Marek Hlavac: Slovak Language Lessons for Beginners Table of Contents Lesson 1 ............................................................................................................................................................ ............................................................................................................................................................ 1 SAYING HELLO AND GOODBYE ................................................................. ............................................................................................................ ........................................... 1 INTRODUCING YOURSELF ............................................................................................................. .................................................................................................................... ....... 1 HOW ARE YOU? ...................................................................................................................................... ...................................................................................................................................... 1 SAYING THANK YOU .............................................................................................................................. .............................................................................................................................. 2 THE VERB "TO BE" (byť) .............................................................................. (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 W ORDS ..................................................................................................... ..................................................................................................................................... ................................ 5 THIS IS..., THAT T HAT IS..., THAT OVER THERE IS... .................................................................................... .................................................................................... 5 GRAMMATICAL GENDER ....................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................ ....... 6 POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS ..................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................... .................. 6 MOJA RODINA = my m y family ............................................................... ...................................................................................................................... ....................................................... 7 SLOVENSKO = Slovakia ........................................................................................................ .......................................................................................................................... .................. 9 Lesson 3 .......................................................................................................................................................... .......................................................................................................................................................... 10 BASIC PHRASES AND USEFUL U SEFUL WORDS ............................................................................................ ............................................................................................ 10 THIS, THAT, THAT OVER THERE + NOUN ............................................................ .......................................................................................... .............................. 10 WHOSE IS THIS... ? ............................................................... ............................................................................................................................... ................................................................ 11 ADJECTIVES ............................................................... ..................................................................................................................................... ........................................................................... ..... 11 WHAT IS ____ LIKE ? ............................................................................................................................ ............................................................................................................................ 12 CHARACTERISTICS .............................................................................................................................. .............................................................................................................................. 12 COLORS ................................................................................................................................................. ................................................................................................................................................. 13 SLOVENSKÉ SLOVENSK É ŠKOLSTVO 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? RI GHT? .......................................................... .................................................................. ........ 17 ČÍSLA = NUMBERS NUMBERS .................................................................................................. ............................................................................................................................... .............................. 18 SLOVENSKÁ POLITIKA = SLOVAK POLITICS ................................................................................ ..................................................................................... ..... 19 IDENTIFICATION CARDS .................................................................. ...................................................................................................................... .................................................... 20 Lesson 5 .......................................................................................................................................................... .......................................................................................................................................................... 21 EITHER... OR..., NEITHER... NOR........................................................................................................ 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 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................................................................... PHRASES ............................................................................................................ ......................................... 30 LAST WEEK/MONTH/YEAR, W EEK/MONTH/YEAR, NEXT W EEK/MONTH/YEAR .......................................................... .................................................................. ........ 30 THE VERB 'TO BE': PAST AND FUTURE TENSE ............................................................. ................................................................................ ................... 30 IF..., WHEN... ............................................................................................................ .......................................................................................................................................... .............................. 32 SVETOVÉ STRANY = COMPASS POINTS (literally: 'world ' world sides') ...................................................... 32 TALKING ABOUT THE WEATHER W EATHER ............................................................... ........................................................................................................ ......................................... 33
Lesson 4 .......................................................................................................................................................... .......................................................................................................................................................... 16 USEFUL WORDS AND PHRASES ........................................................................................................ ........................................................................................................ 16 ADVERBS .................................................................... .......................................................................................................................................... ........................................................................... ..... 16 QUALIFIERS ............................................................................................................. ........................................................................................................................................... .............................. 16 ..., ISN'T IT? ..., AREN'T THEY? ..., AREN'T I? ..., RIGHT? RI GHT? .......................................................... .................................................................. ........ 17 ČÍSLA = NUMBERS NUMBERS .................................................................................................. ............................................................................................................................... .............................. 18 SLOVENSKÁ POLITIKA = SLOVAK POLITICS ................................................................................ ..................................................................................... ..... 19 IDENTIFICATION CARDS .................................................................. ...................................................................................................................... .................................................... 20 Lesson 5 .......................................................................................................................................................... .......................................................................................................................................................... 21 EITHER... OR..., NEITHER... NOR........................................................................................................ 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 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................................................................... PHRASES ............................................................................................................ ......................................... 30 LAST WEEK/MONTH/YEAR, W EEK/MONTH/YEAR, NEXT W EEK/MONTH/YEAR .......................................................... .................................................................. ........ 30 THE VERB 'TO BE': PAST AND FUTURE TENSE ............................................................. ................................................................................ ................... 30 IF..., WHEN... ............................................................................................................ .......................................................................................................................................... .............................. 32 SVETOVÉ STRANY = COMPASS POINTS (literally: 'world ' world sides') ...................................................... 32 TALKING ABOUT THE WEATHER W EATHER ............................................................... ........................................................................................................ ......................................... 33
JÁNOŠÍK .............................................................................................................................. JÁNOŠÍK ................................................................................................................................................ ................... 34 NAD TATROU SA BLÝSKA - THE T HE SLOVAK NATIONAL ANTHEM ...................................................... 35 SLOVAK WEDDING TRADITIONS ........................................................................................................ ........................................................................................................ 35 Lesson 8 .......................................................................................................................................................... .......................................................................................................................................................... 37 BASIC WORDS AND PHRASES................................................................... PHRASES ............................................................................................................ ......................................... 37 OBLEČENIE = CLOTHING CLOTHING ..................................................................................................... .................................................................................................................... ................ 37 POSSESSIVES FORMS OF NAMES ............................................................ ..................................................................................................... ......................................... 38 HOW OFTEN? ..................................................................................................................... ........................................................................................................................................ ................... 38 ĽUDSKÉ TELO = HUMAN BODY 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 BASIC WORDS AND PHRASES................................................................... PHRASES ............................................................................................................ ......................................... 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 T ENSES............................................................. 48 DAILY MEALS.............................................................. MEALS.................................................................................................................................... ........................................................................... ..... 49 HOUSES AND APARTMENTS.......................................................... ............................................................................................................... ..................................................... 49 PREPOSITIONS ..................................................................................................................................... ..................................................................................................................................... 50 SLOVAK TRADITIONAL MUSIC, DANCE AND COSTUMES ............................................................... ............................................................... 51
Lesson 11 ........................................................................................................................................................ 52 USEFUL WORDS AND PHRASES ........................................................................................................ 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 USEFUL WORDS AND PHRASES ........................................................................................................ 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 WORDS AND PHRASES ........................................................................................................ 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 USEFUL WORDS AND PHRASES ........................................................................................................ 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 USEFUL WORDS AND PHRASES ........................................................................................................ 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 Dobré 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 HELLO AND GOODBYE
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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 - SAYING THANK YOU
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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) --> Majo František --> 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 - COMMON SLOVAK FIRST NAMES AND NICKNAMES
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- 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 work out.
Lesson 1 - MEETING PEOPLE
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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? sa y ____ in English? Ako sa po anglicky povie _____ ? = How does one say
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 - BASIC PHRASES
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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 PRONOUNS gender:
masculine
feminine neuter
my
môj
moja
moje
your
tvoj
tvoja
tvoje
his
jeho
jeho
jeho
her
jej
jej
jej
our
náš
naša
naše
your
vášš vá
vaša
vaše
their
ich
ich
ich
(singular, informal)
(singular, formal; or plural)
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), tv tvoja oja mačka (your cat), tvoje víno (your wine) jeho telefón (his telephone), jeho stena (his wall), jeho pivo (his beer) (her TV set), jej matka (her mother), jej mesto (her city) jej televízor (her Lesson 2 - GRAMMATICAL GENDER
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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 j e 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
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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 - MOJA RODINA = my family
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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 saying Slovakia 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 2 - SLOVENSKO = Slovakia
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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
tamtá
tamto
that over there tamten
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 - BASIC PHRASES AND USEFUL WORDS
10
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:
gender:
masculine
feminine
neuter
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:
gender:
masculine
feminine
neuter
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 - WHOSE IS THIS... ?
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WHAT IS ____ LIKE ? To ask what someone or some thing is like, you should use aký, aká, aké:
gender:
masculine
feminine
aký
aká
neuter 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 - WHAT IS ____ LIKE ?
12
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 - COLORS
13
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
14
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 3 - SLOVENSKÉ ŠKOLSTVO = THE SLOVAK EDUCATION SYSTEM
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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.')
ADVERBS It 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 - USEFUL WORDS AND PHRASES
16
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 are referring 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 - ..., ISN'T IT? ..., AREN'T THEY? ..., AREN'T I? ..., RIGHT?
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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 - ČÍSLA = NUMBERS
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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].
Lesson 4 - SLOVENSKÁ POLITIKA = SLOVAK POLITICS
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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 all the 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 CARDS Every 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 at least 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.
Lesson 4 - IDENTIFICATION CARDS
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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 - EITHER... OR..., NEITHER... NOR...
21
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 = squirrel somár (or osol) = donkey kôň = horse vôl = ox slon = elephant žirafa = giraffe lev = lion tiger = tiger gepard = cheetah zebra = zebra ťava = camel Lesson 5 - ANIMALS
22
opica = monkey korytnačka = turtle, tortoise škrečok = hamster morské prasa (or simply morča) = guinea pig (literally : 'sea pig') hmyz = insect chrobák = 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 5 - ANIMALS
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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 - BASIC PHRASES
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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 = Sunday v 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 - WHAT TIME IS IT?
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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 November v 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 - MESIACE = months
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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, zdravia! Veľa šťastia, milý (or milá) [name]! Veľa šťastia, zdravia! which means: A lot of happiness, [and] health! A lot of happiness, [and] health! A lot of happiness, dear [name]! A lot of happiness, [and] health!
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 name days, 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 Silvesterspecific 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.
Lesson 6 - BIRTHDAYS AND NAME DAYS
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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 to ensure 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 - EASTER
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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 the morning. 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 6 - SAINT NICHOLAS DAY
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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 year budúci = 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 - BASIC WORDS AND PHRASES
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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 hardworking 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 - THE VERB 'TO BE': PAST AND FUTURE TENSE
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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 - IF..., WHEN...
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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 - TALKING ABOUT THE WEATHER
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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 of a 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 - JÁNOŠÍK
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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 lot of 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. Lesson 7 - NAD TATROU SA BLÝSKA - THE SLOVAK NATIONAL ANTHEM
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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 is usually 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 7 - SLOVAK WEDDING TRADITIONS
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Lesson 8
BASIC WORDS AND PHRASES 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 - BASIC WORDS AND PHRASES
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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 - POSSESSIVES FORMS OF NAMES
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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 - ĽUDSKÉ TELO = HUMAN BODY
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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 learn how 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 - THE VERB 'TO HAVE' - PRESENT TENSE
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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
brata
Jozef 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. nominative case (basic form)
accusative case (direct object)
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. nominative case (basic form)
accusative case (direct object)
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 ANYRecall all the interrogative pronouns we have already learned:
kto = who čo = what kedy = when kde = where koľko = how many, how much ako = how aký = what kind of
Lesson 8 - SUFFIX -EVER, PREFIX ANY-
41
We can use the suffix -koľvek in the same way that -ever is used in English:
ktokoľvek = whoever čokoľvek = whatever kedykoľvek = whenever kdekoľvek = wherever koľkokoľvek = 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 most popular 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/] Lesson 8 - ONLY, AS MANY AS...
42
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/]
Lesson 8 - SLOVAK MEDIA
43
Lesson 9
BASIC WORDS AND PHRASES 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 - BASIC WORDS AND PHRASES
44
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 - ZELENINA = VEGETABLES
45
minerálka = mineral water kola = cola malinovka = any kind of soft drink other than cola džús = juice alkoholický nápoj = alcoholic beverage alkohol = 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 traditional sheep 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].
Lesson 9 - ORDERING FOOD AND BUYING THINGS
46
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 - IMPORTANT AND INTERESTING WORDS
47
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 - THE VERB 'TO HAVE' IN THE PAST AND FUTURE TENSES
48
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 - DAILY MEALS
49
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 - PREPOSITIONS
50
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 of central 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 10 - SLOVAK TRADITIONAL MUSIC, DANCE AND COSTUMES
51
Lesson 11
USEFUL WORDS AND PHRASES 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 - USEFUL WORDS AND PHRASES
52
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 - CONJUGATION IN THE FUTURE TENSE
53
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 tale about 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?
54
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 building mestský 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 - WHAT'S IN A CITY?
55
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 Lesson 11 - CONTEMPORARY SLOVAK MUSIC
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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 Will Buy 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]
Lesson 11 - CONTEMPORARY SLOVAK MUSIC
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Lesson 12
USEFUL WORDS AND PHRASES 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 - USEFUL WORDS AND PHRASES
58
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 = without pre = 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 - PREPOSITIONS: WITH, WITHOUT, FOR, ABOUT
59
VOCABULARY: NATURE príroda = nature prostredie (neuter ) = environment hora (or vrch) = mountain pohorie (neuter ) = mountain range kopec = hill dolina (or údolie) = valley les = forest strom = tree tráva = grass kvet = flower lúka = meadow rieka = 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 - VOCABULARY: NATURE
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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 " S A " AND " S I " 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 - UP, DOWN, LEFT, RIGHT
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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 - REFLEXIVE VERBS WITH "SA" AND "SI"
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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 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 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 - SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS: "ŽE" AND "ČI"
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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 - SLOVAK PROVERBS AND SAYINGS
64
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 work together, 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 12 - LASICA AND SATINSKÝ
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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 - HYGIENICKÉ POTREBY = ITEMS OF PERSONAL HYGIENE
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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 syna
veľký 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. nominative case (subject)
accusative case (direct object)
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. nominative case (subject)
accusative case (direct object)
studené pivo = cold beer
studené pivo
drahé auto = expensive car
drahé auto
Examples:
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 - DIRECT OBJECT (ACCUSATIVE CASE) WITH ADJECTIVE + NOUN
67
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 not istý = 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 - EXPRESSING CERTAINTY
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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 not like 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 - WORDS USEFUL IN CHRONOLOGICAL NARRATION
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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
Lesson 13 - SLOVAK SPORTS
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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) = profit náklady = 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 pay kupovať (stem: kupuje-) = to buy nakupovať (stem: nakupuje-) = to shop Lesson 14 - FINANCIAL AND ECONOMIC TERMS
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predávať (stem: predáva-) = to sell
ALSO tiež = also, too (meaning 'also'); usually located next to the verb aj = 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
písať = to write on písal = he was writing čítať = to read
ja by som bol = I would be on by písal = he would be writing / he would write
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 - ALSO
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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 on Monday 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 not want 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 jed noduchý. = 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.
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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 - SUBORDINATE CLAUSES: WHICH, THAT AND WHO
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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 is learning 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 14 - INDEFINITE PRONOUNS: EVERY, SOME, NO, ANOTHER
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Lesson 15
USEFUL WORDS AND PHRASES 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 - USEFUL WORDS AND PHRASES
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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 the sentence. 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
nominative accusative (subject)
nominative
(direct object) (subject)
neuter accusative
nominative
(direct object) (subject)
accusative (direct object)
this
tento
tohto
táto
túto
toto
toto
that
ten
toho
tá
tú
to
to
tamtoho
tamtá
tamtú
tamto
tamto
that over there tamten
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 - THE 'SVOJ' POSSESSIVE PRONOUN
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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 masculine, 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 femini ne, s ing ular :
nominative (subject) accusative (direct object) 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
their, theirs
ich
ich
'svoj'
svoja
svoju
If direct object is neuter, s ing ular : (Note: In this case, the forms do not change.) nominative (subject) accusative (direct object) my, mine
moje
moje
your, yours
tvoje
tvoje
his, his, its
jeho
jeho
Lesson 15 - POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS IN THE ACCUSATIVE CASE
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her, hers
jej
jej
our, ours
naše
naše
your, yours
vaše
vaše
their, theirs
ich
ich
'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 - ALTHOUGH, DESPITE, ETC.
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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 15 - USING 'EVEN' FOR EMPHASIS
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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 - USEFULLY EVASIVE WORDS AND PHRASES
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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 -osť osť to turn adjectives into abstract properties. We can use the suffix 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 bud úcnosť = the future (literally: 'futureness')
Lesson 16 - DESCRIBING ABSTRACT PROPERTIES: -NESS, -ITY
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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 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 píše--) = to write
písanie = writing (noun)
čítať (stem: číta číta--) = to read
čítanie = reading (noun)
ďakovať (stem: ďakuje 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] 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 - NOUNS THAT DESCRIBE ACTIVITIES: THE '-NIE' SUFFIX
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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 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 16 - GIVEN..., GIVEN THAT...
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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 - N-TIMES: ONCE, TWICE, THREE TIMES, ...
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šesťdesiaty -a -e
sixtieth
sedemdesiaty -a -e
seventieth
osemdesiaty -a -e
eightieth
deväťdesiaty -a -e
ninetieth
stý -á -é
hundredth
tisíci (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 - FOR THE Nth TIME, ON THE Nth ATTEMPT
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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)
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
nemčina
Rakúsko = Austria
rakúsky
Rakúšan, Rakúšanka
Švajčiarsko = Switzerland
švajčiarsky
Švajčiar, Švajčiarka
Holandsko = the Netherlands
holandský
Holanďan, Holanďanka
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
language
holandčina
87
Spojené kráľovstvo = United Kindgom Veľká Británia = Great Britain
britský
Brit, Britka
Anglicko = England
anglický
Angličan, Angličanka
Škótsko = Scotland
škótsky
Škót, Škótka
Írsko = Ireland
írsky
Ír, Írka
Švédsko = 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
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
Turecko = Turkey
turecký
Turek, Turkyňa
Izrael = Israel
izraelský
Izraelčan, Izrealčanka
Jewish
židovský
Žid, Židovka = Jew (m, f)
Blízky východ = Near East Stredný východ = Middle East
Lesson 17 - COUNTRIES, NATIONALITIES AND LANGUAGES OF THE WORLD
turečtina hebrejčina 88
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 = Budapest Ženeva = Geneva Jeruzalem = Jerusalem Káhira = Cairo Peking = Beijing Nové Dillí = New Delhi Lisabon = Lisbon Rím = Rome Miláno = Milan
Lesson 17 - NAMES OF FOREIGN CITIES
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Lesson 18
USEFUL WORDS AND PHRASES 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 APPLIANCES chladnička = 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 mashine sušička = 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 - USEFUL WORDS AND PHRASES
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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 - CONJUGATION OF THE VERB 'TO GO' (ÍSŤ)
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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 - EXPRESSING INTENTION USING 'ABY' = 'SO THAT'
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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 18 - AS IF
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Lesson 19
USEFUL WORDS AND PHRASES 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 = crash prežiť (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 - USEFUL WORDS AND PHRASES
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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 personal pronoun 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' to mean '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: PERSONAL PRONOUNS
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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. nominative case (basic form)
dative case
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. nominative case (basic form)
dative case
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 19 - DATIVE CASE: NOUNS
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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 = murderer zlodej = 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 - VOCABULARY: CRIME, PUNISHMENT AND (IN)JUSTICE
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zbraň = weapon strelná zbraň = fire arm nôž = knife pištoľ = pistol brokovnica = shotgun samopal = 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 of possessive 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: POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS
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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
neuter
nominative
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
nemu
ona = 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: THIS, THAT, THAT OVER THERE
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DATIVE CASE: ADJECTIVES Masculine gender: We replace the final -ý with -ému: nominative case (basic form)
dative case
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: nominative case (basic form)
dative case
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): nominative case (basic form)
dative case
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 - DATIVE CASE: ADJECTIVES
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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 Ministry of 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 = proposal kauza = 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 20 - CRIME AND PUNISHMENT IN THE SLOVAK MEDIA
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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 .
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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, when some 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 on ly 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 - JUST (TEMPORAL MEANING) + RIGHT NOW
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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 exam ples 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 quite a bit.)
Lesson 21 - MAŤ RÁD VS. PÁČIŤ SA FOR EXPRESSING LIKES AND DISLIKES
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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 - ART
105
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: WHEN TO USE IT
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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. nominative case (basic form)
genitive case
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. nominative case (basic form)
genitive case
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: NOUNS
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GENITIVE CASE: POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS You can form the genitive case of possessive pronouns in this way:
masculine
feminine
neuter
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):
masculine
feminine
neuter
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: POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS
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GENITIVE CASE: ADJECTIVES Masculine gender: We replace the final -ý with -ého: nominative case (basic form)
genitive case
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: nominative case (basic form)
genitive case
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): nominative case (basic form)
dative case
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 22 - GENITIVE CASE: ADJECTIVES
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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: VISITING THE DOCTOR
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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: DISEASES
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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 - VOCABULARY: MEDICAL DRUGS
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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
nej
ono = 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. Lesson 23 - GENITIVE CASE: PERSONAL PRONOUNS AFTER A PREPOSITION
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