is called bryndzové halušky. It is fantastic . It consists of small boiled potato pieces

(halušky = spaetzle) - similar, in shape, to the Italian gnocchi. These are mixed with bryndza, a traditionalsheep milk cheese that is quite difficult to find outside of Slovakia. Just thinking about bryndzové halušky

makes me hungry. Here's a picture (from wikipedia [link]):

Another popular dish with halušky is called strapačky: This meal consists of the same potato pieces, but -

instead of bryndza - they are mixed with sauerkraut (kyslá kapusta). A restaurant classic is fried cheese

(vyprážaný syr ) with French fries (hranolky). Around Trnava - where much of my family comes from - lokše

are a popular meal: These are very similar to crêpes (palacinky), but are not sweet and are often filled with

poppy seeds (mak). To find out more about Slovak cuisine, please visit my friend Ľuboš's website about

Slovak cooking [here].

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bryndzov%C3%A9_halu%C5%A1ky



http://www.slovakcooking.com/







Lesson 10 - IMPORTANT AND INTERESTING WORDS 47

Lesson 10

IMPORTANT AND INTERESTING WORDS

dôležitý = important

zaujímavý = interesting

MORE FOOD-RELATED VOCABULARY

mäso = meat

kuracie mäso = chicken meat

hovädzie mäso = beef

bravčové mäso = pork chlieb = bread

rožok = roll of bread (longer than it is wide)

žemľa = bun

mlieko = milk

polievka = soup

slepačia polievka = chicken soup

soľ = salt

cukor = sugar

korenie = spice

med = honey

tanier = plate

vidlička = fork

lyžička = spoon

nôž = knife

príbor = silverware

príloha = side dish

dezert = dessert

koláč (or zákusok) = cake (small, or one piece)

torta = cake (big, like a birthday cake)

zmrzlina = icecream

Mám chuť na... = I feel like having... (literally: 'I have a taste for...')

Dnes má Jozef chuť na pivo. = Jozef feels like having a beer today.



Lesson 10 - THE VERB 'TO HAVE' IN THE PAST AND FUTURE TENSES 48

THE VERB 'TO HAVE' IN THE PAST AND FUTURE TENSES

Recall that, in [Lesson 8], we learned the present tense forms of the verb mať (to have):

ja mám (I have) my máme (we have)

ty máš (you have - sing. informal) vy máte (you have - sing. formal, and plural)

on má (he has) oni majú (they have - group of males, and mixed groups)

ona má (she has) ony majú (they have - group of females)

ono má (it has; for neuter - rare)

In the past tense, the verb mať takes on the following forms:

ja som mal (I had - speaker is male) my sme mali (we have) ja som mala (I had - speaker is female) vy ste mali (you had)

ty si mal (you had - you are male) oni mali (they had - mixed group, or a group of males)

ty si mala (you had - you are female) ony mali (they had - group of females)

on mal (he had)

ona mala (she had)

ono malo (it had; for neuter - rare)

Minulý týžden sme mali návštevu. = Last week, we had a visit.

Včera som mal chuť na zákusok, ale mal som iba chlieb. = Yesterday, I felt like having a cake, but I only

had bread.

In the future tense, the verb mať takes on the following forms:

ja budem mať (I will have) my budeme mať (we will have)

ty budeš mať (you will have) vy budete mať (you will have)

on/ona/ono bude mať (he/she/it will have) oni/ony budú mať (they will have)

As usual, you can use the prefix ne- to negate:

Nikdy som nemal rád špenát, ale vždy som mal rád mrkvu. = I have never liked spinach, but I have

always liked carrots.

Ak nebudem mať peniaze, nebudem mať auto. = If I don't have money, I will not have a car.

Tento piatok budem mať skúšku. = This Friday, I will have an exam.



Lesson 10 - DAILY MEALS 49

DAILY MEALS

raňajky = breakfast

obed = lunch (at around noon) večera = dinner, supper (in the evening)

The following two words are most commonly used when talking about schoolchildren's meals:

desiata = mid-morning snack (at around 10 a.m.)

olovrant = mid-afternoon snack

na raňajky = for breakfast

na obed = for lunch

na večeru = for dinner

Čo budeme mať zajtra na večeru? = What will we have for dinner tomorrow?

Čo je dnes na obed? = What is for lunch today? Čo ste mali včera na raňa jky? = What did you have for breakfast yesterday?

Dnes som mal na raňajky chlieb, kávu a banán. = Today, I had bread, coffee and a banana for breakfast.

Zajtra budeme mať na večeru polievku, koláč a zmrzlinu. = Tomorrow, we'll have soup, cake and

icecream for dinner.

HOUSES AND APARTMENTS

dom = house

byt = apartment

bytovka (or panelák) = apartment building

okno = window

dvere = door

strecha = roof

stena = wall

komín = chimney

schody = stairs

výťah = elevator miestnosť = room (in any building)

izba = room (in a house or apartment)

chodba = corridor, lobby

kuchyňa = kitchen

spálňa = bedroom

obývačka = living room

detská izba = childrens' room

kúpeľňa = bathroom

toaleta, wc or záchod = toilet

pivnica = cellar



Lesson 10 - PREPOSITIONS 50

povala = attic

posteľ = bed

gauč (or pohovka) = couch

vaňa = bathtub

umývadlo = washbasin skriňa = closet

PREPOSITIONS

Let us now learn about some commonly used Slovak prepositions. For now, it is enough that you learn how

to recognize them in a sentence, and get a general sense of their use. They are typically associated with

particular grammatical cases, and often require changes in the forms of adjectives and nouns that follow.

These are quite difficult to learn, and you should not worry about them yet .

na = on, onto nad = above

pod = under, below

Kniha je na stole, ale časopis je pod stoličkou. = The book is on the table, but the magazine is under the

chair.

Nad gaučom sú hodiny. = Above the couch is a clock.

v, vo = in

do = into

od = from

z = out of

k, ku = to, towards

Note: vo is used instead of v, and ku is used instead of k, when v or k would have been difficult to

pronounce: This can happen, for instance, when the following word begins with the letters v or k. It is easier

to say 'vo vetre' ('in the wind') or 'ku kolesu' ('to the wheel') than it would have been to say 'v vetre' or 'k

kolesu.'

V koši je odpad. = Trash is in the trash can. Prosím, vstúpte do nášho bytu! = Please, step into our apartment.

Tento biely vták prilieta z horúcich krajín. = This white bird is flying in from hot countries.

Každé ráno vychádzam z domu o ôsmej. = Every morning I come out of my house at 8am.

Som zo Spojených štátov amerických. = I am from the United States of America.

Poď bližšie k oknu, lebo je tam sviežy vzduch. = Come closer to the window, because there is fresh air

there.

pred = in front of (spatial), before (chronological)

za = behind (spatial), for ( = in exchange for, as in 'for five dollars'), in favor of

po = after



Lesson 10 - SLOVAK TRADITIONAL MUSIC, DANCE AND COSTUMES 51

pri (or vedľa) = next to, beside, at

Pred jeho domom parkuje susedovo auto. = The neighbor's car is parking in front of his house.

Po prírodnej katastrofe bolo veľa škôd. = After the natural disaster, there was a lot of damage.

Za plotom je veľká záhrada a pri dome stojí nová garáž. = Behind the fence is a big garden, and a new

garage is standing next to the house. Vedľa mňa sedí predseda vlády. = Next to me sits the Prime Minister.

medzi = between, among

proti = against

oproti = opposite

okolo = around (also 'approximately')

Stolička je medzi stolom a skriňou, ale posteľ je oproti zrkadlu. = The chair is between the table and the

closet, but the bed is opposite the mirror.

Všetci sme proti tomuto návrhu, pretože je hlúpy a kontraproduktívny. = We are all against this

proposal, because it is stupid and counterproductive.

Mesiac krúži okolo Zeme. = The Moon revolves around the Earth.

SLOVAK TRADITIONAL MUSIC, DANCE AND COSTUMES

These days, Slovak traditional music, dances and costumes can mostly be seen at outdoors folk festivals,

which usually take place during the summer. The two most famous folk festivals are held in the village of

Východná (in the Liptov region in northern Slovakia) and in the little town of Detva (in central Slovakia).

Most of these traditions are no longer part of contemporary culture - very few regular Slovaks, especially

those living in cities, have a good knowledge of folk traditions.

Slovak folk costumes are quite diverse: Each regions has its own style, color pattern and decorations. Men

around the town of Detva in central Slovakia have traditionally worn a very interesting costume: The men's

shirts do not cover their stomachs: According to legend, men from Detva used to steal, and not covering the

stomach is a way of making sure they don't put anything under their shirts.

A traditional Slovak musical instrument is the fujara, most commonly associated with the shepherds ofcentral Slovakia. The following documentary gives a very good overview of the instrument, even though it

badly mispronounces its name:

Slovak folk dances involve a lot of jumping around and turning, and are accompanied by lively violin music.

There is a lot of movement, and relatively little touching between the men and the women. Below, you can

watch two performances by Lúčnica, a famous professional folk dance group. In the latter performance, the

men (who are supposed to represent shepherds) wield a traditional, mostly decorative, Slovak axe called the

valaška.




Lesson 11


Smiem prosiť? = literally: 'May I ask?' - used when asking for a dance at formal occasions

našťastie = fortunately, thankfully

nanešťastie, bohužiaľ or žiaľbohu = unfortunately

Mám chuť na obed, ale bohužiaľ nemám peniaze. = I feel like having lunch, but unfortunately I don't have

any money.

Nemám peňaženku, ale našťastie mám kreditnú kartu. = I don't have a wallet, but fortunately I have a

credit card.

CONJUGATION OF VERBS

Let us demonstrate how to conjugate verbs using the verb robiť ('to do') as an example. The patterns you'll

see, however, can easily be generalized, and we will do so using the verbs čítať ('to read') and písať ('to

write'). Note that the infinitives of Slovak verbs always end in -ť.

CONJUGATION IN THE PRESENT TENSE

To conjugate verbs in the present tense, you first have to know the 'stem' of the verb. The stems can differ,

and there is no easy way to derive them from at the verb's infinitive. You should therefore try to memorize

both the infinitive and the stem of the verb. For the verb robiť, the stem is robí-.

Depending on the subject (or grammatical person), you then have to attach the underlined suffixes to this

stem. As an example, let's conjugate robiť:

ja robím (I am doing) my robíme (we are doing)

ty robíš (you are doing) vy robíte (you are doing)

on/ona/ono robí (he/she/it is doing) oni/ony robia (they are doing)

Note: In the third person of the plural (oni/ony = they), the verb form is sui generis - each verb has its own

form and there is no simple rule that governs these forms: For the verbs čítať and písať, for instance, the

corresponding form would be oni/ony čítajú and oni/ony píšu, respectively. You may have to memorize

these forms separately for each verb as well. In this course, I have decided - for the sake of simplicity - to

largely ignore this third person plural form.

To negate, you can - as usual - use the prefix ne-:

ja nerobím (I am not doing) my nerobíme (we are not doing) ty nerobíš (you are not doing) vy nerobíte (you are not doing)

on/ona/ono nerobí (he/she/it is not doing) oni/ony nerobia (they are not doing)



Lesson 11 - CONJUGATION IN THE FUTURE TENSE 53

Let us now conjugate the verbs čítať and písať. The stems of these verbs are číta- and píše-, respectively.

čítať (stem: číta-) = to read: ja čítam, ty čítaš, on/ona/ono číta, my čítame, vy čítate, oni/ony čítajú

písať (stem: píše-) = to write: ja píšem, ty píšeš, on/ona/ono píše, my píšeme, vy píšete, oni/ony píšu

Čo robíš dnes večer? = What are you doing tonight?

Ja teraz čítam knihu, ale vy píšete list. = I am reading a book now, but you are writing a letter.

CONJUGATION IN THE FUTURE TENSE

In the future tense, you can conjugate verbs the same way you conjugated the verb mať ('to have') in

[Lesson 10].

In particular, you can do so by using the future tense of the verb byť ('to be') followed by the infinitive of the

verb you are conjugating. Let's do this for the verb robiť:

ja budem robiť (I will be doing) my budeme robiť (we will be doing)

ty budeš robiť (you will be doing) vy budete robiť (you will be doing)

on/ona/ono bude robiť (he/she/it will be doing) oni/ony budú robiť (they will be doing)

Again, you can negate by attaching the ne- prefix to the future tense form of byť:

ja nebudem robiť (I will not be doing) my nebudeme robiť (we will not be doing)

ty nebudeš robiť (you will not be doing) vy nebudete robiť (you will not be doing)

on/ona/ono nebude robiť(he/she/it will not be doing) oni/ony nebudú robiť (they will not be doing)

Viete, čo budete robiť zajtra a v pondelok? = Do you know what you will be doing tomorrow and on

Monday?

Zajtra budem číťať časopis, ale v pondelok budeme ja a moja kolegyňa písať článok. = Tomorrow I'll

be reading a mazagine, but on Monday I and my female colleague will be writing an article.

CONJUGATION IN THE PAST TENSE

In the past tense, the conjugation is, again, similar to that we have already seen with the the verb mať ('to

have') in [Lesson 10].

To conjugate a Slovak verb in the past tense, follow these steps:

1.) Look at the infinitive.

2.) Remove the final -ť.

3.) Attach the corresponding suffix, as underlined below.



Lesson 11 - WHAT'S IN A CITY? 54

Let us now conjugate robiť in the past tense. First, we remove the final -ť from the infinitive, and are left with

robi-. We then attach suffixes (endings) as follows:

ja som robil (I was doing - speaker is male) my sme robili (we were doing) ja som robila (I was doing - speaker is female) vy ste robili (you were doing)

ty si robil (you were doing - you are male) oni robili (they were doing-mixed gr.,or a group of males)

ty si robila (you were doing - you are female) ony robili (they were doing - group of females)

on robil (he was doing)

ona robila (she was doing)

ono robilo (it was doing; for neuter - rare)

Use ne- to negate:

ja som nerobil (I was not doing - speaker is male) my sme nerobili (we were not doing)

ja som nerobila (I was not doing - speaker is female) vy ste nerobili (you were not doing)

ty si nerobil (you were not doing-you are male) oni nerobili (they were not doing-mix g, or a grp of m)

ty si nerobila (you were not doing - you are female) ony nerobili (they were not doing -group of females)

on nerobil (he was not doing) ona nerobila (she was not doing)

ono nerobilo (it was not doing; for neuter - rare)

Let's conjugate čítať and písať in the past tense:

čítať (stem: číta-)= to read: ja som čítal, ja som čítala, ty si čítal, ty si čítala, on čítal, ona čítala, ono

čítalo, my sme čítali, vy ste čítali, oni/ony čítali

písať (stem: píše-)= to write: ja som písal, ja som písala, ty si písal, ty si písala, on písal, ona

písala, ono písalo, my sme písali, vy ste písali, oni/ony písali

Minulý týždeň sme písali správu pre parlament. = Last week, we were writing a report for the parliament.

Ty vôbec nevieš, čo si včera robil! Bol si opitý? = You don't know what you were doing yesterday at all!

Were you drunk?

Čítal som príbeh o hrade a rozprávku o drakovi. = I was reading a story about a castle and a fairy taleabout a dragon.

WHAT'S IN A CITY?

mesto = city

dedina = village

ulica = street

námestie = (town) square

most = bridge

budova = building



Lesson 11 - WHAT'S IN A CITY? 55

cesta = road

chodník = sidewalk

prechod pre chodcov (or simply prechod) = crosswalk

semafór = traffic lights

križovatka = crossroads, intersection podchod = underpass (for pedestrians)

pešia zóna = pedestrian zone

parkovisko = parking lot

stanica = station

autobusová stanica = bus station

železničná stanica = railroad station, train station

hlavná stanica = main station

autobusová zastávka = bus stop

letisko = airport

prístav = port, harbor

metro = metro, subway, underground

banka = bank

poisťovňa = insurance company (they often have their own buildings in Slovakia)

bankomat = ATM

(novinový) stánok = newsstand

obchod = shop, shore

obchodný dom = department store, shopping center, shopping mall

potraviny = grocery store

drogéria = 'pharmacy' (store with toothpaste, shampoo, detergent; but without medicine)

hotel = hotel

ubytovňa (or penzión) = accommodation house (like a hotel, but less fancy)

reštaurácia = restaurant

bar = bar

krčma (or hostinec) = pub

úrad = office

úradná budova = office buildingmestský úrad = city office (where city government services are)

radnica = townhall

kino = movie theater

divadlo = theater

dom kultúry (or kultúrny dom) = literally: 'a house of culture' - a building with performance venues

plaváreň = building with a swimming pool

kúpalisko = outdoor area with swimming ppols

nemocnica (or poliklinika) = hospital

lekáreň = pharmacy (where you buy medicine)

škola = school



Lesson 11 - CONTEMPORARY SLOVAK MUSIC 56

univerzita (or vysoká škola) = university

pomník = monument

socha = statue

kostol = church

cintorín = cemetery hrob = grave

hrad = castle

zámok = manor house (similar to a castle, except smaller and does not have grand towers)

park = park

fontána = fountain

CONTEMPORARY SLOVAK MUSIC

Below are some sample music videos that should give you a general sense of contemporary Slovak music.The first examples come from a band called Elán [website], a very well-known soft rock band that has, since

the 1970s, made dozens of songs that everyone in Slovakia knows. These include pieces such as Kráľovná

bielych tenisiek ('The Queen of White Tennis Shoes') [video], Neviem byť sám ('I Don't Know How To Be

Alone') [video], Stužková ('High School Prom') [video], Tanečnice z Lúčnice ('Dancers from Lúčnica')

[video], Zaľúbil sa chlapec ('A Boy Has Fallen In Love') [video], Voda, čo ma drží nad vodou ('The Water

That Keeps Me Above Water') [video], Nie sme zlí ('We Are Not Bad') [video] or Ak nie si moja ('If You Are

Not Mine') [video].

Richard Müller [website], who has a characteristically melancholic tone of voice and is known for very

complex song lyrics, has been producing popular songs for more than twenty years. Examples include

Cigaretka na dva ťahy ('A Cigarette for Two Draws') [video], Milovanie v daždi ('Making Love in the Rain')

[video], Naša láska letí ('Our Love Flies') [video], Spočítaj ma ('Count Me Up') [video], Nebude to také

ľahké ('It Won't Be So Easy') [video], Tlaková níž ('Area of Low Air Pressure ') [video], Holubí kráľ ('The

King of Pigeons') [video], Nočná optika ('Night Optics') [video] or Nahý II. ('Naked II.') [video]. In recent

years, Müller has also been successful with songs in the Czech language, such as Srdce jako kníže Rohan

('Heart Like Earl Rohan') [video] or Baroko ('Barocco') [video]. Below is his breakout hit, Po Schodoch ('Up

the Stairs'), which remains his best-known songs although it does not quite do justice to his vocal range.

Miro 'Meky' Žbirka [website], with a signature nasal singing voice, has had a lot of hits since the 1980s:

Biely kvet ('A White Flower') [video], Dr. Jekyll a Mr. Hyde ('Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde') [video], Atlantída

('Atlantis') [video], Oh me oh my (with Jana Kirschner(ová)) [video], and others. Another of his well-known

songs is 22 dní ('22 Days'), which used to be popular with men who used to have to do compulsory military

service and were counting down days until their return home.

Below, please find a list of other Slovak singers and bands, along with examples of their songs:

Peter Nagy [website] - soft rock, pop: Korálky od Natálky ('Beads from Little Natalie') [video], Profesor

Indigo [video], Krásny zadok ('A Beautiful Ass') [video], Waikiki [video], Poďme sa zachrániť ('Let's Go

http://www.elan.cz/cz/index.php



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zD1V70B_siU



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=druo1EYgSxY



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJlQajk6mTs



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPA9sWKhVIU



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvDdBT-z-A0



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lw2Jlj2jKig



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-GowAfYmCU



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukEFQTUlbVQ



http://richard.muller.sk/



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=En-2OQcwtw0



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niO32rqS3dk



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYy_ZnchKAk



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJyiKj8rgPY



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4sU9wfQf2Y



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhvSZ_QDN9I



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5b_sMLcnLGk



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6MWlO30IZg



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EZA9JYscTY



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-8UfwUml-E



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCQTsTS3CVA



http://www.zbirka.cz/



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5TRSNOwG8A



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqbP95qvxMw



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3vP4DrsAjc&feature=related



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPR_01Tscak



http://www.peternagy.sk/



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_tAqoBGCZg



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xyI42dQFYs



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNDIrIyvQFk



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blI7FzmeP5M




































Lesson 11 - CONTEMPORARY SLOVAK MUSIC 57

Save Ourselves') [video], Zuzka [video], Sme svoji ('We Are Our Own') [video], Kristínka [video], Aj tak

sme stále frajeri ('We Are Still Ballers Anyway') [video], Láska je tu s vami ('Love Is Here With You')

[video], Psy sa bránia útokom ('Dogs Defend Themselves By Attacking') [video], S nohami na stole ('With

My Feet Up on the Table') [video]

Iné Kafe [website] - punk(?), pop: Čumil [video], Ružová záhrada ('Rose Garden') [video], Ráno ('Morning')[video], Ďakujeme vám ('Thank You') [video], Vianoce ('Christmas') [video], Spomienky na budúcnosť

('Memories of the Future') [video], Úspešne zapojení ('Successfully Connected') [video]

No Name [website] - soft rock: Žily ('Veins') [video], Ty a tvoja sestra ('You and Your Sister') [video],

Počkám si na zázrak ('I Will Wait for a Miracle') [video], Nie alebo áno ('No or Yes') [video], Ďakujem, že si

('Thank You for Being') [video]

IMT Smile [website] - soft rock: Veselá pesnička ('A Happy Song') [video], Ľudia nie sú zlí ('People Are Not

Bad') [video], Opri sa o mňa ('Lean Against Me') [video], Kým stúpa dym ('While the Smoke Is Rising')

[video]

Jana Kirschner(ová) [website] - pop: Modrá ('Blue') [video], Líška ('A Fox') [video], V cudzom meste ('In a

Foreign City') [video], Žienka domáca ('A Stay-at-Home Woman') [video]

Desmod [website] - soft rock, pop: Vyrobená pre mňa ('Made For Me') [video], Zhorí všetko, čo mám

('Everything That I Have Will Burn') [video], Stroj ('Machine') [video], Na tebe závislý ('Addicted to You')

[video], Mráz do žíl ('Frost into the Veins') [video]

Horkýže slíže [website] - grunge/punk: Brďokoky [video], Kožky, perie ('Skins, feathers') [video], Shanghai

Cola [video], Atómový kryt ('Atomic Shelter') [video]

Polemic [website] - ska: Komplikovaná ('Complicated') [video], Ona je taká ('She Is Like That') [video],

Škandál ('Scandal') [video]

Pavol Habera a Team [website] - soft rock - Kým ťa mám ('While I Have You') [video], Reklama na ticho

('Advertisement for Silence') [video], Preč, preč ('Away, away') [video], Je to vo hviezdach ('It's in the

Stars') [video], Láska, necestuj tým vlakom ('Love, Don't Travel on That Train') [video], Držím ti miesto ('I

Am Holding This Spot for You') [video], Krátke lásky ('Short Loves') [video]

Robo Grigorov - pop: Modlitba lásky ('A Prayer of Love') [video], Ona je Madona ('She Is Madonna')

[video], Všetci sa zídeme raz v jednej posteli ('We Will All Meet One Day in the Same Bed') [video]

Kontrafakt - rap, hip-hop: Život je boj ('Life Is A Fight') [video], Pravda bolí ('The Truth Hurts') [video], ERA

[video], Dáva mi ('It Is Giving Me') [video]

Gladiátor - rock: Pesnička o Medulienke ('A Song about Medulienka') [video], Kúpim si pekný deň ('I WillBuy a Nice Day') [video]

Rytmus - rap, hip-hop, pop: Príbeh ('Story') [video], Zlatokopky ('Golddiggers') [video], Verejný nepriateľ

('Public Enemy') [video], Jebe ('F--ed Up') [video], Technotronic Flow [video]

Pavol Hammel - pop: ZRPŠ ('Parent-Teacher Association') [video], Učiteľka tanca ('Dance Teacher')

[video]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjFbpd3waSU



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8mc74RZqx0



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46Sucom3f1I



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgBbSgwjJjc



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMKZquwU1ag



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5OaZuc2GLY



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJpxXr_3r6Q



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTx6tmn2Zw0



http://www.inekafe.sk/



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ovKeAYmEzE



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cfg-bHp2OCs



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCqTxDqNc3U



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUkuvM9DMag



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVUfST74_fU



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fwyjd-0c9_Y



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsEQYfiQ7VQ



http://www.no-name.sk/web.php



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GT8mGWwjwpE



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zmgo0fCqHXY



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJw6A3JS6oE



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1ZjutSWdYY



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPSdVMpK_jU



http://www.imtsmile.com/



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_tWGyCK6Ds



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rhrgbY1WQc



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzktICM-J9U



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtaXyj0kPes



http://www.janakirschner.com/



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0IRjEHWGhE



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZwdy-mSuj0



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Y4paTcjyto



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpvwQ8HS5E8



http://www.desmod.sk/



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOCgzXv4Cpw



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LAm3iCwprQ



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dD2VdJx96hA



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qxx9VuBd9vk



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9AOtAYXrI4



http://www.horkyzeslize.sk/



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otPROKmqHpc



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgRDgUmw190



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIt3GqC0-Pc



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fm0qsXqwvlE



http://www.polemic.sk/



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiyoY99ORbs



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awqGiOS6jho



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZPr8_dxRyQ



http://www.team-online.sk/



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MaPOt2xiEpI



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xM0IXHvEB0



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crcYpKaPcTg



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XerIGy7GAbk



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qcsq0ISQCoI



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2mDPXlt7ZM



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqzzX0leFeg



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lz4GGemfaYM



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXh4FQBktNw



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YS3CxbfG3M4



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sluz_dOQF_w



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y52B1ZlU4T0



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qektAyc7kyg



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bItNZ5keDKo



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDhqoYKM5NA



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjlGKxgDwnE



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6iaCnjnq15E



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUXzn-xTeA0



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueIJcEQFxdo



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=runQo_hRRrs



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtFQwwvZ95Q



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDOylJGyrMQ



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6FL3PcHdpY













































































Lesson 12


Fakt? = Really? (literally: 'Fact?')

a tak ďalej (abbreviated as atď.) = and so on

všetko = everything

niečo = something

nič = nothing

všetci = everybody, everyone

niekto = someone

nikto = nobody, no one

doma = at home domov = (to/towards) home

ZÁĽUBY = HOBBIES / I LIKE

Čo rád robíš? Čo rád robíte? = What do you like to to? (when the person you're asking is male; informal

and formal, respectively)

Čo rada robíš? Čo rada r obíte? = What do you like to to? (when the person you're asking is female;

informal and formal, respectively)

Čo radi robíte? = What do you like to do? (either plural 'you', or formal for both sexes)

Note: rád/rada/radi literally means 'gladly.'

Rád / Rada... + present tense = I like to... (use rád if the 'liker' is male, and rada if the 'liker' is female)

... pozerám televíziu. = ...watch TV.

... počúvam hudbu. = ...listen to music.

... hrám futbal. = ...play soccer.

... hrám na gitaru. = ...play the guitar.

... varím halušky. = ...cook halušky.

... pečiem koláč. = ...bake a cake.

... chodím do kina. = ...go to the movie theater.

pozerať (stem: pozerá-) = to watch

počúvať (stem: počúva-) = to listen

spievať (stem: spieva-) = to sing

tancovať (stem: tancuje-) = to dance

variť (stem: varím-) = to cook

piecť (stem: pečie-) = to bake

jesť (stem: je-) = to eat (Note: past tense - ja som jedol, ty si jedla, ...)piť (stem: pije-) = to drink

behať (stem: behá-) = to run, to jog



Lesson 12 - PREPOSITIONS: WITH, WITHOUT, FOR, ABOUT 59

kráčať (stem: kráča-) = to walk

chodiť (stem: chodí-) = to go (somewhere) regularly

spať (stem: spí-) = to sleep

hrať (stem: hrá-) = to play

hrať + accusative case = to play (a game or a sport)hrať na + accusative case = to play (a musical instrument)

jazdiť (stem: jazdí-) = to drive, to ride

fajčiť (stem: fajčí-) = to smoke

televízia = TV

hudba = music

rádio = radio

tanec = dance

pesnička (or pieseň [fem.]) = song

futbal = soccer, (European) football

hokej = hockey

tenis = tennis

volejbal = volleyball

basketbal = basketball

bejzbal = baseball

americký futbal = (American) football

gitara = guitar

klavír = piano

husle = violin

bubon = drum

flauta = flute

trúbka = trumpet

PREPOSITIONS: WITH, WITHOUT, FOR, ABOUT

s (or so) = with

bez = withoutpre = for

o = about (a topic)

Včera som bola nakupovať s mojou kamarátkou. = I went shopping with my (female) friend yesterday.

Neviem, ako sa dostanem do mesta bez fungujúceho auta. = I don't know how I'll get into town without a

functioning car.

Táto vetrovka je môj dar pre Jakuba. = This winter coat is my gift for Jakub.

Moja nová kniha je o histórii. = My new book is about Slovak history.



Lesson 12 - VOCABULARY: NATURE 60

VOCABULARY: NATURE

príroda = nature

prostredie (neuter ) = environmenthora (or vrch) = mountain

pohorie (neuter ) = mountain range

kopec = hill

dolina (or údolie) = valley

les = forest

strom = tree

tráva = grass

kvet = flower

lúka = meadowrieka = river

potok = stream, creek

breh = (river) bank

jazero = lake

kameň = stone

skala = rock (very large piece of stone)

more (neuter ) = sea

oceán = ocean

vlna = wave

pobrežie (neuter ) = shore, coast

ostrov = island

pláž (fem.) = beach

sopka = volcano

jaskyňa = cave

púšť (fem.) = desert

piesok = sand

PAST TENSE CONJUGATION OF VERBS WITH - IEŤ INFINITIVES

In [Lesson 11], we saw how to conjugate verbs in the past tense: First, remove the final -ť. Then, attach the

appropriate suffixes.

If a verb infinitive ends in -ieť, however, we also have to remove the 'i' from '-ieť' in the past tense. Let us

take the verb vedieť ('to know') as an example:



Lesson 12 - UP, DOWN, LEFT, RIGHT 61

vedieť (stem: vie-) = to know

In the past tense, vedieť will conjugate as follows:

ja som vedel (I knew- speaker is male) my sme vedeli (we knew)

ja som vedela (I knew - speaker is female) vy ste vedeli (you knew)ty si vedel (you knew - you are male) oni vedeli (they knew - mixed group, or a group of males)

ty si vedela (you knew - you are female) ony vedeli (they knew - group of females)

on vedel (he knew)

ona vedela (she knew)

ono vedelo (it knew; for neuter - rare)

Note: It will NOT conjugate as 'ja som vediel', 'ty si vediel', and so on.

UP, DOWN, LEFT, RIGHT

hore = up

dole = down

vľavo (or naľavo) = on the left

vpravo (or napravo) = on the right

doľava = to the left

doprava = to the right

The corresponding adjectives are:

horný = upper

dolný (or spodný) = lower

ľavý = left

pravý = right

REFLEXIVE VERBS WITH "SA" AND "SI"

Some verbs in Slovak are reflexive: Their actions refer back to the sentence's subject.

Reflexive verbs come in two flavors:

- One type uses the word 'sa,' which indicates 'oneself' as a direct object of the verb.- The other type uses 'si,' which means 'to oneself.'

As an example of a "sa" reflexive verb, let us take volať sa ('to call oneself'):

non-reflexive: volať (stem: volá-) = to call

reflexive: volať sa (stem: volá- sa) = to call oneself (i.e., to be called), as in "Volám sa Marek."

('My name is Marek.')



Lesson 12 - REFLEXIVE VERBS WITH "SA" AND "SI" 62

Let us conjugate volať sa in the present tense:

ja sa volám my sa voláme

(I call myself) (we call ourselves)

ty sa voláš vy sa voláte

(you call yourself) (you call yourselves)on/ona/ono sa volá oni/ony sa volajú

(he/she/it calls itself) (they call themselves)

In the future tense:

ja sa budem volať my sa budeme volať

(I will call myself) (we will call ourselves)

ty sa budeš volať vy sa budete volať

(you will call yourself) (you will call yourselves)

on/ona/ono sa bude volať oni/ony sa budú volať

(he/she/it will call itself) (they will call themselves)

In the past tense:

ja som sa volal my sme sa volali

(I called myself - speaker is male) (we called ourselves)

ja som sa volala vy ste sa volali

(I called myself - speaker is female) (you called yourselves)

ty si sa volal oni sa volali

(you called yourself - you are male) (they called themselves - mixed group, or a group of males)

ty si sa volala ony sa volali

(you called yourself - you are female) (they called themselves - group of females)

on sa volal

(he called himself)

ona sa volala

(she called herself)

ono sa volalo

(it called itself; for neuter - rare)

For an example of a "si" reflexive verb, let us use myslieť si ('to think [to oneself]'):

non-reflexive: myslieť (stem: myslí-) = to think (as a cognitive process), in sentences such as: "Humans

think, but stones do not."

reflexive: myslieť si (stem: myslí- si) = to think to oneself (i.e., to have a thought) - this is the usual

equivalent to the English 'to think' in sentence such as "I think that this is a good idea."



Lesson 12 - SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS: "ŽE" AND "ČI" 63

Let us now conjugate myslieť si in the present tense:

ja si myslím (I think [to myself]) my si myslíme (we think [to ourselves])

ty si myslíš (you think [to yourself]) vy si myslíte (you think [to yourselves])

on/ona/ono si myslí (he/she/it thinks [to itself]) oni/ony si myslia (they think [to hemselves])

In the future tense:

ja si budem myslieť my si budeme myslieť

(I will think [to myself]) (we will think [to ourselves])

ty si budeš myslieť vy si budete myslieť

(you will think [to yourself]) (you will think [to yourselves])

on/ona/ono si bude myslieť oni/ony si budú myslieť

(he/she/it will think [to itself]) (they will think [to themselves])

In the past tense (note that I am leaving out the i's, as the verb's infinite ends in -ieť):

ja som si myslel my sme si mysleli

(I thought [to myself] - speaker is male) (we thought [to ourselves])

ja som si myslela vy ste si mysleli

(I thought [to myself] - speaker is female) (you thought [to yourselves])

ty si si myslel oni si mysleli

(you thought [to yourself] - you are male) (they thought [to themselves]-mixed grp, or a grp of males)

ty si si mysela ony si mysleli

(you thought [to yourself] - you are female) (they thought [to themselves] - group of females)

on si myslel

(he thought [to himself])

ona si myslela

(she thought [to herself])

ono si myslelo

(it thought [to itself]; for neuter - rare)

SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS: "ŽE" AND "ČI"

že = that (used to subordinate clauses)

vidieť (stem: vidí-) = to see

Vidím, že čítate knihu. = I see that you are reading a book.

Vedeli ste, že tam nikto nehovorí po anglicky? = Did you know that no one spoke English there?

Nemyslím si, že je to dobrý nápad. = I don't think that's a good idea.

byť rád, že = to be glad that...

Som rád, že máš rád polievku. = I am glad that you like the soup. (speaker is male)

Moja dcéra je rada, že čítala knihu. = My sister is glad that she was reading the book.



Lesson 12 - SLOVAK PROVERBS AND SAYINGS 64

či = whether/if

Neviem, či mám dosť peňazí. = I don't know if I have enough money.

Viete, či tu bol môj brat? = Do you know whether my brother was here?

SLOVAK PROVERBS AND SAYINGS

The Slovak language is quite rich in proverbs and saying. Let us take a look at a few:

Bez práce nie sú koláče. = Without work, there are no cakes.

Aká matka, taká Katka. = Like mother, like little Catherine. (similar to 'Like father, like son.')

Mýliť sa je ľudské. = To err is human.

Trafená hus zagágala. = The hit goose has cackled. (hard to translate, similar to 'the pot calling the kettle

black')

Láska ide cez žalúdok. = Love goes through the stomach.Komu niet rady, tomu niet pomoci. = For the person who does not take advice, there is no help.

Čo sa v mladosti naučíš, v starobe akoby si našiel. = What you learn in your youth - in old age, it's as if

you found it.

Opakovanie - matka múdrosti. = Repetition - the mother of wisdom. (somewhat similar to 'Practice makes

perfect.')

Kto chce psa biť, palicu si nájde. = Who wants to beat a dog, will find a stick.

Dobrá rada nad zlato. = Good advice above gold. (i.e., Good advice is worth more than gold.)

Kúpil mačku vo vreci. = He bought a cat in a bag. (means: He didn't know what he was really buying.)

Nechváľ deň pred večerom. = Do not praise the day before the evening.

Pomaly ďalej zájdeš. = Slowly, you'll get further.

Učený nikto z neba nespadol. = Learned, no one has fallen from the heavens.

Keď neprší, aspoň kvapká. = When it does not rain, at least it drips. (means: Something is better than

nothing.)

Iný kraj, iný mrav. = Another country/region, another set of morals.

Dovtedy sa chodí s džbánom po vodu, kým sa nerozbije. = You can only go with a jar to get water, until it

breaks.

In the same way that English fairy tales usually begin with 'Once upon a time', Slovak fairly tales usually

begin with:

Kde bolo, tam bolo, bol raz jeden... = Where there was, there it was, there was once a ...

THE LEGEND OF SVÄTOPLUK

Svätopluk was an important 9th century ruler of the most of Great Moravia ( Veľká Morava), an early state

that - at the peak of its power - covered much of Central Europe. According to a legend that often appears in

Slovak popular culture and history, the old and sick Svätopluk asked his three sons to come to his death

bed, and bring twigs (small tree branches). Svätopluk gave one twig to each of his three sons. "Go ahead



Lesson 12 - LASICA AND SATINSKÝ 65

and break the twigs," he told his sons. Surely enough, breaking a single twig was no problem for any of the

sons. Svätopluk then told his sons to put three twigs together and weave them into one another. "Now go

ahead and break the twigs," he told them. None of the sons could break the three twigs, when they were

weaved together. Svätopluk then told his sons: "You see, sons, if you argue and don't stick together, your

enemies will break you quite easily, just like each of you could break a single twig. However, if you worktogether, no enemy will be able to defeat you." For a couple of years after Svätopluk died, the brothers

indeed worked closely together and were able to withstand enemy raids. Eventually, however, they started

arguing, and Great Moravia ultimately fell to the Franks, a tribe from the north.

For much of its history, the current Slovak capital Bratislava was known under different names, most

notably the Greek Istropolis ('City on the Danube'), the German Pressburg, and the Hungarian Pozsony.

Only in 1919 did its official name become Bratislava - a name that was chosen by Slovak intellectuals. It is

supposed to hark back to the city's first recorded name Brezalauspurc, which is most likely derived from

Predslav, the name of one of Svätopluk's sons. In modern Slovak, the word Bratislava appears to consist of

two parts: brat (meaning 'brother') and sláva (meaning 'glory' or 'fame'). The city's name can therefore be,

very loosely, translated as 'The Glory of the Brothers' - an image that, again, evokes the legend of Svätopluk,

LASICA AND SATINSKÝ

Below, please see an older video of two very well-known Slovak comedians and intellectuals, Milan Lasica

and (the late) Július Satinský. With the vocabulary you have built up in this course so far, you should be

able to understand a good chunk of their (rather absurd) conversation.



Lesson 13 - HYGIENICKÉ POTREBY = ITEMS OF PERSONAL HYGIENE 66

Lesson 13

HYGIENICKÉ POTREBY = ITEMS OF PERSONAL HYGIENE

umývadlo = washbasin

vaňa = bathtub

umývať sa (stem: umýva- sa) = to wash oneself

sprcha = shower

sprchovať sa (stem: sprchuje- sa) = to shower (oneself)

zubná kefka = toothbrush

zubná pasta = toothpaste

zubná niť = dental floss

žiletka = razor

holiaci strojček = electric shaver

holiť sa (stem: holí- sa) = to shave (oneself)

voda po holení = aftershave (literally: water after shaving)

mydlo = soap

šampón = shampoo

sprej = spray

deodorant = deodorant

parfém (or voňavka) = perfume

SOME USEFUL VERBS

pýtať sa (stem: pýta- sa) = to ask

pracovať (stem: pracuje-) = to work

nudiť sa (stem: nudí- sa) = to be bored

meškať (stem: mešká-) = to be late; to be running late

čakať (stem: čaká-) = to wait

otvoriť (stem: otvára-) = to open

zatvoriť (stem: zatvára-) = to close

otvorený = open (adj.)

zatvorený = closed (adj.)

otváracie hodiny = opening hours

vedieť (stem: vie-) = to know (meaning: to possess knowledge of, to be able to do)

poznať (stem: pozná-) = to know (meaning: to be familiar with, to have been acquainted with)

Note: vedieť is like the Spanish verb saber , the French savoir , the Italian sapere, or the German wissen,

whereas poznať is like the Spanish conocer , the French connaître, the Italian conoscere, or the German

kennen.

učiť (stem: učí-) = to teach

učiť sa (stem: učí- sa) = to learn



Lesson 13 - DIRECT OBJECT (ACCUSATIVE CASE) WITH ADJECTIVE + NOUN 67

vlastniť (stem: vlastní-) = to own

pamätať si (stem: pamätá- si) = to remember

DIRECT OBJECT (ACCUSATIVE CASE) WITH ADJECTIVE + NOUN

In [Lesson 8], we learned how to use the direct object with a single noun. To use an adjective + a noun, you

should follow the rules outlined below. In all cases, nouns will take same forms as we learned in [Lesson 8]

but adjectives have to be declined as shown here.

Masculine gender: If the direct object is a person or an animal, drop the final -ý and use the -ého suffix in

the adjective instead. If the direct object is neither an animal, nor a person, the accusative case is the same

s the nominative (basic subject) form.

nominative case (subject) accusative case (direct object)

malý syn = little son malého synaveľký dom = big house veľký dom

Examples:

Moja suseda má malého syna. = My (female) neighbor has a little son.

Vidím veľký dom. = I see a big house.

Feminine gender: Replace the final -á by the -ú suffix in the adjective.


pekná dcéra = beautiful daughter peknú dcéru

chutná polievka = tasty soup chutnú polievku

Examples:

Jozefova teta má veľmi peknú dcéru. = Jozef's aunt has a very beautiful daughter.

Jeho vnučka je chutnú polievku. = His granddaughter is eating a tasty soup.

Neuter gender: No change from the nominative case form in either the adjective or the noun.


studené pivo = cold beer studené pivo

drahé auto = expensive car drahé autoExamples:

Prosím si studené pivo. = I would like to have a cold beer.

Môj šéf vlastní veľmi drahé auto. = My boss own a very expensive car.

DIRECT OBJECT (ACCUSATIVE CASE) OF PERSONAL PRONOUNS

To use personal pronouns as the direct object in a sentence, you will have to use either the short accusative

form, or the long accusative form.



Lesson 13 - EXPRESSING CERTAINTY 68

Usually, you will use the short accusative form when the direct object comes right before or right after the

main verb (or if it is separated by some common auxiliary words). By contrast, the long accusative form is

usually used when the direct object is separated from the main verb by one or more words. Occasionally,

you can also use the long form for emphasis, even if it is immediately preceded or followed by the main verb.

See the examples below the table.nominative case (subject) short form accusative case (direct obj.) long form accusative case (direct obj.)

ja = I ma mňa

ty = you (sg. informal) ťa teba

on = he ho jeho

ona = she ju ju

ono = for neuter (rare) ho jeho

my = we nás nás

vy = you (pl., or sg.formal) vás vás

oni, ony = they ich ich

Vieš, že ťa milujem. = You know that I love you.

Teba nikto nikdy nemal rád. = Nobody has ever liked you.

Videl som ju pred obchodom, ale jeho som tam vôbec nevidel. = I saw her in front of the store, but I did

not see him there at all.

Budem ich čakať pred kostolom. = I will be waiting for them in front of the church.

Nemilujem jeho, ale milujem teba. = I don't love him, but I love you. (emphasis on 'him' and 'you')

Dnes vás budem učiť po slovensky. = Today, I will be teaching you Slovak.

EXPRESSING CERTAINTY

určite = surely, certainly (expresses near-100% probability)

iste = surely, certainly (can express certaintly, but usually used to oblige to a request); as in: 'Can you please

open the window?' 'Certainly.'

pravdepodobne (or asi) = probably

možno = maybe

určite nie = surely notistý = sure, certain

byť si istý = to be sure

Pamätáš si, či tam bude aj jej priateľ? = Do you remember if her boyfriend will also be there?

Pravdepodobne, ale nie som si celkom istý. = Probably, but I am not quite sure.

Tá žena ho možno vôbec nepozná. = That woman maybe does not know him at all.

snáď = hopefully

údajne (or, informally, vraj) = reportedly, allegedly

zrejme = apparently

očividne = obviously



Lesson 13 - WORDS USEFUL IN CHRONOLOGICAL NARRATION 69

Očividne nevieš, kto má pravdu. = Obviously you don't know who is correct. (literally: ...who has the truth.)

Snáď si nemyslíš, že obed budem variť ja. = Hopefully you don't think I'll be cooking lunch.

Bol to zrejme on, kto otvoril horné okno. = It was apparently him who opened the upper window.

Ten zločinec údajne nikdy nebol v Bratislave. = That criminal was reportedly never in Bratislava.

Vraj bol veľmi hladný, ale nemal rád zeleninovú polievku. = He was allegedly very hungry, but did notlike vegetable soup.

WORDS USEFUL IN CHRONOLOGICAL NARRATION

najprv = at first

potom = then, afterwards

neskôr = later

nakoniec = in the end, finally (meaning 'in the end')

Najprv som otvoril fľašu, ale potom som ju zatvoril. = First I opened the bottle, but then I closed it. Neskôr som sa umýval v kúpeľni. = Later, I washed myself in the bathroom.

Nakoniec som sa učil po nemecky. = In the end, I was studying (learning) German.

konečne = finally, at last

No konečne! = Oh, finally! (Note: no can sometimes mean the same as ale ['but'])

Konečne si tu, milý brat - dlho som ťa čakala. = Finally you are here, dear brother - I've been waiting for

you for a long time.

skoro = early (can also mean 'almost')

príliš skoro = too early, too soon

neskoro = late

príliš neskoro = too late

čoskoro = soon

Je len osem hodín - ste tu naozaj príliš skoro. = It is only eight o'clock - you are here really too early.

Dnes trochu meškám - asi tam budem príliš neskoro. = Today, I am running a little late - I'll probably be

there too late.

Čoskoro budeme vedieť, prečo si nebola doma. = Soon we will know why you were not at home.

zrazu = suddenly

okamžite (also hneď or ihneď) = immediately

takmer (also skoro) = almost

ešte raz = once again, one more time, once more

znovu, znova, zase, zasa, zas, opäť = again

Som rád, že ťa opäť vidím. = I am glad to see you again.

Znovu ti hovorím, že o športe nič neviem. = I am telling you again that I don't know anything about sports.

Zase budeme v divadle príliš neskoro. = Again, we'll be at the theater too late.

už = already; yet (in questions)



Lesson 13 - SLOVAK SPORTS 70

zatiaľ = so far

ešte = yet (in affirmative sentences)

stále = still

medzičasom (or medzitým) = meanwhile, in the meantime

Videl si už ten film? = Have you seen that movie yet? Už som ho videl. = I have already seen it.

Zatiaľ som videl tri jeho filmy. = So far, I have seen three of his movies.

Ešte ťa nevidím. Kde si? = I don't see you yet. Where are you?

Stále neviem, prečo si včera nepracoval. = I still don't know, why you weren't working yesterday.

Medzičasom som chodil hore dole námestím. = In the meantime, I was walking up and down the square.

SLOVAK SPORTS

ICE HOCKEY: The most popular spectator sport, and a major national obsession, in Slovakia is ice hockey(ľadový hokej). The Slovak national ice hockey team has celebrated a few major successes since the

country became independent in 2003. Most notably, we became World Champions at the 2002 World Ice

Hockey Championship in Gothenburg, Sweden. We also got the silver in the 2002 World Championship in

Sankt Petersburg, Russia and the bronze in the 2003 championship in Helsinki, Finland. Other major

successes include a surprisingly good 6th place in the 1994 Olympic Games in Lillehammer, Norway. Here's

a very well done fan video that celebrates the successes of Slovak ice hockey:

As of this writing (May 2011), the World Ice Hockey Championship is for the first time being held in Slovakia.

Games are taking place both in Bratislava and Košice. Here's a short video that features Slovak NHL

(National Hockey League, in the US and Canada) players that was meant to support Slovakia's bid to host

the World Championship:

Many Slovak players have been very successful in the National Hockey League (NHL) in the United States

and Canada: The most successful players include Peter Šťastný [wiki], Stan Mikita [wiki], Marián Hossa

[wiki], Marián Gáborík [wiki], Miroslav Šatan [wiki], Žigmund 'Ziggy' Pálffy [wiki], Jozef Stümpel [wiki],

Zdeno Chára [wiki], Robert Švehla [wiki], Pavol Demitra [wiki], Richard Zedník [wiki] and Ľubomír

Višnovský [wiki].

SOCCER: Soccer (futbal) is the second most popular spectator sport. The Slovak national team has,

historically, not been particularly good, although it has had more success recently. It participated, for

instance, in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, where the team beat the defending champions Italy:

KAYAKING AND CANOEING: Slovaks also often get medal in various water sports such as kayaking and

canoeing. The video below shows Michal Martikán, one of the world's most successful kayakers, after he

won the gold medal at the Beijing Olympics in 2008

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_%C5%A0%C5%A5astn%C3%BD



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stan_Mikita



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mari%C3%A1n_Hossa



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mari%C3%A1n_G%C3%A1bor%C3%ADk



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miroslav_%C5%A0atan



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zigmund_Palffy



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jozef_Stumpel



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zdeno_Ch%C3%A1ra



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Svehla



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pavol_Demitra



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Zednik



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lubomir_Visnovsky

















Lesson 14 - FINANCIAL AND ECONOMIC TERMS 71

Lesson 14

FINANCIAL AND ECONOMIC TERMS

peniaze = money

cena = price

cenovka = price tag

účet = (bank) account, can also mean 'bill' (as in, how much you have to pay)

šéf = boss

zamestnanec (m), zamestnankyňa (f) = employee

zákazník (m), zákazníčka (f) = customer

na plný úväzok = full-time (literally: 'on full commitment')

na polovičný úväzok = part-time (literally: 'on half commitment')

tovar = good(s)

služba = service

dopyt = demand

ponuka = supply, offer

zľava = discount

plat (or mzda) = salary

príjem = income

dôchodok = pension

zisk (or profit) = profitnáklady = costs

poistenie = insurance

pôžička (or úver ) = loan

hypotéka = mortgage

úrok = interest (financial term)

faktúra = invoice

objednávka = order

poukážka = voucher

daň = tax

daň z príjmu = income tax (literally: tax from income)

rovná daň = flat tax

daňová sadzba = tax rate

daňové priznanie = tax return (literally: tax admission)

daň z pridanej hodnoty (usually abbreviated as dph, or colloquially dépéháčka) = value-added tax (similar

to a sales tax)

zar ábať (stem: zarába-) = to earn

platiť (stem: platí-) = to paykupovať (stem: kupuje-) = to buy

nakupovať (stem: nakupuje-) = to shop



Lesson 14 - ALSO 72

predávať (stem: predáva-) = to sell

ALSO

tiež = also, too (meaning 'also'); usually located next to the verbaj = also, too; usually located next to words other than the verb

nielen..., ale aj... = not only..., but also...

Ja som tiež platil v eurách, ale nemal som ich dosť. = I also paid in euros, but I didn't have enough (of

them).

Aj moja manželka vie, prečo je to tak. = My wife also knows why it is so.

V obchodnom dome budú predávať nielen nábytok, ale aj oblečenie a autá. = In the department store,

they will sell not only furniture but also clothing and cars.

HYPOTHETICAL CONDITIONAL: WOULD + NOUN

To form the hypothetical conditional (equivalent to the English 'would + verb') in Slovak, we conjugate the

verb as though it was in the past tense and insert the word by. Some examples:

byť = to be ja som bol = I was ja by som bol = I would be

písať = to write on písal = he was writing on by písal = he would be writing / he would write

čítať = to read vy ste čítali = you were reading vy by ste čítali = you would be reading / you would read

Let us now learn how to say something like this:

If he were smart, he would be writing a book.

In Slovak, you should use keby (rather than ak) to introduce the if-clause: In the if-clause, furthermore, the

verb should be in the past tense.

The verb in the conditional clause follows the by rule outlined above.

Keby bol múdry, písal by knihu. = If he were smart, he would be writing a book.Keby som mal peniaze, nepredával by som dom. = If I had money, I wouldn't be selling the house.

Ak - the regular 'if' - should be used when the sentence does not involve a conditional.

Ak budem mať čas, budem variť obed a možno aj večeru. = If I have time, I will cook lunch and maybe

also dinner.

Ak vieš, koľko mám rokov, potom určite vieš, koľko má rokov aj môj brat. = If you know how old I am,

then you certainly know how old my brother is too.



Lesson 14 - MODAL VERBS 73

MODAL VERBS

potrebovať (stem: potrebuje-; 3rd pers. plural: oni/ony potrebujú) = to need

Potrebujem vedieť, kedy v pondelok ráno budeš v práci. = I need to know when you will be at work onMonday morning.

Minulý týždeň sme varili polievku, a preto sme potrebovali zeleninu, soľ a vodu. = Last week we were

cooking soup, and therefore we needed vegetables, salt and water.

Nebudeme potrebovať príliš veľa peňazí? = Won't we need too much money?

chcieť (stem: chce-; 3rd pers. plural: oni/ony chcú) = to want

Naozaj som to všetko nechcel čítať. = I really did not want to read all that.

Čo budeš chcieť robiť neskôr? = What will you want to do later?

Chcel som novú motorku, ale nechcel som kupovať nič drahé. = I wanted a new motorbike, but I did notwant to buy anything too expensive.

The conditional form of chcieť (i.e.: chcel(a) by som, chcel(a) by si,...) is equivalent to the English 'would

like:'

Čo by si chcel na obed? Kuracie mäso alebo uhorkový šalát? = What would you like for lunch? Chicken

meat or cucumber salad?

Chcel by som hovoriť veľmi dobre po slovensky, ale stále sa iba učím . = I would like to speak very

good Slovak, but I am still only learning.

Nechcel by som byť príliš bohatý, lebo môj život by nebol jednoduchý. = I would not like to be too rich,

because my life would not be easy/simple.

mať + verb infinitive = to be supposed to

Zajtra mám ísť do Bratislavy, ale ešte nemám lístok. = Tomorrow, I am supposed to go to Bratislava, but

I don't have a ticket yet.

Mal som tam byť už v nedeľu v noci, ale meškal vlak. = I was supposed to be there already on Sunday at

night, but the train was late.

The conditional form of mať + verb infinitive (i.e.: mal(a) by som, mal(a) by si,...) is equivalent to the

English 'should' or 'ought to':

Naozaj by som už mal ísť domov - je veľmi neskoro. = I really should go home already - it is very late.

Pozajtra mám dôležitú skúšku. Mal by som sa učiť. = The day after tomorrow, I have an important exam.

I should be studying.

musieť (stem: musí-; 3rd pers. plural: oni/ony musia) = must, to have to

Nemusíte nič robiť, lebo všetko je už hotové. = You don't have to do anything, because everything is

already done.



Lesson 14 - SUBORDINATE CLAUSES: WHICH, THAT AND WHO 74

Teraz ma skutočne musíš počúvať - hovorím niečo veľmi dôležité. = Now you must really listen to me - I

am saying something very important.

Moja sesternica bude musieť čoskoro ísť do lekárne, lebo potrebuje nové lieky. = My female cousin

will soon have to go to the pharmacy, because she needs new medicine.

smieť (stem: smie-; 3rd pers. plural: oni/ony smú) = may, to be permitted/allowed to

Je tu príliš horúco. Smiem otvoriť okno? = It is too hot in here. May I open the window?

Nesmiem sa hrať na počítači, pretože sa zle učím. = I am not allowed to (I must not) play on the computer

because I am getting bad grades (literally: because I am learning poorly).

Kedy sa konečne budem smieť hrať vonku s kamarátmi? = When will I finally be allowed to play outside

with friends?

Nesmel som nič povedať. = I was not allowed to say anything.

Note: Please use nesmieť to express 'must not.' Nemusieť means 'not to have to', 'not to be required to.'

môcť (stem: môže-; 3rd pers. plural: oni/ony môžu; past tense: ja som mohol/mohla, ty si mohol/mohla,

on mohol, ona mohla...) = can, to be able to (ability or possibility, rather than knowledge)

Ak chceš, môžeme mať na večeru rybu so zemiakmi. = If you want, we can have fish with potatoes for

dinner.

Nemohla už bohužiaľ nič robiť. Všetko bolo stratené. = She could unfortunately not do anything

anymore. All was lost.

Mohol by som ísť neskorším vlakom, prosím? = Could I go on a later train, please? (speaker is male)

Moja ruka je stále zlomená, ale dúfam, že čoskoro budem môcť znovu písať. = My arm is still broken,

but I hope that I will soon be able to write again.

SUBORDINATE CLAUSES: WHICH, THAT AND WHO

The pronoun ktorý behaves just like an adjective, and means 'which.' It should be distinguished from aký,

which is closer in meaning to 'what kind of' or 'what' + noun. (Note, however, that ktorý and aký can

sometimes be interchangeable, just like the English 'which' and 'what.')

Ktoré jedlo máte rád? = Which meal do you like? Neviem, ktorú úlohu mám robiť okamžite. = I don't know which task I am supposed to work on (to do)

immediately.

Ktorý can also be used to introduce a subordinate clause - much like the English 'which', 'that' (when roughly

equivalent to 'which') or 'who':

Polievka, ktorú si včera varila, bola veľmi chutná . = The soup that you were cooking yesterday was very

tasty.

Človek, ktorého som stretol, nebol vôbec priateľský. = The man (person) that I met was not friendly at

all.



Lesson 14 - INDEFINITE PRONOUNS: EVERY, SOME, NO, ANOTHER 75

Often - especially in colloquial speech - you can also replace ktorý by čo to introduce a subordinate clause:

Ten človek, čo bol včera v škole, tam vôbec nemal byť. = The man, who was in the school yesterday,

was not supposed to be there at all.Chcem také auto, čo bude dobre fungovať. = I want (such) a car that will function well.

INDEFINITE PRONOUNS: EVERY, SOME, NO, ANOTHER

každý = every, each

nejaký, niektorý = some (Note: nejaký is more general, while niektorý is close to 'some' that means 'one of

a given set')

žiadny = no

Každý študent, ktorý sa tu učí po slovensky, už vie hovoriť veľmi dobre. = Every student, who islearning Slovak here, already know how to speak very well.

Chcela by som nejakú dobrú knihu. Poznáš nejakú? = I would like some good book. Do you know any?

Žiadny lekár nevie vyliečiť každú chorobu. Niektoré sú, bohužiaľ, príliš nebezpečné. = No doctor

knows how to cure every disease. Some are, unfortunately, too dangerous.

iný = another (meaning 'a different one')

ďalší (masc.), ďalšia (fem.), ďalšie (neut.) = another (meaning 'one more'), the next one

Nemám rád zeleninovú polievku. Máte inú? = I don't like vegetable soup. Do you have another one

(meaning: a different one)?

Potrebujeme ďalšiu pôžičku. Už nemáme dosť peňazí. = We need another loan. We don't have enough

money anymore.




Lesson 15


zároveň = at the same time

naraz (or súčasne) = concurrently, at the same time, simultaneously

spolu = together

samostatne (or osobitne) = separately

naschvál = deliberately, on purpose

nechtiac = accidentally, unintendedly, unwittingly (i.e., the opposite of naschvál)

náhodou = by coincidence, accidentally; also 'by any chance' in questions

keby niečo = just in case

Daj mi pokoj! = Leave me alone! (literally: 'Give me peace/quiet.')Poďme! = Let's go!

Ani náhodou! = No way! (literally: 'Not even by coincidence.')

USEFUL VERBS

predpokladať (stem: predpokladá-) = to assume

tvrdiť (stem: tvrdí-) = to claim

potvrdiť (stem: potvrdzuje-) = to confirm

veriť (stem: verí-) = to believe

dôverovať (stem: dôveruje-) = to trust

čakať (stem: čaká-) = to wait

očakávať (stem: očakáva-) = to expect

dokázať (stem: dokáže-) = to manage (to do sth), also 'to prove'

tušiť (stem: tuší-) = to have a feeling (that)..., to have a inkling (that)..., to have a sense..., to have an idea...

skúšať (stem: skúša-) = to try

snažiť sa (stem: snaží- sa) = to try hard, to strive (to do sth), to make an effort

zistiť (stem: zisťuje-) = to find out

mýliť sa (stem: mýli- sa) = to be wrong

uskutočniť sa (stem: uskutočniť- sa) = to take place (about events)

zúčastniť sa (stem: zúčastňuje- sa) = to participate, to take part

vyhrať (stem: vyhráva-) = to win

prehrať (stem: prehráva-) = to lose (the opposite of 'to win')

hľadať (stem: hľadá-) = to look for, to search

nájsť (stem: nachádza-, past: našiel/našla som) = to find

stratiť (stem: stráca-) = to lose (the opposite of 'to find')



Lesson 15 - THE 'SVOJ' POSSESSIVE PRONOUN 77

THE 'SVOJ' POSSESSIVE PRONOUN

We learned how to use possessive pronouns in [Lesson 2]. Please note that, in Slovak, we generally use the

possessive pronoun svoj (m), svoja (f ), svoje (n) when the possessed object belongs to the subject of thesentence. In this way, we can distinguish between:

Náš otec stratil svoju vetrovku. = Our father lost his jacket. (the jacket was his own)

Náš otec stratil jeho vetrovku. = Our father lost his jacket. (the jacket belonged to some other man)

When you want to emphasize that something is one's own, you can use the adjective vlastný ('own'):

Predpokladám, že máš aj svoj vlastný názor. Alebo sa mýlim? = I assume you also have your own

opinion. Or am I wrong?

Some more examples:

Skúšal som vyhrať štátnu lotériu, ale stratil som svoj lístok. = I was trying to win the state lottery, but I

had lost my ticket.

Neverím, že ten bohatý obchodník naozaj stratil svoju peňaženku. = I don't believe that that wealthy

businessman has really lost her wallet.

Vždy som sa snažil hovoriť svojim priateľom len pravdu. = I have always tried to only tell the truth to my

friends.

THIS, THAT, THAT OVER THERE IN THE ACCUSATIVE CASE

In [Lesson 3], we learned how to use 'this', 'that' and 'that over there' in Slovak. Here, we'll see how to use

these words when they are part of the direct object. As usual, we need to use the accusative case. Notice

the patterns you see below:

gender: masculine feminine neuter nominative accusative nominative accusative nominative accusative

(subject) (direct object) (subject) (direct object) (subject) (direct object)

this tento tohto táto túto toto toto

that ten toho tá tú to to

that over there tamten tamtoho tamtá tamtú tamto tamto

Chcel by som nájsť tú knihu, ktorú si čítal minulý rok. = I would like to find that ('the') book that you read

last year.

Mohli by ste zistiť meno tamtoho starého muža? = Could you find out the name of that old man over

there?



Lesson 15 - POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS IN THE ACCUSATIVE CASE 78

Hľadáme toto auto už dva roky, ale stále ho nevieme nájsť. = We have been looking for this car for two

years already, but we still can't find it.

Nečakáte náhodou tamtú ženu alebo tohto mladého pána? = Aren't you, by any chance, waiting for that

woman over there or this young gentleman?

POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS IN THE ACCUSATIVE CASE

When possessive pronouns appear as part of the direct object, they need to be put into the accusative case.

The relevant forms are:

If direct object is mascul ine, singular :

nominative (subject) accusative (direct object)

my, mine môj môjho (for persons and animals), môj (for everything else)

your, yours tvoj tvojho (for persons and animals), tvoj (for everything else)his, his, its jeho jeho

her, hers jej jej

our, ours náš nášho (for persons and animals), náš (for everything else)

your, yours váš vášho (for persons and animals), váš (for everything else)

their, theirs ich ich

'svoj' svoj svojho (for persons and animals), svoj (for everything else)

If direct object is feminine, singular :


my, mine moja moju

your, yours tvoja tvoju

his, his, its jeho jeho

her, hers jej jej

our, ours naša našu your, yours vaša vašu


'svoj' svoja svoju

If direct object is neuter, sing ular : (Note: In this case, the forms do not change.)


my, mine moje moje

your, yours tvoje tvoje

his, his, its jeho jeho



Lesson 15 - ALTHOUGH, DESPITE, ETC. 79

her, hers jej jej

our, ours naše naše

your, yours vaše vaše


'svoj' svoje svoje

Some examples:

Pri dome vidím naše zelené auto, tvoju motorku a ich modrý bicykel . = Next to the house, I see our

green car, your motorcycle and their blue bike.

Poznáte už nášho syna, alebo ste zatiaľ stretli iba našu dcéru? = Do you already know our son, or have

you only met our daughter so far?

ALTHOUGH, DESPITE, ETC.

napriek = despite, in spite of, notwithstanding

kvôli = due to... ('bad' causes)

vďaka = thanks to... ('good' causes)

bez ohľadu na... = regardless of..., irrespective of...

každopádne (or v každom prípade) = in any case, in any event

Napriek svojmu krehkému zdraviu sa zúčastnil maratónu. = Despite his fragile health, he participate in

the marathon.

Kvôli zlému počasiu sa koncert bude musieť uskutočniť neskôr. = Due to bad weather, the concert will

have to take place later.

Vďaka svojej rýchlosti dokázal vyhrať každý svoj pretek. = Thanks to his speed, he managed to win

every one of his races.

Chcem túto kvalitnú práčku, bez ohľadu na cenu. = I want this quality washing machine, regardless of

(its) price.

V každom prípade musíme najprv zaplatiť nájomné. = In any case, we must pay the rest first.Každopádne tuším, ktorá odpoveď je správna. = In any case, I have an idea about which answer is the

right one.

hoci = although, even though

napriek tomu, že... = despite the fact that...

aj keby = even if (Note: keby is followed by the past tense form of the verb, as shown in [Lesson 14])

aj keď = even when

aj tak = even so, anyway

tak či tak = anyway (literally: 'so or so')



Lesson 15 - USING 'EVEN' FOR EMPHASIS 80

Hoci nikdy nebol dobrý študent, vždy poznal správnu odpoveď. = Although he was never a good

student, he always knew the correct answer.

Napriek tomu, že sa na kongrese nezúčastnil, očakával, že ho všetci budú voliť. = Despite the fact that

he did not participate in the congress, he expected that everyone would be voting for him.

Aj keby ten dom stál tri milióny, kúpil by som ho. = Even if that house cost three million, I would buy it.Aj keď ho šéf požiadal, stále nič nechcel robiť. = Even when (his) boss asked him, he still didn't want to

do anything.

Nevadí, že sme prehrali. Aj tak sme boli lepší . = It doesn't matter that we have lost. We were better,

anyway.

Tak či tak zajtra budem potrebovať nejaké peniaze. = I'll need some money tomorrow anyway.

USING 'EVEN' FOR EMPHASIS

dokonca = even (in affirmative, positive sentences)ani = even (in negative sentence)

Ten chlap ani nevie, koľko má jeho vlastný syn rokov. = That guy does not even know how old his own

son is.

Tú pieseň nielen pozná, ale dokonca ju vie hrať na gitare. = Not only does he/she know that song,

but he/she can even play it on the guitar.



Lesson 16 - USEFULLY EVASIVE WORDS AND PHRASES 81

Lesson 16

USEFULLY EVASIVE WORDS AND PHRASES

Learn these phrases and you'll sound just like a Slovak politician:

Bez komentára. = No comment.

Nemôžem to potvrdiť, ani vyvrátiť. = I can neither confirm, nor deny (literally: refute) that.

Je predčasné o tom hovoriť. = It is premature to talk about that.

NEWS-RELATED AND POLITICAL VOCABULARY

správy = news

správa = message, report

noviny = newspaper

denník = daily newspaper

tlač (fem.) = press

tlačová konferencia (also tlačová beseda, or colloquially tlačovka) = press conference

fotoaparát = photo camera

kamera = video camera

mikrofón = microphone

novinár , novinárka (also redaktor , redaktorka) = journalist (m, f )reportér , reportérka = reporter (m, f )

hovorca (masc.), hovorkyňa = spokesman, spokeswoman

rozhovor (also interview) = interview

otázka = question

odpoveď (fem.) = answer

pýtať sa (stem: pýta- sa) = to ask (questions about sth)

odpovedať (stem: odpovedá-) = to answer

žiadať (stem: žiada-) = to request, to ask for

vyhlásenie (neut.) = statement

príhovor = (formal) speech, usually short

prejav = (formal) speech, usually longer

debata = debate

prehľad = overview

zhrnutie (neut.) = summary

možnosť (fem.) = possibility, choice

voľby = election

hlas = a vote (also, a voice)

voliť (stem: volí-) = to vote

ponuka = offer



Lesson 16 - DESCRIBING ABSTRACT PROPERTIES: -NESS, -ITY 82

ponúkať (stem: ponúka-) = to offer

prijať (stem: prijíma-) = to accept

odmietnuť (stem: odmieta-) = to refuse

zamietnuť (stem: zamieta-) = to decline, to refuse formallyň

podpora = support (noun)podporovať (stem: podporuje-) = to support

rokovať (stem: rokuje-) = to negotiate

súhlasiť (stem: súhlasí-) = to agree

nesúhlasiť (stem: nesúhlasí-) = to disagree

potvrdiť (stem: potvrdzuje-) = to confirm

popierať (stem: popiera-) = to deny

predpovedať (stem: predpovedá-) = to predict

vymenovať (stem: vymenúva-) = to appoint (someone into office)

odvolať (stem: odvoláva-) = to recall (a politician from his office), to take back (what one has said)

odstúpiť (stem: odstupuje-); also rezignovať (stem: rezignuje-) = to step down, to resign

DESCRIBING ABSTRACT PROPERTIES: -NESS, -ITY

We can use the suffix -osť to turn adjectives into abstract properties.

Please note that all nouns that end in -osť are of the feminine gender.

schopný = able schopnosť = ability

úprimný = sincere úprimnosť = sincerity

unavený = tired unavenosť = tiredness

blízky = near, close (adj.) blízkosť = proximity

skromný = humble, modest skromnosť = humility, modesty

náročný = difficult náročnosť = difficulty

zelený = green zelenosť = greenness

presný = precise presnosť = precision

minulý = past (adj.) minulosť = the past (literally: 'pastness')

budúci = future (adj.) budúcnosť = the future (literally: 'futureness')



Lesson 16 - NOUNS THAT DESCRIBE ACTIVITIES: THE '-NIE' SUFFIX 83

NOUNS THAT DESCRIBE ACTIVITIES: THE '-NIE' SUFFIX

We can use the suffix -nie to turn verbs into nouns that describe activities. Using the -nie prefix in Slovak is

roughly equivalent to using -ing at the end of English nouns.In many cases, you can simply remove the final -ť from the verb infinitive, and replace it by -nie. This is true

especially if the infinitive ends in -ať. (See examples below.)

Important: All nouns that end in -nie are neuter .

písať (stem: píše-) = to write písanie = writing (noun)

čítať (stem: číta-) = to read čítanie = reading (noun)

ďakovať (stem: ďakuje-) = to thank ďakovanie = thanking (noun)

Often, when the infinitive ends in -iť, the corresponding noun will end in -enie rather than -anie:šíriť = to spread, to disseminate šírenie = spreading (noun)

svietiť = to shine, to be alight svietenie = shining, being alight (noun)

Podľa mňa je čítanie veľmi nudné. = In my opinion (literally: 'according to me'), reading is very boring.

PREPOSITIONS AND THE ACCUSATIVE CASE OF PERSONAL PRONOUNS

Later in this lesson, we will talk about the propositions that are followed by the accusative case. When

personal pronouns are preceded by a preposition that requires the accusative case, the accusative case

form of these pronouns is somewhat different from the standalone accusative form (which we covered in

[Lesson 13]). See here:

nominative case (subject) accusative case after prepositions (direct object)

ja = I mňa

ty = you (sg. informal) teba

on = he neho

ona = she ňu

my = we nás

vy = you (pl., or sg. formal) vás

my = oni, ony nich

PREPOSITIONS ASSOCIATED WITH THE ACCUSATIVE CASE

The prepositions pre ('for') and cez ('through'), as well as bez ohľadu na ('regardless of', 'irrespective of')

are always followed by the words in the accusative case:

Túto hračku som kúpil nielen pre neho, ale aj pre ňu a pre vášho syna. = I bought this toy not only for

him, but also for her and for your son.



Lesson 16 - GIVEN..., GIVEN THAT... 84

Náš autobus musí ísť najprv cez nebezpečný most a potom cez veľkú križovatku. = Our bus must first

go though a dangerous bridge and then though a large crossroads.

Bez ohľadu na vašu schopnosť tu byť načas, musíte zajtra prísť do práce. = Regardless of your ability

to be here on time, you have to come to work tomorrow.

Other prepositions that are, in some specific circumstances, followed by the accusative case are na

('on','onto'), pod ('under'), nad ('above'), za ('behind','[in exchange] for'), pred ('in front of') and medzi

('between'). We use the accusative case with these propositions when they express direction - such as when

an object is moving to a new position (say, 'onto' a table, or 'into' the trash can). By contrast, when the

prepositions simply describe the current position on an object, they are followed by other grammatical cases

- ones we have not covered yet. When the accusative case is used, the question that is implicitly being

answered is 'Where to?' rather than 'Where at?'

Zelenú knihu som položil na tamtú malú stoličku. = I put the green book on that small chair over there.

Novinár si odložil svoj mikrofón pod stôl. = The journalist put away his microphone under the desk.

Mal by si sa pozerať trochu nad okno, ale pod strechu: Tam to je! = You should be looking a little above

the window, but below the roof: There it is!

Určite sa utiekol skryť za tú vysokú stenu. = Surely, he ran away to hide behind the that tall wall.

Vymenil som svoju obľúbenú hračku za novú počítačovú hru. = I exchanged my favorite toy for a new

computer game.

Svoje auto zaparkovali medzi náš dom a vašu záhradu. = They parked their car between our house and

your garden.

GIVEN..., GIVEN THAT...

vzhľadom na... = given ... (followed by a noun)

Vzhľadom na neskorý príchod vlaku asi nebudem schopný prísť dostatočne skoro. = Given the late

arrival of the train, I probably won't be able to come early enough.

keďže = given that... (followed by a clause)

Keďže vlak príliš dlho meškal, žiadny pasažier nestihol večerné predstavenie. = Given that the train

was too late, no passanger made the evening performance.



Lesson 17 - N-TIMES: ONCE, TWICE, THREE TIMES, ... 85

Lesson 17

N-TIMES: ONCE, TWICE, THREE TIMES, ...

In [Lesson 4], we learned how to use cardinal numerals, such as one, three, three, twenty-five, etc.

To say, for instance, that something has happened n times, we can combine the corresponding cardinal

numeral n with the suffix -krát ('times').

jedenkrát (or raz) once

dvakrát twice

trikrát three times

osemdesiatkrát eighty times

V zahraničí som zatiaľ bol iba štyrikrát. = So far, I have only been abroad four times.

ORDINAL NUMERALS: FIRST, SECOND, THIRD...

In Slovak, ordinal numerals - ones that indicate order, such as 'first', 'second' or 'third' - behave just like

adjectives, and therefore need to match the gender and case of the words that follow:

nultý -á -é null

prvý -á -é first

druhý -á -é second

tretí (m), tretia (f), tretie (n) third

štvrtý -á -é fourth piaty -a -e fifth

šiesty -a -e sixth

siedmy -a -e seventh

ôsmy -a -e eighth

deviaty -a -e ninth

desiaty -a -e tenth

jedenásty -a -e eleventh

dvanásty -a -e twelfth

trinásty -a -e thirteenth

štrnásty -a -e fourteenth

pätnásty -a -e fifteenth

šestnásty -a -e sixteenth

sedemnásty -a -e seventeenth

osemnásty -a -e eighteenth

devätnásty -a -e nineteenth

dvadsiaty -a -e twentieth

tridsiaty -a -e thirtieth

štyridsiaty -a -e fourtieth

pätdesiaty -a -e fiftieth



Lesson 17 - FOR THE Nth TIME, ON THE Nth ATTEMPT 86

šesťdesiaty -a -e sixtieth

sedemdesiaty -a -e seventieth

osemdesiaty -a -e eightieth

deväťdesiaty -a -e ninetieth

stý -á -é hundredthtisíci (m), tisíca (f), tisíce (n) thousandth

To create compound ordinal numerals, simply put the 'partial' ordinal numbers after one another:

tridsiaty tretí = thirty-third

sedemdesiaty ôsmy = seventy-eighth

In larger ordinal numeral, the part of the numeral that exceeds 100 takes on the 'cardinal' form. See

examples below:

sto dvanásty = hundred twelfth

tristo štyridsiaty siedmy = three hundred forty-seventh

tísic piaty = thousand fifth

päťtisíc osemsto deväťdesiaty druhý = five thousand eight hundred ninety-second

FOR THE Nth TIME, ON THE Nth ATTEMPT

po + ordinal numeral (masc.) + krát = for the ______th time

po prvý krát = for the first time

po tretí krát = for the third time

na + ordinal numeral (masc.) + pokus = on the ______th attempt

na druhý pokus = on the second attempt

na dvanásty pokus = on the twelfth attempt

LAST, FORMER, PREVIOUS

posledný = last (when ordering thing)

predposledný = the one before last, penultimate

naposledy = last time (as as adverb), for the last time

Posledný krát ti hovorím, že by si to nemal skúšať. = I am telling you for the last time that you should not

be trying that.

Kto bol v súťaži na predposlednom mieste? = Who come in the penultimate place in the competition?

Naozaj ti to hovorím naposledy - už sa nemám chuť opakovať. = I am really telling you that for the last

time - I don't feel like repeating myself anymore.

Naposledy som bol v Bratislave v októbri. = I was last in Bratislava in October.



Lesson 17 - COUNTRIES, NATIONALITIES AND LANGUAGES OF THE WORLD 87

See below for the differences between several ways of saying 'last' (or similar things) in Slovak:

posledný = last (the opposite of prvý = first):

As in, prvý vozeň = first wagon, vs. posledná zastávka = last stop.

minulý = last (the opposite of budúci = next / future): As in, minulý rok = last year, vs. budúci týždeň = next week.

bývalý = former:

As in, bývalý predseda vlády = the former Prime Minister

predchádzajúci = previous (the opposite of nasledujúci = following):

As in, predchádzajúca strana = previous page, nasledujúci článok = following article.

COUNTRIES, NATIONALITIES AND LANGUAGES OF THE WORLD

In the chart below, you will find vocabulary that will help you describe countries (and continents/regions), the

associated adjectives, the words for the countries' male and female inhabitants ('demonyms'), and the word

used to describe a given country's language. To illustrate how this works, take the fifth line from the chart

('Hungary'): The Slovak name of the country ('Hungary') is Maďarsko, and the associated adjective

('Hungarian') is maďarský. A male inhabitant of Hungary is called Maďar , whereas a female one is called

Maďarka. The Hungarian language is maďarčina or, slightly more formally, maďarský jazyk (adjective +

'jazyk').

country/region adjective demonym (male, female) language

Európa = Europe európsky Európan, Európanka

Slovensko = Slovakia slovenský Slovák, Slovenka slovenčina

Česká republika (or Česko) = Czech Rep. český Čech, Češka čeština

Poľsko = Poland poľský Poliak, Poľka poľština

Maďarsko = Hungary madarský Maďar, Maďarka maďarčina

Nemecko = Germany nemecký Nemec, Nemka nemčinaRakúsko = Austria rakúsky Rakúšan, Rakúšanka

Švajčiarsko = Switzerland švajčiarsky Švajčiar, Švajčiarka

Holandsko = the Netherlands holandský Holanďan, Holanďanka holandčina

Belgicko = Belgium belgický Belgičan, Belgičanka

Francúzsko = France francúzsky Francúz, Francúzka francúzština

Taliansko = Italy taliansky Talian, Talianka taliančina

Španielsko = Spain španielsky Španiel, Španielka španielčina

Portugalsko = Portugal portugalský Portugalec, Portugalka portugalčina

Grécko = Greece grécky Grék, Grékyňa gréčtina



Lesson 17 - COUNTRIES, NATIONALITIES AND LANGUAGES OF THE WORLD 88

Spojené kráľovstvo = United Kindgom

Veľká Británia = Great Britain britský Brit, Britka

Anglicko = England anglický Angličan, Angličanka angličtina

Škótsko = Scotland škótsky Škót, Škótka

Írsko = Ireland írsky Ír, ÍrkaŠvédsko = Sweden švédsky Švéd, Švédka švédčina

Nórsko = Norway nórsky Nór, Nórka nór čina

Dánsko = Denmark dánsky Dán, Dánka dánčina

Fínsko = Finland fínsky Fín, Fínka fínčina

Island = Iceland islandský Islanďan, Islanďanka islandčina

Estónsko = Estonia estónsky Estónec, Estónka estónčina

Lotyšsko = Latvia lotyšský Lotyš, Lotyška lotyština

Litva = Lithuania litovský Litovčan, Litovčanka litovčina

Rumunsko = Romania rumunský Rumun, Rumunka rumunčina

Bulharsko = Bulgaria bulharský Bulhar, Bulharka bulhar čina

Slovinsko = Slovenia slovinský Slovinec, Slovinka slovinčina

Rusko = Russia ruský Rus, Ruska ruština

Bielorusko = Belarus bieloruský Bielorus, Bieloruska bieloruština

Ukrajina = Ukrajinec ukrajinský Ukrajinec, Ukrajinka ukrajinčina

Srbsko = Serbia srbský Srb, Srbka srbčina

Chorvátsko = Croatia chorvátsky Chorvát, Chorvátka chorvátčina

Bosna = Bosnia bosniansky Bosniak, Bosniačka bosniančina

Amerika = America americký Američan, Američanka americká

angličtina

Spojené štáty americké = United States of America

Kanada = Canada kanadský Kanaďan, Kanaďanka

Mexiko = Mexico mexický Mexičan, Mexičanka

Brazília = Brazil brazílsky Brazílčan, Brazílčanka

Argentína = Argentina argentínsky Argentínčan, Argentínčanka

Ázia = Asia ázijský Ázijec, Ázijka

Čína = China čínsky Čínan, Čínanka čínština Japonsko = Japan japonský Japonec, Japonka japončina

Kórea = Korea kórejský Kórejec, Kórejka kórejčina

Vietnam = Vietnam vietnamský Vietnamec, Vietnamka vietnamčina

India = India indický Ind, Indka

Blízky východ = Near East

Stredný východ = Middle East

Turecko = Turkey turecký Turek, Turkyňa turečtina

Izrael = Israel izraelský Izraelčan, Izrealčanka

Jewish židovský Žid, Židovka = Jew (m, f) hebrejčina



Lesson 17 - NAMES OF FOREIGN CITIES 89

Irak = Iraq iracký Iračan, Iračanka

arabský = Arab Arab, Arabka arabčina = Arabic

Irán = Iran iránsky Iránec, Iránka

Afrika = Africa africký Afričan, Afričanka

Egypt = Egypt egyptský Egypťan, Egypťanka Austrália = Australia austrálsky Austrálčan, Austrálčanka

Nový Zéland = New Zealand novozélandský Novozélanďan, Novozélanďanka

NAMES OF FOREIGN CITIES

In Slovak, the pronunciation of foreign city names is generally similar to the prounciation used in the country

where the city is. Often, however, the pronunciation is somewhat 'Slovakized': sounds that do not exist in

Slovak (such as the English 'w' sound') are replaced by ones that do exist (in this case, a 'v' sound).

Consider, for example, the Slovak pronunciation of the following city:

Boston, Marseille, Ottawa, Los Angeles, Stuttgart, Vancouver

There are some cities, however, who have their own Slovak names - ones that differ from the names used in

countries where these cities are located:

Londýn = London

Paríž = Paris

Moskva = Moscow

Praha = Prague

Varšava = Warsaw

Berlín = Berlin

Štokholm = Stockholm

Kodaň = Kop

Mníchov = Munich

Brusel = Brussels

Viedeň = Vienna

Budapešť = BudapestŽeneva = Geneva

Jeruzalem = Jerusalem

Káhira = Cairo

Peking = Beijing

Nové Dillí = New Delhi

Lisabon = Lisbon

Rím = Rome

Miláno = Milan




Lesson 18


Vďaka. / Díky. (or even Dík.) = very colloquial versions of 'thank you' (as opposed to the more formal

Ďakujem.)

vieš čo = you know what (often used to introduce a suggestion; extremely common in Slovak - much more

so than in English)

(To) nevadí. = (It) does not bother (me). / It's ok.

Dlho sme sa nevideli. = We have not seen each other in a long time. (='Long time, no see.')

Netuším. or Čo ja viem? ('What do I know?') or very colloquially: Nemám šajnu. = I have no idea.

HOUSEHOLD AND ELECTRONIC APPLIANCESchladnička = fridge, refrigerator

mraznička = freezer

sporák = stove

rúra (or, in some dialects, trúba) = oven

mikrovlnná rúra (or simply mikrovlnka) = microwave oven

varič = cooker

umývačka riadu = dishwasher

práčka = washing mashinesušička = dryer

žehlička = iron (the household appliance, not the material)

televízor = TV set

diaľkový ovládač (or simply ovládač) = remote control

počítač = computer

notebook (or, more recently, also laptop) = laptop (i.e., portable computer)

tlačiareň (fem.) = printer

fén = hairdryer

kulma = hair curling iron

žehlička na vlasy = hair straightener (literally: 'iron for the hair')

ohrievač = heater

radiátor = radiator

WHERE, WHERE TO, ETC.

Kde? = Where?

Kam? = Where to?

Odkiaľ? = Where from?

Tam. = There. (both for location and direction.)



Lesson 18 - CONJUGATION OF THE VERB 'TO GO' (ÍSŤ) 91

Tu. = Here. (expresses location; an object is already there)

Sem. = Here. (meaning 'To here.'; expresses direction of movement)

naspäť = back

Nikde. = Nowhere.

Nikam. = (To) nowhere. (when talking about direction of movement)Všade. = Everywhere.

Kedy? = When?

Odkedy? = Since when?

Dokedy? = Until when?

odvtedy = from then

dovtedy = until then

odteraz = from now on

doteraz = until now

odjakživa = since time immemorial; since anyone remembers

navždy = forever

CONJUGATION OF THE VERB 'TO GO' (ÍSŤ)

The verb ísť ('to go') is quite irregular in Slovak.

In the present tense, the verb ísť takes on the following forms:

ja idem (I am going) my ideme (we are going)

ty ideš (you are going) vy idete (you are going)

on/ona/ono ide (he/she/it is going) oni/ony idú (they are going)

And this is how we negate the verb in the present tense:

ja nejdem (I am not going) my nejdeme (we are not going)

ty nejdeš (you are not going) vy nejdete (you are not going)

on/ona/ono nejde (he/she/it is not going) oni/ony nejdú (they are not going)

Past tense forms (positive): ja som išiel (I went - speaker is male)

ja som išla (I went - speaker is female) my sme išli (we went)

ty si išiel / išla (you went) vy ste išli (you went)

on išiel / ona išla / ono išlo (he/she/it went) oni/ony išli (they went)

Negation in the past tense:

ja som nešiel (I didn't go - speaker is male)

ja som nešla (I didn't go - speaker is female) my sme nešli (we didn't go)

ty si nešiel / nešla (you didn't go) vy ste nešli (you didn't go)

on nešiel / ona nešla / ono nešlo (he/she/it didn't go) oni/ony nešli (they didn't go)



Lesson 18 - EXPRESSING INTENTION USING 'ABY' = 'SO THAT' 92

Future tense:

ja pôjdem (I will go) my pôjdeme (we will go)

ty pôjdeš (you will go) vy pôjdete (you will go)

on / ona / ono pôjde (he/she/it will go) oni/ony pôjdu (they will go)

We negate the future tense forms in the usual way - by adding the ne- prefix: ja nepôjdem, ty nepôjdeš,

etc.

Note: You may notice that the future tense forms of ísť do not follow the pattern we learned in [Lesson 11]

(i.e., budem, budeš, bude... + infinitive). The precise reason why this is so is probably beyond the scope of

an introductory language course. For now, suffice it to say that Slovak, like many other Slavic language, has

a grammatical feature called 'aspect.' Aspect is used to distinguish between actions that take place

repeatedly or continuously (roughly equivalent to English continuous tenses) and those that are completed

once they have taken place. When an action takes place repeatedly or continuously, we can rely on the

future tense pattern we learned in [Lesson 11]. If not, things get too complicated for a first course in Slovak.

Kam ideš? Teraz idem do mesta, ale neskôr pôjdem aj na záhradu. = Where are you going? I am now

going to town, but later I will also go to the garden.

Naozaj sme nikam nešli, lebo sme nemali žiadne vozidlo. = We really didn'tgo anywhere, because we did

not have any vehicle.

Nepôjdeš niekedy čoskoro už domov? = Won't you go home sometime soon already?

EXPRESSING INTENTION USING 'ABY' = 'SO THAT'

You can use the word aby in a way that is similar to the English 'so that' to express intention. You can also

use this word with modal verbs, such as chcieť (to want), potrebovať (to need) and others, to say things

like: 'I need you to do this.', 'I want him to come back.', and so on. You get the idea.

Note: The verb that follows aby is, as a rule, in its past tense form.

Išiel som na univerzitu, aby som mohol byť ekonóm. = I went to university so I could be an economist.

Robíme to len preto, aby ste mohli zajtra byť doma. = We are doing it only so you can be at home

tomorrow. (note that preto = for that reason)

Chcela by si, aby som ho volil? = Would you like me to vote for him?

Tamtá úradníčka žiada, aby sme sa vrátili o dva dni. = That (female) bureaucrat requests that we return

in two days.



Lesson 18 - AS IF 93

AS IF

You can use akoby, or sometimes ako keby, to express the English 'as if.' Please note that the clause that

follows akoby and ako keby must be in the past tense.

Nemáte niekedy ten pocit, akoby ste žili na planéte opíc? = Don't you sometimes have that feeling, as if

you were living on a planet of monkeys ('on the Planet of Apes')?

Vyzerá to, ako keby si vôbec nechcel vedieť pravdu. = It seems, as if he didn't want to know the truth at

all.

WHILE, UNTIL

kým = while (when followed by positive - non-negated - verb)

dovtedy, kým ... = until ... (usually followed by negative future tense); can also be simply kým, followed by a

negative verb

Kým je šéf stále v úrade, nikto nemôže ísť domov. = While the boss is still in the office, no one can go

home.

Nechcem kupovať novú žehličku, kým sa tá stará nepokazí. = I don't want to buy a new iron until the old

one breaks.

Musíte na ňu čakať dovtedy, kým nebude mať nový pas. = You have to wait for her until she has/gets a

new passport.




Lesson 19


Môže byť. = literally: '(It) can be.' (often used to express agreement when something is acceptable)

Maj sa dobre. (or simply Maj sa.) = Be well. (informal; commonly used to say goodbye)

Majte sa dobre. (or simply Majte sa.) = Be well. (formal; commonly used to say goodbye)

VOCABULARY: NATURAL AND MAN-MADE DISASTERS

prírodná katastrofa (or pohroma) = natural disaster

zemetrasenie (neut.) = earthquake

povodeň (fem.) (or záplava) = flood, flooding

výbuch = explosion

búrka = storm, thunderstorm

tornádo = tornado

víchrica = windstorm

snehová víchrica = (snow) blizzard

nehoda = accident

dopravná nehoda = traffic accident

automobilová nehoda (or havária) = car accident

zrážka = crashprežiť (stem: prežíva-) = to survive (also can mean 'to experience')

zomrieť (stem: zomiera-) = to die

zraniť sa (stem: zraňuje-) = to be injured (literally: to injure oneself)

zabiť sa (stem: zabíja- sa) = to kill oneself (often also used to mean 'to be killed in an accident'

zachrániť (stem: zachraňuje-) = to save

zachrániť sa (stem: zachraňuje- sa) = to save

mŕtvy = dead

zranený = injured

nezvestný = missing (only about people when others can't find them after a disaster, crime, etc.)

živý = living

nažive = alive (adverb)



Lesson 19 - DATIVE CASE: PERSONAL PRONOUNS 95

DATIVE CASE: PERSONAL PRONOUNS

We use the dative case in Slovak to indicate recipient and persons/objects on which a verb is acting. In

English, the equivalent of the Slovak dative case is often, but not always, introduced by the preposition to.Below, I have underlined parts of English sentences that would require the dative case in Slovak:

I gave an apple to my sister.

I told his friends about the situation.

I wrote her a beautiful poem.

When using personal pronouns in the dative case, you will have to use either the short dative form, or the

long dative form.

As was the case with the accusative case, you will typically use the short dative form when the personalpronoun comes right before or right after the main verb (or if it is separated by a common auxiliary word).

The long dative form, on the other hand, is usually used when the pronoun is separated from the main verb

by one or more words. Occasionally, you can also use the long form for emphasis, even if it is immediately

preceded or followed by the main verb.

nominative case (subject) short form dative case long form dative case

ja = I mi mne

ty = you (sg. informal) ti tebe

on = he mu jemu

ona = she jej jej

ono = for neuter (rare) mu jemu

my = we nám nám

vy = you (pl., or sg. formal) vám vám

oni, ony = they im im

Some of the examples below will use the verb dať (stem: dáva-) = to give. In addition to meaning 'to give',

the verb dať often also means 'to put': In this way, in Slovak, you can say 'I gave the book on the table' tomean 'I put the book on the table.'

Všetci chceli dať peniaze iba mne, ale vôbec nie jej. = Everyone wanted to give money only to me, but

not at all to her.

Hovorím ti, že si mu mal dať pokoj. = I am telling you that you should have left him alone. ('should have

given him peace')

Povedal som im, aby vám dali novú peňaženku. = I told them to give you a new wallet.

Jemu som nikdy neveril, ale jej áno. = I never trusted him (literally: 'to him'), but I did trust her.



Lesson 19 - DATIVE CASE: NOUNS 96

DATIVE CASE: NOUNS

How we form the dative case in Slovak depends on the grammatical gender of the 'recipient' person or thing:

Masculine gender: If the dative noun is a person or an animal, we add the -ovi suffix. Otherwise, we use

the -u suffix.

nominative case (basic form) dative case

brat = brother bratovi

Bratovi som povedal pravdu. = I told (my) brother the truth.

úrad = office úradu

Svoj občiansky preukaz musím odovzdať úradu. = I have to submit my national ID card to the office.

Feminine gender: We change the final -a into an -e ending if the -a is preceded by a hard or 'dual'

consonant (d, t, n, l, h, ch, g, k, b, p, m, v, r, z, s, f ). If the final -a is preceded by a soft consonant (ď, ť, ň, ľ, c,

dz, j, dž, č, ž, š), we change it into an -i ending.


učiteľka = female teacher učiteľke

Mala by si byť veľmi vďačná učiteľke. = You should be very grateful to the teacher. (you are female)

opica = monkey opici

Opici som hodil chutný banán. = I threw the monkey a tasty banana.

Neuter gender: The -o ending changes into a -u.


mesto = city mestu

Nelegálnu skládku som oznámil mestu. = I reported the illegal garbage dump to the city.

divadlo = theater divadlu

Divadlu som daroval dvesto eúr. = I donated two hundred euros to the theater.



Lesson 20 - VOCABULARY: CRIME, PUNISHMENT AND (IN)JUSTICE 97

Lesson 20

VOCABULARY: CRIME, PUNISHMENT AND (IN)JUSTICE

zločin (or, in legalese, trestný čin) = crime, felony

priestupok = misdemeanor, offence (less serious than a crime)

trest = punishment

bezpečnosť = safety, security

zákon = law

droga = illegal drug

drogový díler = drug dealer

zločinec (or kriminálnik) = criminal

obeť (fem.) = victim

svedok = witness

očitý svedok = eye witness

vražda = murder

zabitie or usmrtenie (both neut.) = manslaughter

znásilnenie (neut.) = rape

napadnutie (neut.) = assault

krádež = theft

podvod = fraud

vrah = murdererzlodej = thief

násilník = violent person, abuser

násilie (neut.) = violence

násilný = violent

mafia (or podsvetie, neut.) = maifa, 'underworld'

mafián = mafia member

väzeň = prisoner, inmate

väzenie (neut.) = jail

sudca = judge

prokurátor = prosecutor, like 'district attorney' in the US

žalobca = plaintiff, the accuser

obžalovaný = defendant, the accused

právnik = lawyer

obhajca = defense lawyer

obhajoba = legal defence

vinný = guilty

nevinný = innocent (literally, 'non-guilty')obvinený = accused

odsúdený = convicted



Lesson 20 - DATIVE CASE: POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS 98

zbraň = weapon

strelná zbraň = fire arm

nôž = knife

pištoľ = pistol

brokovnica = shotgunsamopal = machine gun

spravodlivosť = justice

nespravodlivosť = injustice

rozsudok (or verdikt) = verdict, sentence

podmienka = probation (literally: 'condition')

DATIVE CASE: POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS

In [Lesson 19], you were introduced to the dative case. Here is how you can form the dative case ofpossessive pronouns:

masculine feminine neuter

nominative dative nominative dative nominative dative

môj = my môjmu moja = my mojej moje = my môjmu

tvoj = your tvojmu tvoja = your tvojej tvoje = your tvojmu

jeho = his jeho jej = her jej jeho = its jeho

náš = our nášmu naša = our našej naše = our nášmu

váš = your vášmu vaša = your vašej vaše = your vášmu

ich = their ich ich = their ich ich = their ich

svoj svojmu svoja svojej svoje svojmu

Ich synovi som ukázal, ako by našej krave mal dať jesť. = I showed their son, how he should give

something to eat to our cow.Čo ste potom povedali ich právnikovi? = What did you tell their lawyer, then?



Lesson 20 - DATIVE CASE: THIS, THAT, THAT OVER THERE 99

DATIVE CASE: THIS, THAT, THAT OVER THERE

For pronouns such as this (tento, táto, toto), that (ten, tá, to) and that over there (tamten, tamtá, tamto):

masculine feminine neuternominative dative nominative dative nominative dative

tento = this tomuto táto tejto toto tomuto

ten = that tomu tá tej to tomu

tamten tamtomu tamtá tamtej tamto tamtomu

See the following examples:

Tamtomu sudcovi ani trochu neverím, ale čo mám robiť? = I don't trust that judge over there a bit, but

what am I supposed to do?

Dal som tej žene nejaké peniaze, ale tejto nechcem dať nič. = I gave that woman some money, but I

don't want to give anything to this one.

DATIVE CASE: PREPOSITION 'K'/'KU'

The dative case is associated with one commonly used preposition: k or ku, which roughly translated as the

English 'to' or 'towards' (usually when used as an indication of direction). Whether we use k or ku depends

largely on pronounciation: In most cases, k should be the default. Occasionally, however, ku might be easier

to pronounce (and is therefore preferred) - for example, when the following word begins with the letter 'k' or

'g.'

When a personal pronoun in the dative case follows a preposition, such as k/ku, we use the following forms:

nominative case (subject) dative case after preposition

ja = I mne

ty = you (sg. informal) tebe

on = he nemuona = she nej

ono = for neuter (rare) nemu

my = we nám

vy = you (pl., sg. formal) vám

oni, ony= they nim

Dnes večer pôjdem na návštevu k mojej tete. = Tonight I will go for a visit to my aunt.

Prečo sa tak pekne správaš k nemu, ale napríklad nie k nej? = Why do you behave so nicely to him, but

not - for example - to her?

Išiel som ku oknu, ale musel som zastaviť. = I went to(wards) the window, but had to stop.



Lesson 20 - DATIVE CASE: ADJECTIVES 100

DATIVE CASE: ADJECTIVES

Masculine gender: We replace the final -ý with -ému:


veľký = nice veľkému

Svojmu veľkému bratovi som dal novú tašku. = I gave my big brother a new bag.

starý = old starému

Tomu starému pánovi vždy rád pomáham. = I always gladly help that old gentleman.

Feminine gender: Here, we replace the final -á with -ej:


milá = nice (personality trait) milej

Tej milej pani som nič nepovedala. = I didn't tell that nice lady anything.

národná = national národnej

Ľavicový poslanec národnej rade predstavil svoj návrh. = A left-wing representative presented

his proposal to the National Council.

Neuter gender: For neuter adjectives, we will replace the final -é with the suffix -ému (as was the case with

the masculine gender):


modré = blue modrému

Zelený Mercedes ide k tomu modrému autu. = A green Mercedes is going to that blue car.

násilné = violent násilnému

K tomuto násilnému prepadnutiu sa nikto nepriznal. = No one admitted to (have committed)this violent assault.



Lesson 20 - CRIME AND PUNISHMENT IN THE SLOVAK MEDIA 101

CRIME AND PUNISHMENT IN THE SLOVAK MEDIA

If you would like to check your understanding of some of the crime and punishment-related vocabulary in this

lesson, you may wish to watch this - needless to say, very exciting - press conference at the Slovak Ministryof the Interior:

Here is some additonal vocabulary from the video that you may wish to learn:

rozpočet = budget

pozemok = land property

majetok = property

téma = topic

návrh = proposalkauza = political or economic scandal

týkať sa (stem: týka- sa) = to be relevant/related to, to touch upon (thematically)

šetriť (stem: šetrí-) = to save (money)

začínať (stem: začína-) = to begin



Lesson 21 - VOCABULARY: MATERIALS 102

Lesson 21

VOCABULARY: MATERIALS

materiál (or, sometimes, látka) = material; (Note: látka can also mean 'cloth' or 'textile')

drevo = wood

drevený = wooden

papier = paper (noun)

papierový = paper (adj.)

kartón = cardboard (noun)

kartónový = cardboard (adj.)

plast = plastic (noun)

plastový = plastic (adj.)

guma = rubber (noun)

gumený = rubber (adj.)

betón = concrete (noun)

betónový = concrete (adj.)

sklo = glass (noun)

sklený (or sklenený) = glass (adj.)

keramika = ceramic (noun)

keramický = ceramic (adj.)

porcelán = porcelain (noun) porcelánový = porcelain (adj.)

kov = metal (noun)

kovový = metal, metallic (adj.)

železo = iron (noun)

železný = iron (adj.)

oceľ = steel (noun)

oceľový = steel (adj.)

koža = leather (noun); also means 'skin'

kožený = leather (adj.)

vlna = wool (noun); also means 'wave'

vlnený = wool, woolen (adj.)

bavlna = cotton (adj.)

bavlnený = cotton (adj.)

HOW TO TURN NOUNS INTO ADJECTIVES

In English, you don't usually have to change the noun's form to turn it into an adjective: You can speak of

orange juice, strawberry ice cream or a concrete building .



Lesson 21 - JUST (TEMPORAL MEANING) + RIGHT NOW 103

In Slovak, by contrast, you typically have to add a suffix to the noun to change it into an adjective. The most

common suffix used for this purpose is -ový, but - as you have seen in the materials vocabulary above -

sometimes you need to use other suffixes such as -ný, -ený, -ský or -ický. There are, unfortunately, no hard

and fast rules about what suffix is appropriate: you really just need to learn the corresponding adjectives. If

you have to guess, however, it is best to go with -ový.

Remember that all suffixes, of course, have to match the gender and grammatical case of the words they are

attached to.

Some examples:

pomaranč (orange) + džús (juice) = pomarančový džús (orange juice)

jahoda (strawberry + zmrzlina (ice cream) = jahodová zmrzlina (strawbery ice cream)

betón (concrete) + budova (building) = betónová budova (concrete building)

sklo (glass) + tanier (plate) = sklenený tanier (glass plate)

lekár (medical doctor) + správa (report) = lekárska správa (medical report)

drevo (wood) + podlaha (floor) = drevená podlaha (wooden floor)

zub (tooth) + hygiena (hygiene) = zubná hygiena (dental hygiene)

JUST (TEMPORAL MEANING) + RIGHT NOW

You can use práve (= just ) to say that something has just happened, that someone has just done something,

or that something is going on just now. In colloquial speech, you can also use the word akurát (which in

other contexts - such as buying clothes - can mean 'just right'). Please note that this temporal meaning

differs from the 'just' that can substitute for 'only' - in those cases, we use the words len or iba (=only, just).

Práve som mu vysvetlil situáciu a bohužiaľ, vôbec nebol šťastný. = I just explained the situation to him

and, unfortunately, he was not happy at all.

Bol som práve doma, ale sestru som tam nevidel. = I was just at home, but I did not see (my) sister there.

Akurát som išiel na úrad, keď na mňa zaútočil nejaký zločinec. = I was just going to the office, whensome criminal attacked me.

práve teraz = right now

Tlačová konferencia sa začína práve teraz a bude trvať len tridsať minút. = The press conference is

beginning right now, and it will last only thirty minutes.

MAŤ RÁD VS. PÁČIŤ SA FOR EXPRESSING LIKES AND DISLIKES

In [Lesson 10], you learned how to use mať rád to express your likes and dislikes. It turns out that there is

another verb in Slovak - the verb páčiť sa - that can also be used for similar purposes.



Lesson 21 - MAŤ RÁD VS. PÁČIŤ SA FOR EXPRESSING LIKES AND DISLIKES 104

Mať rád is more general: You can use it to express your predilection (or lack thereof) for a variety of things:

food, activities, people - you name it.

Páčiť sa, on the other hand, most commonly refers to the visual appeal (beauty, attractiveness) of

something or someone.

There is also a grammatical difference in how these verbs are used. You can use mať rád much like the

English verb to like: Mám rád paradajkovú polievku. = I like tomato soup.

Páčiť sa, however, is used much more like the English verb to appeal (to): Tento obraz sa mi páči. = This

painting appeals to me. (='I like this painting.')

- The verb páčiť sa assumes a grammatical form that corresponds to what is being liked.

- The thing or person that is being liked is the grammatical subject of the sentence.

- Typically, you would include a phrase or a personal pronoun in the dative case to indicate who is doing the

liking (i.e., to whom something appeals).

Let us look at some examples to illustrate:

Mne sa páči toto zelené auto, ale môjmu bratovi sa páči tamto žlté. = I like this green car, but my brother

likes that yellow one over there. (Literally something like: 'This green car appeals to me, but that green one

over there appeals to my brother.'

Tvoj modrý vlnený sveter sa vôbec nepáči mojej priateľke. = My girlfriend does not like your blue woolen

sweater at all. (literally: 'Your blue woolen sweater does not appeal to my girlfriend at all.')

You can also use páčiť sa to talk about liking/enjoying visits or trips. In these case, the sentence subject will

often be an unspoken 'it.' Look at the examples below:

Našej rodine sa veľmi páčilo v Nemecku. = Our family liked Germany very much. (literally: 'To our family,

it appealed in Germany very much.')

Ako sa ti páčilo na výlete? = How did you enjoy the trip? (literally: How did it appeal to you on the trip?)

Toto by sa ti malo celkom páčiť. = You should like this quite a bit. (literally: This should appeal to you quitea bit.)



Lesson 22 - ART 105

Lesson 22

ART

umenie = art

umelec, umelkyňa = artist (m, f)

výstava = exhibition

múzeum = museum

galéria = gallery

výtvarné umenie = creative art (meaning largely painting or drawing)

dielo = work of art

majstrovské dielo = masterpiece

sochár , sochárka = sculptor (m, f)

socha = sculpture

maliar = painter

obraz = painting, picture

kresba = drawing

koláž = collage

plátno = canvass

štetec = (paint)brush

vystúpenie = performance (artistic, musical, etc. event)

koncert = concert opera = opera

orchester = orchestra

filharmónia = philharmonic

dirigent = music conductor

predstavenie = theatrical performance

divadelná hra = theatrical play

LITERATURE AND BOOKS

knižnica = library

kníhkupectvo = bookstore

kniha = book

leták (or letáčik) = leaflet

príručka = handbook

slovník = dictionary

literatúra = literature

spisovateľ, spisovateľka = writer (m, f)

beletria = fiction literature

náučná literatúra = non-fiction literature



Lesson 22 - GENITIVE CASE: WHEN TO USE IT 106

odborná literatúra = specialized, expert literature

žáner = genre

román = novel

novela = novella

príbeh = story krátky príbeh = short story

životopis (or biografia) = biography

autobiografia = autobiography

cestopis = travel account, travel narrative

učebnica = textbook

GENITIVE CASE: WHEN TO USE IT

When a preposition is absent, we use the genitive case in Slovak when, in English, we would usually use the'of' preposition. In the English sentences below, I have underlined parts that would require the use of the

genitive case in Slovak:

The cause of the deadly disease remains unknown.

I don't recall the name of the businessmen.

No one likes the color of the new bicycle.

In [Lesson 8], we learned about the possessive forms of names: Michalov román = Michael's novel ,

Kristínina učebnica = Kristína's textbook . We should now add that you can extend the same rule to all

nouns that represent people - not only people's names. A policeman's car would therefore be policajtovo

auto, and the wife's favorite book would be manželkina obľúbená kniha.

So where does the genitive case come in here? It turns out that the rule from [Lesson 8] is only appropriate

when the 'possessor person' is described by a single, unmodified noun. If we, however, want to further

describe the possessor, for instance, by using possessive pronouns or adjectives, we need to use the

genitive case:

If we want to say young Michael's novel in Slovak, then, we really need to say the novel of young Michael :

román mladého Michala.

My sister Kristína's textbook would really be the textbook of my sister Kristína: učebnica mojej sestry

Kristíny.

The polite policeman's car and my wife's favorite book would be, respectively, the car of the polite policeman

and the favorite book of my wife: auto slušného policajta and obľúbená kniha mojej manželky.

Note that, in the examples above, I have underlined the parts that require the use of the genitive case.

Finally, there are several prepositions that require the use of the genitive case. These will be covered in the

next lesson.



Lesson 22 - GENITIVE CASE: NOUNS 107

GENITIVE CASE: NOUNS

As with the other cases, how we form the genitive case depends on the gender of the noun that is being

modified:

Masculine gender: If the genitive noun is a person or an animal, we need to add the -a suffix. Otherwise,

we usually use the -u suffix instead.

nominative case (basic form) genitive case

policajt = policeman policajta

Uniforma toho policajta je príliš malá. = That policeman's uniform is too small.

strom = tree stromu Auto narazilo do stromu. = The car crashed into a tree.

Feminine gender: We change the final -a into an -y ending if the -a is preceded by a hard or 'dual'

consonant (d, t, n, l, h, ch, g, k, b, p, m, v, r, z, s, f ). If the final -a is preceded by a soft consonant (ď, ť, ň, ľ, c,

dz, j, dž, č, ž, š), we change it into an -e ending.


spolužiačka = classmate spolužiačky

Názor mojej spolužiačky nie je dôležitý. = My classmate's opinion is not important.

práca = work práce

Vidíš výsledok jej práce? = Do you see the result of her work?

Neuter gender: The -o ending changes into a -a.


mydlo = soap mydla

Od takého mydla veľa neočakávam. = I am not expecting much from such soap.lietadlo = airplane lietadla

Zlomilo sa krídlo toho veľkého lietadla. = The wing of that big plane has broken.



Lesson 22 - GENITIVE CASE: POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS 108

GENITIVE CASE: POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS

You can form the genitive case of possessive pronouns in this way:


nominative genitive nominative genitive nominative genitive

môj = my môjho moja = my mojej moje = my môjho

tvoj = your tvojho tvoja = your tvojej tvoje = your tvojho

jeho = his jeho jej = her jej jeho = its jeho

náš = our nášho naša = our našej naše = our nášho

váš = your vášho vaša = your vašej vaše = your vášho ich = their ich ich = their ich ich = their ich

svoj svojho svoja svojej svoje svojho

Netušíš náhodou, ako sa volá pes jeho suseda? = Don't you, by any chance, have any idea what their

dog's name is?

Chcel ísť na školu svojho brata, ale nakoniec išiel na školu svojej sestry. = He wanted to go to his

brother's school, but in the end went to his sister's school.

GENITIVE CASE: THIS, THAT, THAT OVER THERE

Here is how you form the genitive case of pronouns such as this (tento, táto, toto), that (ten, tá, to) and that

over there (tamten, tamtá, tamto):


nominative genitive nominative dative nominative dative

tento = this tohto táto tejto toto tohto

ten = that toho tá tej to toho

tamten tamtoho tamtá tamtej tamto tamtoho

Notebook tamtoho muža nebol drahý, ale počítač tej ženy bol. = That man over there's laptop was not

expensive, but that woman's computer was.

Motor tohto nového auta musí byť veľmi silný. = This new car's engine must be very strong.



Lesson 22 - GENITIVE CASE: ADJECTIVES 109

GENITIVE CASE: ADJECTIVES

Masculine gender: We replace the final -ý with -ého:


mladý = nice mladého

Obraz toho mladého pána je naozaj nádherný. = That young man's painting is truly beautiful.

žltý = yellow žltého

Golier jeho žltého trička sa mi nepáči. = I don't like to collar of his yellow shirt.

Feminine gender: Replace the final -á with -ej:


vysoká = high, tall vysokej

Príčinou vysokej ceny je nízka ponuka. = The cause of the high price is low supply.

vtipná = funny, witty vtipnej

Už sa teším na príbehy našej vtipnej babičky. = I am already looking forward to our witty grandma's

stories.

Neuter gender: Here, we will replace the final -é with the suffix -ého (just like with the masculine gender):


národné = national národného

História Národného divadla je dobre známa. = The history of the National Theater is well-known.

bývalé = former bývalého

Meno môjho bývalého priateľa si nepamätám. = I don't remember the name of my ex-boyfriend.



Lesson 23 - VOCABULARY: VISITING THE DOCTOR 110

Lesson 23

VOCABULARY: VISITING THE DOCTOR

bolieť (stem: bolí-) = to hurt

Bolí ma _____. = My ______ hurts. (literally: _____ hurts me.)

Dnes ma veľmi bolí hlava, ale aj brucho. = Today, my head hurts a lot, but also my stomach.

Note: Parts of the human body were covered in [Lesson 8].

nemocnica = hospital (with hospital beds)

poliklinika = hospital (without hospital beds)

klinika = clinic

lekáreň (fem.) = pharmacy (where you buy medical drugs)

sanitka = ambulance

ambulancia = doctor's office

návšteva = visit

kontrola = check-up

vyšetrenie = medical examination

preventívna prehliadka = (preventive) physical examination

hospitalizácia = hospitalization

hospitalizovať (stem: hospitalizuje-) = to hospitalize

lekár , lekárka (or doktor , doktorka) = doctor, physician (m, f)

zdravotná sestra (or simply sestrička) = nurse (m, f); literally means 'medical sister' and 'little sister,'respectively

ošetrovateľ, ošetrovateľka = caretaker (m, f)

lekárnik, lekárnička = pharmacist (m, f);

lekárnička also means 'medical kit' (such as the one found in automobiles)

pacient = patient

krvný tlak = blood pressure

vysoký tlak / nízky tlak = high blood pressure / low blood pressure

krvný test = blood test

odber krvi = blood drawing

krvný obraz = result of a blood test; literally: 'the blood image'

zdravotný stav = medical condition'

diagnóza = diagnosis

prognóza = prognosis

výsledok = result (in general)

liečba = treatment

liečiť (stem: lieči-) = to treat

vyliečiť (stem: vyliečuje-) = to cure oddelenie = department (in a hospital, store, office, etc.)

infekčné oddelenie = infectious diseases' department



Lesson 23 - VOCABULARY: DISEASES 111

chirurgia = surgical department

onkológia = oncology

urológia = urology

nefrológia = nephrology (deals with kidneys)

dermatológia = dermatology traumatológia = traumatology (deals with broken limbs, accidents, etc.)

gynekológia = gynecology

stomatológia = stomatology, dental medicine

detský lekár , detská lekárka (or pediater , pediatrička) = childrens' doctor, pediatrician

chirurg, chirurgička = surgeon

kožný lekár (or dermatológ) = dermatologist

gynekológ, gynekologička = gynecologist

zubár , zubárka (or stomatológ, stomatologička) = dentist

operácia = operation, surgery

operačná sála = operating room

operovať = to operate

zdravotný záznam (or zdravotná karta) = medical records

kartička poistenca (also preukaz poistenca, or simply kartička) = health insurance card (Note: kartička

literally means 'little card')

VOCABULARY: DISEASES

choroba = disease

ochorenie (or nemoc) = ailment

vysoká teplota = high temperature

horúčka = fever

nádcha = (common) cold

chrípka = flu

kašeľ = cough

kašľať (stem: kašle-) = to cough

kýchať (stem: kýcha-) = to sneeze alergia = allergy

senná nádcha = hay fever

infekcia = infection

zápal = inflammation

zápal pľúc (or pneumónia) = pneumonia ('inflammation of the lungs')

zápal slepého čreva = appendicitis (literally: 'inflammation of the 'blind intestine' (=appendix)')

zapáliť sa (stem: zapáli- sa) = to become inflamed

tuberkulóza = tuberculosis

rakovina = cancer



Lesson 23 - VOCABULARY: MEDICAL DRUGS 112

dlhá choroba or ťažká choroba = literally 'long disease' or 'difficult disease'; often used as a euphemistic

expression for cancer

nádor (or tumor ) = tumor

leukémia = leukemia

chemoterapia = chemotherapy ožarovanie (or radiácia) = radiation therapy

infarkt = heart attack

mŕtvica = stroke

nadváha = (the state of being) overweight

obezita = obesity

baktéria = bacterium

vírus = virus

život = life

smrť = death

zranený = wounded

živý = living, alive

mŕtvy = dead

v bezvedomí = unconscious (literally: 'in unconsciousness')

zomrieť (stem: zomiera-) = to die

prežiť (stem: prežíva-) = to survive

zdravotný = medical, health-related

nákazlivý (or prenosný) = contagious

infekčný = infectious

neprenosný = non-contagious

nebezpečný = dangerous

smrteľný = deadly, lethal

VOCABULARY: MEDICAL DRUGS

liek = medical drug

droga = illegal drug predpis (or recept) = prescription

predpísať (stem: predpisuje-) = to prescribe

užívať (stem: užíva-) = to take/use (medicine)

liek na predpis = prescription-only medicine

voľnopredajný liek = over-the-counter medicine (literally: 'freely sellable' medicine)

tabletka (or pilulka) = pill

kvapky = drops

sirup = 'syrup', liquid medicine

antibiotikum = antibiotic

placebo = placebo



Lesson 23 - GENITIVE CASE: PERSONAL PRONOUNS AFTER A PREPOSITION 113

antikoncepcia = contraception

vitamín = vitamin

výživový doplnok = supplement

GENITIVE CASE: PERSONAL PRONOUNS AFTER A PREPOSITION

When a personal pronoun is preceded by a preposition that is associated with the genitive case (see next

section for a list), we use the following forms of the pronouns:

nominative case (subject) genitive case after preposition

ja = I mňa

ty = you (sg. informal) teba

on = he neho

ona = she nejono = for neuter (rare) neho

my = we nás

vy = you (pl., sg. formal) vás

oni, ony= they nich

GENITIVE CASE: PREPOSITIONS

In Slovak, the genitive case is associated with several prepositions. The most commonly used of these are

the following:

bez = without

od = from

do = into

z = out of

u = at (e.g.: at someone's place)

Z hlavného mesta sme sa vrátili bez neho. = We returned from the capital city without him.

Obed budeme mať u nášho suseda. = We will have lunch at our neighbor's place. Čo ste od nich vtedy počuli? = What did you hear from them that time?

Nemám chuť teraz ísť do obchodu. = I don't feel like going (in)to the store now.

mimo = outside of

okolo = around

uprostred (also v strede) = in the middle of

vedľa = next to

vnútri = inside

Naša záhrada sa nachádza mimo dediny. = Our garden is located (literally: 'finds itself') outside of the

village.



Váš pes stále behá okolo nášho domu. = Your dog always runs around our house.

Stratili sme sa uprostred lesa. = We got lost in the middle of the forest. (literally: 'we lost ourselves')

Vedľa mňa stojí riaditeľ firmy. = The company director is standing next to me.

Vnútri starej nemocnice je onkologické oddelenie. = Inside the old hospital is the oncological department.

okrem = except, aside from

počas = during

blízko = near

namiesto = instead of

Okrem penicilínu, užívate aj nejaký iný liek? = Aside from penicillin, do you take any other medicine?

Pacient, bohužiaľ, zomrel počas operácie. = The patient, unfortunately, died during the surgery.

Blízko parku našli bombu. = They found a bomb near the park.

Namiesto môjho uja by mal ísť jeho syn. = His son should go instead of my uncle.

marek hlavac-slovak language

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