Marek Hlavac-Slovak Language Lessons For Beginners PDF

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" (by) ......................................................................................................................... 2
ABECEDA = Alphabet............................................................................................................................... 2
COMMON SLOVAK FIRST NAMES AND NICKNAMES ......................................................................... 3
HOW TO ADDRESS PEOPLE ................................................................................................................. 3
MEETING PEOPLE .................................................................................................................................. 4
Lesson 2 ............................................................................................................................................................ 5
BASIC PHRASES ..................................................................................................................................... 5
USEFUL WORDS ..................................................................................................................................... 5
THIS IS..., THAT IS..., THAT OVER THERE IS... .................................................................................... 5
GRAMMATICAL GENDER ....................................................................................................................... 6
POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS ..................................................................................................................... 6
MOJA RODINA = my family ...................................................................................................................... 7
SLOVENSKO = Slovakia .......................................................................................................................... 9
Lesson 3 .......................................................................................................................................................... 10
BASIC PHRASES AND USEFUL WORDS ............................................................................................ 10
THIS, THAT, THAT OVER THERE + NOUN .......................................................................................... 10
WHOSE IS THIS... ? ............................................................................................................................... 11
ADJECTIVES .......................................................................................................................................... 11
WHAT IS ____ LIKE ? ............................................................................................................................ 12
CHARACTERISTICS .............................................................................................................................. 12
COLORS ................................................................................................................................................. 13
SLOVENSK KOLSTVO = THE SLOVAK EDUCATION SYSTEM ..................................................... 14

Lesson 4 .......................................................................................................................................................... 16
USEFUL WORDS AND PHRASES ........................................................................................................ 16
ADVERBS ............................................................................................................................................... 16
QUALIFIERS ........................................................................................................................................... 16
..., ISN'T IT? ..., AREN'T THEY? ..., AREN'T I? ..., RIGHT? .................................................................. 17
SLA = NUMBERS................................................................................................................................ 18
SLOVENSK POLITIKA = SLOVAK POLITICS ..................................................................................... 19
IDENTIFICATION CARDS ...................................................................................................................... 20
Lesson 5 .......................................................................................................................................................... 21
EITHER... OR..., NEITHER... NOR........................................................................................................ 21
OCCUPATIONS ...................................................................................................................................... 21
ANIMALS ................................................................................................................................................ 22
Lesson 6 .......................................................................................................................................................... 24
BASIC PHRASES ................................................................................................................................... 24
HOW MUCH DOES _____ COST? ........................................................................................................ 24
UNITS OF TIME ...................................................................................................................................... 24
WHAT TIME IS IT? ................................................................................................................................. 25
DNI V TDNI = days of the weeks ....................................................................................................... 25
MESIACE = months ................................................................................................................................ 26
RON OBDOBIA = seasons of the year .............................................................................................. 26
BIRTHDAYS AND NAME DAYS............................................................................................................. 27
NEW YEAR'S EVE AND NEW YEAR'S DAY ......................................................................................... 27
EASTER .................................................................................................................................................. 28
CHRISTMAS ........................................................................................................................................... 28
SAINT NICHOLAS DAY .......................................................................................................................... 29
Lesson 7 .......................................................................................................................................................... 30
BASIC WORDS AND PHRASES............................................................................................................ 30
LAST WEEK/MONTH/YEAR, NEXT WEEK/MONTH/YEAR .................................................................. 30
THE VERB 'TO BE': PAST AND FUTURE TENSE ................................................................................ 30
IF..., WHEN... .......................................................................................................................................... 32
SVETOV STRANY = COMPASS POINTS (literally: 'world sides') ...................................................... 32
TALKING ABOUT THE WEATHER ........................................................................................................ 33

JNOK ................................................................................................................................................. 34
NAD TATROU SA BLSKA - THE SLOVAK NATIONAL ANTHEM ...................................................... 35
SLOVAK WEDDING TRADITIONS ........................................................................................................ 35
Lesson 8 .......................................................................................................................................................... 37
OBLEENIE = CLOTHING ..................................................................................................................... 37
POSSESSIVES FORMS OF NAMES ..................................................................................................... 38
HOW OFTEN? ........................................................................................................................................ 38
UDSK TELO = HUMAN BODY ........................................................................................................... 39
THE VERB 'TO HAVE' - PRESENT TENSE .......................................................................................... 40
ACCUSATIVE CASE (DIRECT OBJECT) .............................................................................................. 40
SUFFIX -EVER, PREFIX ANY-............................................................................................................... 41
ONLY, AS MANY AS... ........................................................................................................................... 42
SLOVAK MEDIA ..................................................................................................................................... 42
Lesson 9 .......................................................................................................................................................... 44
HOW OLD ARE YOU? ............................................................................................................................ 44
OVOCIE = FRUIT ................................................................................................................................... 44
ZELENINA = VEGETABLES .................................................................................................................. 45
I LIKE, I DON'T LIKE + NOUN ................................................................................................................ 45
NPOJE = drinks .................................................................................................................................... 45
ORDERING FOOD AND BUYING THINGS ........................................................................................... 46
TRADITIONAL SLOVAK DISHES .......................................................................................................... 46
Lesson 10 ........................................................................................................................................................ 47
IMPORTANT AND INTERESTING WORDS .......................................................................................... 47
MORE FOOD-RELATED VOCABULARY .............................................................................................. 47
THE VERB 'TO HAVE' IN THE PAST AND FUTURE TENSES ............................................................. 48
DAILY MEALS......................................................................................................................................... 49
HOUSES AND APARTMENTS............................................................................................................... 49
PREPOSITIONS ..................................................................................................................................... 50
SLOVAK TRADITIONAL MUSIC, DANCE AND COSTUMES ............................................................... 51

Lesson 11 ........................................................................................................................................................ 52
CONJUGATION OF VERBS ................................................................................................................... 52
CONJUGATION IN THE PRESENT TENSE .......................................................................................... 52
CONJUGATION IN THE FUTURE TENSE ............................................................................................ 53
CONJUGATION IN THE PAST TENSE ................................................................................................. 53
WHAT'S IN A CITY? ............................................................................................................................... 54
CONTEMPORARY SLOVAK MUSIC ..................................................................................................... 56
Lesson 12 ....................................................................................................................................................... 58
ZUBY = HOBBIES / I LIKE ................................................................................................................. 58
PREPOSITIONS: WITH, WITHOUT, FOR, ABOUT ............................................................................... 59
VOCABULARY: NATURE ....................................................................................................................... 60
PAST TENSE CONJUGATION OF VERBS WITH -IE INFINITIVES ................................................... 60
UP, DOWN, LEFT, RIGHT ...................................................................................................................... 61
REFLEXIVE VERBS WITH "SA" AND "SI" ............................................................................................. 61
SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS: "E" AND "I" ........................................................................... 63
SLOVAK PROVERBS AND SAYINGS ................................................................................................... 64
THE LEGEND OF SVTOPLUK ............................................................................................................ 64
LASICA AND SATINSK ........................................................................................................................ 65
Lesson 13 ........................................................................................................................................................ 66
HYGIENICK POTREBY = ITEMS OF PERSONAL HYGIENE ............................................................ 66
SOME USEFUL VERBS ......................................................................................................................... 66
DIRECT OBJECT (ACCUSATIVE CASE) WITH ADJECTIVE + NOUN ................................................ 67
DIRECT OBJECT (ACCUSATIVE CASE) OF PERSONAL PRONOUNS ............................................. 67
EXPRESSING CERTAINTY ................................................................................................................... 68
WORDS USEFUL IN CHRONOLOGICAL NARRATION ....................................................................... 69
SLOVAK SPORTS .................................................................................................................................. 70
Lesson 14 ........................................................................................................................................................ 71
FINANCIAL AND ECONOMIC TERMS .................................................................................................. 71
ALSO ....................................................................................................................................................... 72
HYPOTHETICAL CONDITIONAL: WOULD + NOUN ............................................................................ 72

MODAL VERBS ...................................................................................................................................... 73
SUBORDINATE CLAUSES: WHICH, THAT AND WHO ........................................................................ 74
INDEFINITE PRONOUNS: EVERY, SOME, NO, ANOTHER ................................................................ 75
Lesson 15 ........................................................................................................................................................ 76
USEFUL VERBS ..................................................................................................................................... 76
THE 'SVOJ' POSSESSIVE PRONOUN.................................................................................................. 77
THIS, THAT, THAT OVER THERE IN THE ACCUSATIVE CASE ......................................................... 77
POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS IN THE ACCUSATIVE CASE ................................................................... 78
ALTHOUGH, DESPITE, ETC. ................................................................................................................ 79
USING 'EVEN' FOR EMPHASIS ............................................................................................................ 80
Lesson 16 ........................................................................................................................................................ 81
USEFULLY EVASIVE WORDS AND PHRASES ................................................................................... 81
NEWS-RELATED AND POLITICAL VOCABULARY.............................................................................. 81
DESCRIBING ABSTRACT PROPERTIES: -NESS, -ITY ....................................................................... 82
NOUNS THAT DESCRIBE ACTIVITIES: THE '-NIE' SUFFIX ................................................................ 83
PREPOSITIONS AND THE ACCUSATIVE CASE OF PERSONAL PRONOUNS ................................ 83
PREPOSITIONS ASSOCIATED WITH THE ACCUSATIVE CASE ....................................................... 83
GIVEN..., GIVEN THAT... ....................................................................................................................... 84
Lesson 17 ........................................................................................................................................................ 85
N-TIMES: ONCE, TWICE, THREE TIMES, ... ........................................................................................ 85
ORDINAL NUMERALS: FIRST, SECOND, THIRD... ............................................................................. 85
FOR THE Nth TIME, ON THE Nth ATTEMPT ........................................................................................ 86
LAST, FORMER, PREVIOUS ................................................................................................................. 86
COUNTRIES, NATIONALITIES AND LANGUAGES OF THE WORLD ................................................. 87
NAMES OF FOREIGN CITIES ............................................................................................................... 89
Lesson 18 ........................................................................................................................................................ 90
HOUSEHOLD AND ELECTRONIC APPLIANCES ................................................................................. 90
WHERE, WHERE TO, ETC. ................................................................................................................... 90
CONJUGATION OF THE VERB 'TO GO' (S) ...................................................................................... 91
EXPRESSING INTENTION USING 'ABY' = 'SO THAT' ......................................................................... 92

AS IF ....................................................................................................................................................... 93
WHILE, UNTIL ........................................................................................................................................ 93
Lesson 19 ........................................................................................................................................................ 94
VOCABULARY: NATURAL AND MAN-MADE DISASTERS .................................................................. 94
DATIVE CASE: PERSONAL PRONOUNS ............................................................................................. 95
DATIVE CASE: NOUNS ......................................................................................................................... 96
Lesson 20 ........................................................................................................................................................ 97
VOCABULARY: CRIME, PUNISHMENT AND (IN)JUSTICE ................................................................. 97
DATIVE CASE: POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS ......................................................................................... 98
DATIVE CASE: THIS, THAT, THAT OVER THERE............................................................................... 99
DATIVE CASE: PREPOSITION 'K'/'KU' ................................................................................................. 99
DATIVE CASE: ADJECTIVES .............................................................................................................. 100
CRIME AND PUNISHMENT IN THE SLOVAK MEDIA ........................................................................ 101
Lesson 21 ...................................................................................................................................................... 102
VOCABULARY: MATERIALS ............................................................................................................... 102
HOW TO TURN NOUNS INTO ADJECTIVES ..................................................................................... 102
JUST (TEMPORAL MEANING) + RIGHT NOW ................................................................................... 103
MA RD VS. PI 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
Dobr rno! = Good morning!

Dobr de! = Good day! (formal "hello" that is appropriate at any time of day)
Dobr veer! = Good evening!
Dobr 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)
au! = hello/bye (informal and more relaxed than 'ahoj'; when talking to one person)
aute! = hello/bye (same when talking to two or more people)
Dovidenia! = goodbye (formal)
When picking up the phone, you can say "Hal?" ('Hello?'), "Prosm?" ('please?') or "no?" ('yes?').
Hal?:
Prosm?:
no?:
INTRODUCING YOURSELF
Ako sa vol? = What's your name? (informal)

Ako sa volte? = What's your name? (formal)
Volm sa Marek. = My name is Marek.
HOW ARE YOU?
Ako sa m? = How are you? (informal)

Ako sa mte? = How are you? (formal)
Dobre. = Good. (Literally: Well.)
Vemi dobre. = Very good. (Literally: Very well.)
Zle. = Bad. (Unlike in the US, it is not taboo to say so in Slovak.)
Vemi zle. = Very bad.
no. = 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 1

SAYING THANK YOU
Nech sa pi. = Here you are. / Here you go.

akujem. = Thank you.
akujem pekne. = Thank you very much. (Literally: I thank you nicely.)
akujem vemi pekne. = Thank you very much. (Literally: I thank you very nicely.)
Prosm. = You are welcome. (Also means 'please' and 'pardon?'.)
THE VERB "TO BE" (by)
by = to be (infinitive)
Note: The infinitives of Slovak verbs end in -.
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 s (they are - group of males, and mixed groups)
ona je (she is) ony s (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 s (they are not - group of males, and mixed groups)
ona nie je (she is not) ony nie s (they are not - group of females)
ABECEDA = Alphabet
- Like English, Slovak uses the Latin alphabet, with some minor modifications:
a b c d dz d e f g h ch i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z
Notes:
- The small / accent mark (de - the "lengthener") above a, e, i, y, o, u, l, r makes the sound longer: , , ,
, , , ,
- The small \/ accent mark (mke - the "softener") above , , d, , , , , 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: e, e, e, i, i, i (you would never write this, though)
Lesson 1 - SAYING THANK YOU 2
So, for instance, you would write dovidenia (goodbye) and nedea (Sunday), but pronounce it as if it was
dovienia and eea.
Rejoice: You can now read anything written in Slovak.
COMMON SLOVAK FIRST NAMES AND NICKNAMES
name --> nickname (English translation)

Jn --> Jano (John = Jack)
Jozef --> Joo (Joseph = Joe)
Michal --> Mio (Michael = Mike)
Martin --> Mao (Martin = Marty)
Marin (male name) --> Majo
Frantiek --> Fero (Francis = Frank)
Luk (Lucas)
Mat (Matthew)
Karol --> Kajo (Charles, Karl)
Vladimr --> 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).
Katarna --> Katka (Catherine)

Zuzana --> Zuzka (Susan)
Mria --> Maja, Majka, Maruka (Mary)
Jana --> Janka (Jane)
Jlia --> 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 Hlav, and consists only of my first name
(meno) and my family name (priezvisko) - Female last names usually end in -ov. My mother's and sister's
last name is thus Hlavov. - We commonly add -ov to foreign last names as well: Hillary Clintonov,
Michelle Obamov, Condoleeza Riceov.
pn Novk = Mr. Novk pani Novkov = Mrs. Novkov or Ms. Novkov (both for married women, and
women in general) slena Novkov = Miss Novkov
Lesson 1 - COMMON SLOVAK FIRST NAMES AND NICKNAMES 3

- If you are not sure whether a woman is married, or is a stranger, always use pani - it is much safer than
slena, 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 4

Lesson 2
BASIC PHRASES
Vitaj! = Welcome! (informal)

Vitajte! = Welcome! (formal, or plural you)
Prep! = I'm sorry! Excuse me! (informal)
Prepte! = I'm sorry! Excuse me! (formal)
S dovolenm! = Excuse me! (when asking someone to get out of your way/make space) (literally: "with
[your] permission")
V poriadku! = Alright! (literally: "in order")
Na zdravie! = Cheers! (when drinking/toasting), Bless you! (after someone sneezes) (literally: "To [your]
health!")
Note: You should always look the other person in the eye when you toast.
Ako sa po slovensky povie _____ ? = How does one say ____ in Slovak?
Ako sa po anglicky povie _____ ? = How does one say ____ in English?
Mohli by ste to zopakova, prosm? = Could you repeat that, please?
Hovorte pomalie, prosm. = Speak more slowly, please.
Vborne! = Excellent!
Pome! = Let's go!
USEFUL WORDS
a = and
ja a ty = me and you
alebo = or
no 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...
o 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 stl = This is a table.
Lesson 2 - BASIC PHRASES 5

Toto je stolika = 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: stl (table), pes (dog), k (horse)
- Feminine nouns usually end in -a. For example: stena (wall), stolika (chair), maka (cat)
- Neuter nouns typically end in -o. Examples: okno (window), pivo (beer), vno (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 mj moja moje
your tvoj tvoja tvoje (singular, informal)
his jeho jeho jeho
her jej jej jej
our n naa nae

your v vaa vae (singular, formal; or plural)
their ich ich ich
Remember to use the appropriate form of the possessive pronoun, based on the noun's gender.
Examples:
mj stl (my table), moja stolika (my chair), moje okno (my window)
tvoj pes (your dog), tvoja maka (your cat), tvoje vno (your wine)
jeho telefn (his telephone), jeho stena (his wall), jeho pivo (his beer)
jej televzor (her TV set), jej matka (her mother), jej mesto (her city)
Lesson 2 - GRAMMATICAL GENDER 6

n fotoapart (our photo camera), naa ceruzka (our pencil), nae divadlo (our theater)
v koberec (your carpet), vaa voda (your water), vae zlato (your gold)
ich list (their letter), ich slivovica (their plum brandy), ich euro (their euro)
Rejoice: We can now form quite complex sentences!
Toto je ich pero a tamto je ich auto. = This is their pen and that over there is their car.
Je tamto vaa maka alebo naa? = Is that over there your cat or ours?
To nie je moja faa, ale tamto je mj mobil. = That is not my bottle, but that over there is my cell phone.
MOJA RODINA = my family
rodiia = parents
otec = father (formal)
ocinko, oco, oci, tatinko, tato, tati = father, dad, daddy (colloquial)
matka = mother (formal)
mamika, maminka, mama, mami = mother, mom, mommy (colloquial)
srodenci = siblings
brat = brother
sestra = sestra
diea = child (note: neuter gender)

syn = son
dcra = daughter
star mama, babka, babika = grandmother

star otec, dedko, deduko = grandfather
vnuk = grandson
vnuka = 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)
stryn = aunt (father's sister)
strko = 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 strko, or vice versa.
Lesson 2 - MOJA RODINA = my family 7

bratranec = male cousin
sesternica = female cousin
synovec = nephew
neter = niece
manel = husband
manelka = wife
mu = man, also colloquial for 'husband'

ena = woman, also colloquial for 'wife'
snbenec = fianc (male)

snbenica = fiance (female)
za = son-in-law
nevesta = daughter-in-law (also means 'bride')
svokra = mother-in-law (the butt of many Slovak jokes)

svokor = father-in-law
vagor = brother-in-law
vagrin = sister-in-law
krstn otec = godfather

krstn mama = godmother
priate = good male friend, or boyfriend

priateka = good female friend, or girlfriend
frajer = boyfriend (colloquial, and always romantic)

frajerka = girlfriend (colloquial, and always romantic)
kamart = male friend

kamartka = female friend
Lesson 2 - MOJA RODINA = my family 8

SLOVENSKO = Slovakia
Slovakia (Slovensko), or officially the Slovak Republic (Slovensk 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 (Eurpska nia, or E) 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 Koice (population: 240,000) in the eastern part of the country.
My hometown Liptovsk Mikul (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 (esk republika, or simply esko) to the west,
Poland (Posko) to the north, Ukraine (Ukraina) to the east, Hungary (Maarsko) to the south, and Austria
(Raksko) to the south-west.
The Slovak flag (above) consists of three parallel stripes: white, blue and red (biela, modr, erven) -
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 9

Lesson 3
BASIC PHRASES AND USEFUL WORDS
samozrejme = of course
mimochodom = by the way
ete raz = once again / one more time
Preo? = Why?
Lebo... = Because... (less formal)
Pretoe... = Because (more formal)
Hovorte po anglicky? = Do you speak English?
Rozumiete po slovensky? = Do you understand Slovak?
Trochu. = A little bit.
Vea astia! = Good luck!
astn cestu! = Have a good trip!
Blahoelm! = Congratulations!
Gratulujem! = Congratulations!
Vetko najlepie (k narodeninm)! = Happy Birthday! (literally: "All the best (to your birthday)!")
Dobr chu! = 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):
this tento tto toto
that ten t to
that over there tamten tamt tamto
You will need to use the appropriate form, depending on the noun's gender.
Examples:
tento vlak (this train), tto vidlika (this fork), toto mesto (this city)
ten vtip (that joke), t uvaka (that chewing gum), to kreslo (that armchair)
tamten strom (that tree over there), tamt cesta (that road over there), tamto lietadlo (that airplane over
there)
Tento dom je mj, ale tamto auto je vae. = This house is mine, but that car over there is yours.
T kola je jeho, ale tamt je jej. = That school is his, but that one over there is hers.
(Here, the noun 'kola' 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 tto lyika? = Whose is this spoon?
Alternatively, you can use , ia, o - but you have to be careful about gender:

whose ia ie
je tamten n? = Whose is that knife over there?
ia je t zhrada? = Whose is that garden?
ie je toto diea? = Whose is this child? (Note: "diea" 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 pekn (nice, as in beautiful/pretty), for example:

nice pekn pekn pekn
With some exceptions, the masculine form of the adjective will end in -, the feminine in -, and the neuter in
- (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.
Mj dom je pekn, ale moje auto nie je vemi pekn. = My house is nice, but my car is not very nice.
Tamto je moja pekn dcra. = That over there is my pretty daughter.
Lesson 3 - WHOSE IS THIS... ? 11

WHAT IS ____ LIKE ?
To ask what someone or some thing is like, you should use ak, ak, ak:

ak ak ak
Ak je tamten obrzok? = What is that picture over there like?

Ak je tto zhrada? = What is this garden like?
Ak je jeho vysvedenie? = What is his school report like?
(vysvedenie = school report with grades, issued at the end of the academic year)
CHARACTERISTICS
dobr = good
zl = bad
vek = big, large
mal = small
vysok = tall
nzky = short (about height)
mlad = young
star = old
nov = new
tun = fat
chud = thin
pekn = nice (pretty)
kared = ugly
atraktvny = attractive
irok = wide
zky = narrow
dlh = long
krtky = short (length)
mil = nice (personality trait), dear (ofter used in letters, e.g. mil pn Novk - 'dear Mr. Novak')
prjemn = pleasant, agreeable
neprjemn = unpleasant
mdry = smart, clever
hlpy = stupid
inteligentn = intelligent
siln = strong
slab = weak
Lesson 3 - WHAT IS ____ LIKE ? 12

usilovn = hard-working
pracovit = hard-working
leniv = lazy
vtipn = funny (witty)
smieny = funny (ha-ha)
zbavn = entertaining
nudn = boring
ist = clean
pinav = dirty
skromn = humble
drz = arrogant
arogantn = arrogant
vesel = happy (cheerful)
astn = happy (in life), lucky
smutn = sad
COLORS
farba = color
Akej farby je ____? = What color is _____?
Akej farby je vaa nov koea? = What color is your new shirt?
ierny = black
biely = white
siv = grey
erven = red
zelen = green
modr = blue
lt = yellow
oranov = orange
hned = brown
ruov = pink
fialov = violet (the usual Slovak word for 'purple')
purpurov = purple (somewhat unusual in Slovak - better to use fialov in most cases)
bov = beige
zlat = golden (also means 'cute', 'nice' [personality trait])
strieborn = silver
You can use tmavo- and svetlo- prefixes to indicate dark and light shades of individual colors, e.g.
tmavomodr (dark blue) or svetlozelen (light green).
Lesson 3 - COLORS 13
Rejoice: Our sentences can now be more complex still!
Tento modr sveter je vemi pekn, ale nie je ist. = This blue sweater is very nice, but it is not clean.
Ich mlad sestra nie je kared, ale vemi atraktvna a mil. = Their young sister is not ugly, but is very
attractive and nice.
Preo sa nem dobre? Lebo som smutn. = Why aren't you feeling good? Because I am sad.
SLOVENSK KOLSTVO = THE SLOVAK EDUCATION SYSTEM
Elementary school (zkladn kola) lasts for eight or nine years, and children enroll at the age of six. After
that, the students continue on to secondary school (stredn kola), 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 - gymnzium) 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 - stukov. Universities (vysok kola 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 = vborn (excellent)
2 = chvlitebn (praiseworthy)
3 = dobr (good)
4 = dostaton (sufficient)
5 = nedostaton (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
hviezdikou - '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. (ininier, ininierka) 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 - SLOVENSK KOLSTVO = 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. Jn Novk, Mgr. Anna Petrkov, MUDr. Jozef Dbravec, Bc.
Katarna Slan. 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 Kolesr, Ph.D., or Mgr. Veronika Nagyov, 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 - SLOVENSK KOLSTVO = THE SLOVAK EDUCATION SYSTEM 15

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 m? = 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/-, -a/-, -e/-) with -o. For instance:
rchly = fast (adjective) ---> rchlo = fast (adverb)

leniv = lazy (adjective) ---> lenivo = lazily (adverb)
dlh = 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.)
krtky = short (adjective) ---> krtko = 'shortly' (adverb)
(Note: Unlike in English, where 'shortly' means 'soon', krtko means 'for a short time' in Slovak.)
For many adjectives that end in -n, -n, -n, the corresponding adverb will end in -e. For example:
pekn = nice (adjective) ---> pekne = nicely (adverb)
primn = sincere (adjective) ---> primne = sincerely (adverb)
The above rules, of course, have exceptions. Here's a very common example:
dobr = 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
vemi = very
celkom = quite
prli = too (meaning 'excessively')
vbec = at all
naozaj / skutone = really
Lesson 4 - USEFUL WORDS AND PHRASES 16

asne = awesomely
prerne / hrozne / strane = very (somewhat exaggerated; literally: 'monstrously', 'awfully' or 'horribly')
relatvne / pomerne = relatively
tak = so
tak (masc.), tak (fem.), tak (neut.) = so; such a...
Tto hned topnka je vemi zka. = This brown shoe is very tight.
Moja nov vetrovka je celkom pohodln, ale je prli vek. = My new winter coat is quite comfortable,
but it is too big.
T jeho zelen mikina vbec nie je kared. Naopak, je naozaj pekn. = That green sweatshirt of his is
not ugly at all. On the contrary its very nice
Som tak dobr ako ty. = I am as good as you are.
Naozaj neviem, preo je vaa teta tak prerne ialen. = I really don't know why your aunt is so terribly
crazy.
To je tak pekn sveter a je pomerne lacn. = That's such a nice sweater, and it is relatively cheap.
dos = enough
In English, 'enough' usually comes after the adjective. In Slovak, we put dos before the adjective. (You can
also use 'dostatone' to express 'enough.')
Ten chlapec nie je dos inteligentn. = That boy is not intelligent enough.
Jeho nov kola nie je dostatone dobr. = His new school is not good enough.
A u dos! = That's enough! (literally: 'And enough already!')
In affirmative/positive sentences, dos means something like 'very' or 'pretty':

Jeho auto je dos pekn, ale jeho motorka nie je dos siln. - 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 vak.
In Slovak, we don't care about the 'it', 'they', 'I', etc. part - you can use vak regardless of what you are
referring to.
Ich zhrada je vemi vek, vak? = Their garden is very big, isn't it?
Tto informcia je tajn, vak? = This information is secret, right?
Som celkom atraktvny, vak? = I am quite attractive, aren't I?
You cannot use vak as an answer. Instead, use no or nie.
Lesson 4 - ..., ISN'T IT? ..., AREN'T THEY? ..., AREN'T I? ..., RIGHT? 17
SLA = NUMBERS
0 = nula
1 = jeden (masc.), jedna (fem.), jedno (neut.)
2 = dva (masc.), dve (fem. and neut.)
3 = tri
4 = tyri
5 = p
6 = es
7 = sedem
8 = osem
9 = dev
10 = desa
11 = jedens
12 = dvans
13 = trins
14 = trns
15 = ptns
16 = estns
17 = sedemns
18 = osemns
19 = devtns
20 = dvadsa
30 = tridsa
40 = tyridsa
50 = pdesiat
60 = esdesiat
70 = sedemdesiat
80 = osemdesiat
90 = devdesiat
100 = sto
1 000 = tisc
1 000 000 = milin
1 000 000 000 = miliarda (Note: In American English, this would be a billion)
1 000 000 000 000 = bilin (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 - SLA = NUMBERS 18

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 = tridsapa
142 = stotyridsadva
3251 = tritiscdvestopdesiajeden
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 = tiscdevstvodevdesiatsedem
2011 = dvetiscjedens
SLOVENSK POLITIKA = SLOVAK POLITICS
The Slovak Republic (Slovensk 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 (stava 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 (funkn obdobie) through a
direct popular vote. The president, however, has very limited powers: Although he is the official head of state
(hlava ttu) and is - in theory - commander-in-chief (hlavn velite) of the armed forces, his role is largely
ceremonial. [Here] is the president's website.
Every four years, national parliamentary elections (parlamentn voby) are held. All Slovak citizens who are
at least 18 years old can vote. In the parliamentary elections, we vote for political parties (politick 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 (Nrodn 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 - SLOVENSK POLITIKA = SLOVAK POLITICS 19

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 (koalcia) that would have the support of a
parliamentary majority and could thus form the executive government (vlda). The leader of the most
successful coalition party usually becomes the Prime Minister (predseda vldy or premir), the most
important political office in the country. The cabinet (vldny 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 financi), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Ministerstvo zahraninch
vec). The minister's deputy is called a state secretary (ttny tajomnk). 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 (opozcia).
On the municipal level (samosprva - literally, 'self-administration'), each city, town and village has its own
mayor. In larger cities, the mayor is called a primtor, 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
zastupitestv).
IDENTIFICATION CARDS
Every Slovak citizen who is at least 15 years old, and whose permanent residence (trval bydlisko) is in
Slovakia, has a national ID card (obiansky preukaz, or simply obiansky - 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 (rodn slo - literally, a 'birth number'), which is often
used on official documents.
A driver's license (vodisk preukaz, or simply vodisk) 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 (cestovn pas, or simply pas), which they can use when traveling
abroad.
Lesson 4 - IDENTIFICATION CARDS 20

Lesson 5
EITHER... OR..., NEITHER... NOR...
bu..., alebo... = either... or...

Tento nov pota je bu mj alebo jeho. = This new computer is either mine or his.
ani..., ani... = neither... nor...
Tto erven motorka nie je ani pekn, ani dostatone siln. = This red motorcycle is neither nice, nor is
it strong enough.
OCCUPATIONS
uite / uiteka = teacher (male / female)

profesor / profesorka = professor (m/f)
tudent / tudentka = student (m/f)
iak / iaka = schoolboy / schoolgirl
policajt / policajtka = policeman / policewoman
vojak / vojaka = soldier (m/f)
poiarnik (or hasi) = fireman
polovnk = hunter
lesnk = forester
ponohospodr = agricultural worker
robotnk = worker (e.g. in construction)
murr = mason, bricklayer
opravr = repairman
ininier / ininierka = engineer (m/f)
politik / politika = politician (m/f)
radnk / radnka = bureaucrat (public servant) (m/f)
potr / potrka = postman / postwoman
predava / predavaka = salesman/saleswoman, store clerk, cashier (m/f)
obchodnk / obchodnka = businessman / businesswoman
podnikate / podnikateka = entrepreneur (m/f)
manar / manarka = manager (m/f)
tovnk / tovnka = accountant (m/f)
ekonm / ekonmka = economist (m/f)
zamestnanec / zamestnankya = employee (m/f)
kaz = priest
farr = (parish) priest
mnch / mnka = monk / nun
umelec / umelkya = artist (m/f)
spevk / spevka = singer (m/f)
Lesson 5 - EITHER... OR..., NEITHER... NOR... 21

herec / hereka = actor / actress(m/f)
tanenk / tanenka = dancer (m/f)
vodi (or ofr) = driver
kamionista = truck driver
lekr / lekrka (or doktor / doktorka) = physician (m/f)
zubr / zubrka = dentist (m/f)
zdravotn sestra (or simply sestrika) = nurse (female), literally: 'health sister' or 'little sister'
oetrovate = nurse (male)
veterinr (or zverolekr) = veterinarian
nezamestnan = unemployed (adj.)
bezdomovec = homeless
ANIMALS
zviera = animal
pes = dog
maka = cat
kocr = tomcat (male cat)
prasa = pig (Note: prasa is neuter)
svia = swine
krava = cow
ovca = sheep
koza = goat
sliepka = chicken, hen
moriak = turkey
hus = goose
kaka = duck
medve = bear
jele = stag
srnka = deer
veverika = squirrel
somr (or osol) = donkey
k = horse
vl = ox
slon = elephant
irafa = giraffe
lev = lion
tiger = tiger
gepard = cheetah
zebra = zebra
ava = camel
Lesson 5 - ANIMALS 22
opica = monkey
korytnaka = turtle, tortoise
kreok = hamster
morsk prasa (or simply mora) = guinea pig (literally: 'sea pig')
hmyz = insect
chrobk = bug, beetle
mucha = fly
vka = dragonfly
pavk = spider
ervk = worm
hsenica = caterpillar
mot = butterfly
vtk = bird
sova = owl
orol = eagle
jastrab = hawk
sokol = falcon
lastovika = swallow
vrabec = sparrow
holub = pigeon
holubica = dove
ptros = ostrich
ryba = fish
losos = salmon
veryba = whale (literally: 'grand fish')
ralok = shark
delfn = dolphin
Lesson 5 - ANIMALS 23
Lesson 6
BASIC PHRASES
Milujem a. = I love you.

Mm a rd. = I like you. (if the speaker is male)
Mm a rada. = I like you. (if the speaker is female)
HOW MUCH DOES _____ COST?
koko = how much, how many

Koko to stoj? = How much is it? How much does it cost?
Koko stoj _____? = How much is _____? How much does _____ cost?
Prosm vs, koko stoj tento modr sveter? = Excuse me, how much does this blue sweater cost?
_____ stoj ... = _____ costs ...
... jedno euro = one euro
... dve/tri/tyri eur = two/three/four euros
... p/es/sedem er = five/six/seven euros (used for numbers higher than, or equal to, 5)
... jeden dolr = one dollar
... dva/tri/tyri dolre = two/three/four dollars
... p/es/sedem dolrov = five/six/seven dollars (number highers than, or equal to, 5)
... ptns devdesiat = 15,90 (say, 15 euros/dollars, 90 cents)
Tento zelen uterk stoj tridsaosem er, ale tamten hned stoj dvadsadev tridsa. = This green
towel costs 38 euros, but that brown one over there costs 29,30.
drah = expensive
lacn = cheap
cena = price
vysok cena = high price
nzka cena = low price
zava = discount
Kva je lacn, ale kvalitn kva je vemi drah. = Coffee is cheap, but quality coffee is very expensive.
Prepte, ale toto nov auto je naozaj prli drah. = I'm sorry, but this new car is really too expensive.
UNITS OF TIME
rok = year
mesiac = month
tde = week
hodina = hour
minta = minute
sekunda = second
Lesson 6 - BASIC PHRASES 24

WHAT TIME IS IT?
Koko je hodn? = What time is it? (literally, something like: 'How many hours are there?')
Je jedna hodina... = It is one o'clock
...rno = in the morning
...doobeda = a.m. (literally: before lunch)
...dopoludnia = a.m. (literally: before noon)
...poobede = p.m. (literally: after lunch)
...popoludn = p.m. (literally: after noon)
...veer = in the evening
...v noci = at night
S dve/tri/tyri hodiny... = It is 2/3/4 o'clock...
Je p/es/sedem hodn... = It is 5/6/7 o'clock... (for numbers higher than, or equal to, 5)
Je dvans pdesiatosem. = 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 tvr na p. = It is 4:15. (literally: 'It is quarter on five.')
S tri tvrte 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 smej. = It is half past seven. (literally: 'It is half of the eighth (hour).')
DNI V TDNI = days of the weeks
pondelok = Monday
utorok = Tuesday
streda = Wednesday
tvrtok = Thursday
piatok = Friday
sobota = Saturday
nedea = Sunday
v pondelok = on Monday
v utorok = on Tuesday
v stredu = on Wednesday
vo tvrtok = on Thursday
v piatok = on Friday
v sobotu = on Saturday
v nedeu = on Sunday
vkend = weekend
cez vkend = during the weekend
Lesson 6 - WHAT TIME IS IT? 25

dnes = today
zajtra = tomorrow
pozajtra = the day after tomorrow
vera = yesterday
predverom = the day before yesterday
MESIACE = months
janur = January
februr = February
marec = March
aprl = April
mj = May
jn = June
jl = July
august = August
september = September
oktber = October
november = November
december = December
v januri = in January
vo februri = in February
v marci = in March
v aprli = in April
v mji = in May
v jni = in June
v jli = in July
v auguste = in August
v septembri = in September
v oktbri = in October
v novembri = in November
v decembri = in December
RON OBDOBIA = seasons of the year
jar = spring
leto = summer
jese = fall, autumn
zima = winter
na jar = in the spring
v lete (or cez leto) = in the summer
Lesson 6 - MESIACE = months 26

na jese = 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 "Vetko najlepie k narodeninm!" (literally: 'All the best
for [your] birthday!"), or simply "Vetko najlepie!" ('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!':
Vea astia, zdravia!

Vea astia, zdravia!
Vea astia, mil (or mil) [name]!
Vea astia, zdravia!
which means:
A lot of happiness, [and] health!
A lot of happiness, dear [name]!
In older generations, another song is common:

"ivi, ivi, ivi, 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 "Vetko najlepie k meninm!" 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 Silvester-
specific shows (that involve a lot of singing, dancing and some attempts at humor) - and try to stay up until
midnight. After the countdown to midnight, many people will throw pyrotechnics or launch fireworks from their
balconies, making it quite dangerous to be in the streets during the first minutes of a new year.
Lesson 6 - BIRTHDAYS AND NAME DAYS 27

No one really cleans up, so Slovaks tend to wake up to a very messy Nov rok (New Year's Day). To wish
someone a Happy New Year, you can say "astn nov 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 fliciter (loosely translated as 'to wish you happiness').
EASTER
On Easter (Vek noc, literally: 'the great night'), Slovaks sometimes blow and paints eggs. Two important
tradition are the ibaka (the symbolic 'whipping' of women) and the oblievaka (the pouring of water over
women): Men will often plaid willow canes, and symbolically 'whip' the women, while saying "ibi, ribi,
mastn 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 ibaka and oblievaka, women are supposed to
give money or candy to the men who found them.
CHRISTMAS
For Christmas (Vianoce), Slovaks decorate Christmas trees (vianon stromek).
On Christmas Eve (tedr veer, literally 'the generous evening' - December 24th), the family meets for a
Christmas dinner. This often involves round Chris wafers (obltky, or opltky), served with honey. Many
families also make the traditional Christmas sauerkraut soup (kapustnica). Some families will buy a
Christmas carp (vianon 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' (Jeiko).
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 28
SAINT NICHOLAS DAY
December 6th is Saint Nicholas Day (usually referred to simply as Mikul). The night before Mikul,
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 (Svt Mikul, or simply Mikul) as an old, white-haired and bearded man
dressed in red - similar to how Americans imagine Santa Claus. Occasionally, cultural centers or schools
organize Mikul-themed shows for children - in these, Mikul is often accompanied by a ert, 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 Svtho Mikula, neu sa,
neska 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 29

Lesson 7
BASIC WORDS AND PHRASES
naprklad = for example

tu = here
tam = there
teraz = now
vonku = outside
vntri = inside
To ma mrz. = I am sorry. (used to express sympathy, rather than to apologize; literally, something like: That
saddens me., or even I regret that.)
Tem sa. = I am looking forward (to it).
Tem sa na... = I look forward to...
Tem sa na teba. = I look forward to (seeing) you. (informal)
LAST WEEK/MONTH/YEAR, NEXT WEEK/MONTH/YEAR
minul = previous (adj.)

minul tde = last week
minul mesiac = last month
minul rok = last year
budci = future (adj.)
budci tde = next week
budci mesiac = next month
budci 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' (by):
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 s (they are - group of males, and mixed
groups), ony s (they are - group of females)
Lesson 7 - BASIC WORDS AND PHRASES 30

To negate by 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 s (they are not - group of
males, and mixed groups), ony nie s (they are not - group of females)
PAST TENSE:
In the past tense, the verb by 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 stolika nebola dostatone vysok. = His chair was not high enough.
Ten n kolega bola v pondelok poobede tak pracovit. = That (female) colleague of ours was so hard-
working on Monday afternoon.
FUTURE TENSE:
In the future tense, the verb by has these forms:
ja budem (I will be) my budeme (we will be)

ty bude (you will be - sing. informal) vy budete (you will be - sing. formal, and plural)
on bude (he will be) oni bud (they will be - group of males, and mixed groups)
ona bude (she will be) ony bud (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 nebude (you will not be - sing. Inf.) vy nebudete (you will not be - sing. formal, and plural)
on nebude (he will not be) oni nebud (they will not be - group of males, and mixed groups)
ona nebude (she will not be) ony nebud (they will not be - group of females)
Lesson 7 - THE VERB 'TO BE': PAST AND FUTURE TENSE 31

Zajtra bude vetern de, ale bude vemi teplo. = Tomorrow will be a windy day, but it will be very warm.
Vo februri 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 nedea. = If today is Saturday, then tomorrow will be Sunday
Ak bol predverom tvrtok, vera bol piatok. = If the day before yesterday was a Thursday, yesterday
was a Friday.
Kedy...? = When...? (in questions)
Kedy bude medzinrodn filmov festival? = When will the international film festival be?
Ke..., ... = When..., ... (to introduce a clause)
Ke som bol mlad, bol som pekn, ale nebol som vbec inteligentn. = When I was young, I was
good-looking, but I was not intelligent at all.
SVETOV STRANY = COMPASS POINTS (literally: 'world sides')
sever = the north

juh = the south
vchod = the east
zpad = the west
na severe = in the north
na juhu = in the south
na vchode = in the east
na zpade = in the west
Related adjectives:
severn = north(ern)
jun = south(ern)
vchodn = east(ern)
zpadn = west(ern)
severn Slovensko = northern Slovakia
Jun Amerika = South America
Severn Karolna = North Carolina
vchodn pobreie = East Coast
zpadn Afrika = West Africa
vchodn zia = East Asia
jun Eurpa = southern Europe
Lesson 7 - IF..., WHEN... 32

TALKING ABOUT THE WEATHER
Ak je dnes poasie? = 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.
...karedo. = ugly.
...ndherne / krsne. = beautiful.
...prjemne. = pleasant.
...akurt. = just right.
...oblano. = cloudy.
...zamraen. = overcast.
...polooblano. = 'semi-cloudy.'
...dadivo. = rainy.
...hmlisto. = foggy.
...veterno. = windy.
...chladno. = cold.
...teplo. = warm.
...horco. = hot.
... slneno. = 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 vetern ('windy').
Pr. = It is raining.
Mrhol. = It is raining. (lightly)
Sne. = It is snowing.
Mrzne. = It is freezing.
Svieti slnko. = The sun is shining.
Pad d. = Rain is falling.
Pad sneh. = Snow is falling.
Padaj krpy. = It is hailing.
Fka vietor. = The wind is blowing.
Blska sa. = There is lightning.
Hrm. = There is thunder.
Lesson 7 - TALKING ABOUT THE WEATHER 33

teplota = temperature
teplomer = thermometer
Koko je dnes stupov? = What's the temperature today? (literally: 'How many degrees are there today?')
Dnes... = Today...
...je jeden stupe. = (the temperature) is one degree.
...s dva, tri, tyri stupne. = ...two, three, four degrees.
...je (plus) p, es, sedem stupov. = (plus/positive) five, six, seven degrees. (for 5 or more degrees)
...je mnus dvans stupov. = ...negative twelve degrees.
Note: We use degrees Celsius in Slovakia, and do not understand - at all - the Fahrenheit scale. Here's a
quick guide:
0C - freezing point (bod mrazu)
20C - room temperature (izbov teplota)
30C - very warm day
100C - boiling point (bod varu)
slnko = the sun

oblak (or mrak) = cloud
obloha = the sky
vzduch = air
vietor = wind
d = rain
mrholenie = light rain (neuter)
hmla = fog
sneh = snow
ad = ice
mrz = frost, biting cold
brka = 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 (predpove poasia).
JNOK
The Slovak national hero (nrodn hrdina) is an early 18th century bandit by the name of Juraj Jnok, or
simply Jnok. Jnok 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' (bohatm bral, chudobnm dval). Most of his
band's victims were wealthy merchants. According to legend, Jnok was arrested in a pub, after an old
lady spilled peas on the floor: Jnok slipped, and the authorities were able to apprehend him. He was then
imprisoned, tried and executed in Liptovsk Mikul: As was commonly the case for bandits, Jnok was
Lesson 7 - JNOK 34
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,
Jnok said: Ke 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 Jnok was to the bandit from the legend.
The late Michal Doolomansk, a famous Slovak actor, played Jnok's part in a musical.
NAD TATROU SA BLSKA - THE SLOVAK NATIONAL ANTHEM
The Slovak national anthem (nrodn hymna) is called 'Nad Tatrou sa blska' ('There is lightning above
the Tatras'). The words were written by Janko Matuka, 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 blska, There's lightning over the Tatras,

hromy divo bij. thunderclaps wildly beat
Zastavme ich, bratia, Let us stop them, brothers,
ve sa ony stratia, They'll just disappear,
Slovci oij. the Slovaks will revive.
To Slovensko nae That Slovakia of ours

posia tvrdo spalo has been fast asleep so far
Ale blesky hromu But the thunder's lightning
vzbudzuj 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 (ench) 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 BLSKA - THE SLOVAK NATIONAL ANTHEM 35

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 36

Lesson 8
Pozor! = Attention! (often used on warnings)

varovanie = warning
zkaz = literally: prohibition (used on signs that prohibit various activities)
dmy a pni = 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.")
o znamen _____ ? = What does _____ mean?
OBLEENIE = CLOTHING
vetrovka (or bunda) = winter/warm jacket, anorak

kabt = coat
l = scarf
rukavica, rukavice = glove, gloves
mikina = a fleece, a hoodie
sveter = sweater
pulver = pullover
blzka = blouse
triko = T-shirt
koea = shirt
sako = formal jacket
kravata = tie
nohavice = trousers/pants
rifle (alebo dnsy) = jeans
teplky = sweatpants
opasok = belt
suka = skirt
spodn prdlo = underwear
slipy = briefs
trenrky = boxers (or shorts)
nohaviky = panties
podprsenka = bra
topnka, topnky = shoe, shoes
ponoka, ponoky = sock, socks
ima, imy = boot, boots
iapka = hat (for cold weather)

klobk = a traditional, gentleman's hat
iltovka = cap
prste = ring
nramok = bracelet
nhrdelnk = 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 pota = Michal's computer

Michalova koea = 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 pota = Jana's computer

Janina koea = Jana's shirt
Janino auto = Jana's car
Consider these examples:

Bratislava je Jurajovo obben mesto. = Bratislava is Juraj's favorite city.
Karolova koea je prli vek, ale jeho nohavice s akurt. = Karol's shirt is too big, but his pants are
just right.
Zuzanina erven suka je celkom pekn, ale jej triko je kared. = Zuzana's red skirt is quite nice, but
her T-shirt is ugly.
Prep, ale naozaj neviem, kde je Mriina ierna topnka. = I'm sorry, but I really don't know where
Mria's black shoe is.
HOW OFTEN?
Ako asto ____? = How often ____?

nikdy = never
niekedy = sometimes
asto = often
vdy = always
prleitostne = occasionally
raz za as (or sem-tam) = once in a while
Lesson 8 - POSSESSIVES FORMS OF NAMES 38

UDSK TELO = HUMAN BODY
telo = body
hlava = head
krk = neck
hru = chest
prsia = breasts, female chest
brucho = stomach (tummy)
zadok = bottom
vlasy = hair
brada = chin, beard
fzy = mustache
oboie = eyebrows
elo = forehead
lce = cheek (neuter)
oko, oi = eye, eyes
ucho, ui = ear, ears
nos = nose
sta = 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
ps = fist
lake = elbow
koleno = knee
stehno = thigh
ltko = calf
pta = heel
srdce = heart (neuter)
mozog = brain
aldok = stomach
pca = lungs
Lesson 8 - UDSK TELO = HUMAN BODY 39

THE VERB 'TO HAVE' - PRESENT TENSE
In the present tense, the verb ma (to have) takes on these forms:
ja mm (I have) my mme (we have)

ty m (you have - sing. informal) vy mte (you have - sing. formal, and plural)
on m (he has) oni maj (they have - group of males, and mixed groups)
ona m (she has) ony maj (they have - group of females)
ono m (it has; for neuter - rare)
To negate the verb ma, use the usual prefix ne-:
ja nemm (I don't have) my nemme (we don't have)

ty nem (you don't have) vy nemte (you don't have)
on nem (he doesn't have) oni nemaj (they don't have)
ona nem (she doesn't have) ony nemaj (they don't have)
ono nem (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 40

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 m brata. = Jozef has a brother.
pota = computer pota

Naa domcnos m pota. = Our household has a computer.
Feminine gender: We change the final -a into a -u ending.

kravata = tie kravatu
Milan m vdy kravatu. = Milan always has a tie.
iapka = hat iapku
Jej otec m niekedy iapku. = Her father sometimes has a hat.
Neuter gender: The word does not change.

okno = window okno
divadlo = theater divadlo
Ich dom m okno. = Their house has a window.
Mesto Nitra m divadlo. = The city of Nitra has a theater.
SUFFIX -EVER, PREFIX ANY-
Recall all the interrogative pronouns we have already learned:
kto = who
o = what
kedy = when
kde = where
koko = how many, how much
ako = how
ak = what kind of
Lesson 8 - SUFFIX -EVER, PREFIX ANY- 41

We can use the suffix -kovek in the same way that -ever is used in English:
ktokovek = whoever
okovek = whatever
kedykovek = whenever
kdekovek = wherever
kokokovek = however many, however much
akokovek = however (meaning: in whichever way)
akkovek = 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
hocio = anything
hocikedy = anytime
hocikde = anywhere
hocikoko = however many, however much
hocijako = in any way
hocijak = any (meaning, roughly: whatever kind of, any kind of)
ONLY, AS MANY AS...
iba = only
len = only
a = as many as (emphasizes that there is a lot of something)
Toto lacn auto stoj iba ptisc er, ale tamto drah stoj a esdesiattisc. = This cheap car costs
only 5,000 euros, but that expensive one over there costs as much as 60,000.
Zajtra bude vemi 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 Nov as ('New Time') - infamous for its overblown headlines that usually focus on
scandalous celebrity affairs.
SME: [http://www.sme.sk/]
Pravda: [http://www.pravda.sk/]
Nov as: [http://www.cas.sk/]
Popular weekly magazines include Plus sedem dn ('Plus seven days'), ivot ('Life') and Tde ('Week'):
Plus sedem dn: [http://plus7dni.pluska.sk/plus7dni/]
ivot: [http://zivot.lesk.cas.sk/]
Tde: [http://www.tyzden.sk/]
Lesson 8 - ONLY, AS MANY AS... 42

Slovakia has a state-owned TV company called Slovensk televzia ('Slovak Television'), much like the
American PBS, which broadcasts on three channels. Private TV channels are more popular, however, and
include TV Markza 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:
Markza: [http://www.markiza.sk]
Joj: [http://www.joj.sk]
Slovensk televzia: [http://www.stv.sk/]
TA3: [http://www.ta3.com/]
There is also a state-owned radio company Slovensk 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 Rdio Expres, which plays a lot of pop music. You can listen to these radio stations online:
Slovensk rozhlas: [http://www.rozhlas.sk/]

Rdio Expres: [http://www.expres.sk/]
Lesson 8 - SLOVAK MEDIA 43

Lesson 9
Ja ni, 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 hladn. / Mm hlad. = I am hungry. / 'I have hunger.'
Som smdn. / Mm smd. = I am thirsty. / 'I have thirst.'
HOW OLD ARE YOU?
Koko m rokov? = How old are you? (informal 'you'; literally: 'How many years do you have?')
Koko mte rokov? = How old are you? (formal 'you')
Mm ... = I am ...
... jeden rok. = one year old.
... dva/tri/tyri roky. = two, three, four years old.
... p/es/sedem rokov. = five, six, seven years old.
Moja sestra je vemi mlad. M len sedemns rokov. = My sister is very young. She is only seventeen
years old.
OVOCIE = FRUIT
ovocie = fruit
jablko = apple
hruka = pear
pomaran = orange
mandarnka = clementine
marhua = apricot
broskya = peach
jahoda = strawberry
malina = raspberry
erea = cherry
via = black cherry
slivka = plum
bann = banana
anans = pineapple
citrn = lemon
hrozno = grapes

ZELENINA = VEGETABLES
zelenina = vegetables
paradajka = tomato
paprika = pepper
mrkva = carrot
alt = lettuce (also: salad)
zemiak = potato
cibua = onion
cesnak = garlic
rya = rice
fazua = beans
hrach = peas
orech = nut
tekvica = pumpkin
baklan = eggplant
kapusta = cabbage
petrlen = parsley
brokolica = broccoli
kalerb = kohlrabi
pent = spinach
kel = kale
I LIKE, I DON'T LIKE + NOUN
Mm rd _______. = I like ... (if the speaker is male)

Mm rada _______. = I like ... (if the speaker is female)
Note: Please use the accusative case - whatever follows Mm rd/rada... is the direct object. To negate,
use the prefix ne- (as usual).
Nemm rd pent, ale mm vemi rd mrkvu. = I don't like spinach, but I like carrots very much.
Mj brat Jozef m rd kvu, ale ja mm rd aj. = My brother Jozef likes coffee, but I like tea.
NPOJE = drinks
npoj = drink, beverage

nealkoholick npoj (or nealko, for short) = non-alcoholic beverage
voda = water
aj = tea
kva = coffee
kakao = hot chocolate
Lesson 9 - ZELENINA = VEGETABLES 45
minerlka = mineral water
kola = cola
malinovka = any kind of soft drink other than cola
ds = juice
alkoholick npoj = alcoholic beverage
alkohol = alcohol
pivo = beer
vno = wine
vodka = vodka
slivovica = plum brandy
rum = rum
ampansk = 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:
o si prajete? = What would you like? (literally: 'What do you wish for?')
You should answer.
Prosm si _______. = I would like a ....
Please note that the noun after Prosm si should be in the accusative case, as it is the direct object in the
sentence.
Dobr de, pn Novk. o si prajete? = Hello, Mr. Novk. What would you like?
Prosm si alt a kvu. Dnes nie som vemi hladn. = I would like a salad and coffee. I am not very
hungry today.
TRADITIONAL SLOVAK DISHES
The Slovak national dish is called bryndzov haluky. It is fantastic. It consists of small boiled potato pieces
(haluky = 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 bryndzov haluky
makes me hungry. Here's a picture (from wikipedia [link]):
Another popular dish with haluky is called strapaky: This meal consists of the same potato pieces, but -
instead of bryndza - they are mixed with sauerkraut (kysl kapusta). A restaurant classic is fried cheese
(vypran syr) with French fries (hranolky). Around Trnava - where much of my family comes from - loke
are a popular meal: These are very similar to crpes (palacinky), but are not sweet and are often filled with
poppy seeds (mak). To find out more about Slovak cuisine, please visit my friend ubo's website about
Slovak cooking [here].
Lesson 9 - ORDERING FOOD AND BUYING THINGS 46

Lesson 10
IMPORTANT AND INTERESTING WORDS
dleit = important
zaujmav = interesting
MORE FOOD-RELATED VOCABULARY
mso = meat
kuracie mso = chicken meat
hovdzie mso = beef
bravov mso = pork
chlieb = bread
rook = roll of bread (longer than it is wide)
ema = bun
mlieko = milk
polievka = soup
slepaia polievka = chicken soup
so = salt
cukor = sugar
korenie = spice
med = honey
tanier = plate
vidlika = fork
lyika = spoon
n = knife
prbor = silverware
prloha = side dish
dezert = dessert
kol (or zkusok) = cake (small, or one piece)
torta = cake (big, like a birthday cake)
zmrzlina = icecream
Mm chu na... = I feel like having... (literally: 'I have a taste for...')
Dnes m Jozef chu 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 ma (to have):
ja mm (I have) my mme (we have)

ty m (you have - sing. informal) vy mte (you have - sing. formal, and plural)
on m (he has) oni maj (they have - group of males, and mixed groups)
ona m (she has) ony maj (they have - group of females)
ono m (it has; for neuter - rare)
In the past tense, the verb ma 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)
Minul tden sme mali nvtevu. = Last week, we had a visit.

Vera som mal chu na zkusok, ale mal som iba chlieb. = Yesterday, I felt like having a cake, but I only
had bread.
In the future tense, the verb ma takes on the following forms:
ja budem ma (I will have) my budeme ma (we will have)

ty bude ma (you will have) vy budete ma (you will have)
on/ona/ono bude ma (he/she/it will have) oni/ony bud ma (they will have)
As usual, you can use the prefix ne- to negate:

Nikdy som nemal rd pent, ale vdy som mal rd mrkvu. = I have never liked spinach, but I have
always liked carrots.
Ak nebudem ma peniaze, nebudem ma auto. = If I don't have money, I will not have a car.
Tento piatok budem ma skku. = This Friday, I will have an exam.
Lesson 10 - THE VERB 'TO HAVE' IN THE PAST AND FUTURE TENSES 48
DAILY MEALS
raajky = breakfast
obed = lunch (at around noon)
veera = 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 raajky = for breakfast
na obed = for lunch
na veeru = for dinner
o budeme ma zajtra na veeru? = What will we have for dinner tomorrow?
o je dnes na obed? = What is for lunch today?
o ste mali vera na raajky? = What did you have for breakfast yesterday?
Dnes som mal na raajky chlieb, kvu a bann. = Today, I had bread, coffee and a banana for breakfast.
Zajtra budeme ma na veeru polievku, kol a zmrzlinu. = Tomorrow, we'll have soup, cake and
icecream for dinner.
HOUSES AND APARTMENTS
dom = house
byt = apartment
bytovka (or panelk) = apartment building
okno = window
dvere = door
strecha = roof
stena = wall
komn = chimney
schody = stairs
vah = elevator
miestnos = room (in any building)
izba = room (in a house or apartment)
chodba = corridor, lobby
kuchya = kitchen
spla = bedroom
obvaka = living room
detsk izba = childrens' room
kpea = bathroom
toaleta, wc or zchod = toilet
pivnica = cellar
Lesson 10 - DAILY MEALS 49

povala = attic
poste = bed
gau (or pohovka) = couch
vaa = bathtub
umvadlo = washbasin
skria = 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 asopis je pod stolikou. = The book is on the table, but the magazine is under the
chair.
Nad gauom s 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 koi je odpad. = Trash is in the trash can.

Prosm, vstpte do nho bytu! = Please, step into our apartment.
Tento biely vtk prilieta z horcich krajn. = This white bird is flying in from hot countries.
Kad rno vychdzam z domu o smej. = Every morning I come out of my house at 8am.
Som zo Spojench ttov americkch. = I am from the United States of America.
Po bliie k oknu, lebo je tam sviey 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 veda) = next to, beside, at
Pred jeho domom parkuje susedovo auto. = The neighbor's car is parking in front of his house.
Po prrodnej katastrofe bolo vea kd. = After the natural disaster, there was a lot of damage.
Za plotom je vek zhrada a pri dome stoj nov gar. = Behind the fence is a big garden, and a new
garage is standing next to the house.
Veda ma sed predseda vldy. = Next to me sits the Prime Minister.
medzi = between, among

proti = against
oproti = opposite
okolo = around (also 'approximately')
Stolika je medzi stolom a skriou, ale poste je oproti zrkadlu. = The chair is between the table and the
closet, but the bed is opposite the mirror.
Vetci sme proti tomuto nvrhu, pretoe je hlpy a kontraproduktvny. = We are all against this
proposal, because it is stupid and counterproductive.
Mesiac kri 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
Vchodn (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 Lnica, 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
valaka.
Lesson 10 - SLOVAK TRADITIONAL MUSIC, DANCE AND COSTUMES 51

Lesson 11
Smiem prosi? = literally: 'May I ask?' - used when asking for a dance at formal occasions
naastie = fortunately, thankfully
naneastie, bohuia or iabohu = unfortunately
Mm chu na obed, ale bohuia nemm peniaze. = I feel like having lunch, but unfortunately I don't have
any money.
Nemm peaenku, ale naastie mm kreditn 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 robi ('to do') as an example. The patterns you'll
see, however, can easily be generalized, and we will do so using the verbs ta ('to read') and psa ('to
write'). Note that the infinitives of Slovak verbs always end in -.
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 robi, the stem is rob-.
Depending on the subject (or grammatical person), you then have to attach the underlined suffixes to this
stem. As an example, let's conjugate robi:
ja robm (I am doing) my robme (we are doing)

ty rob (you are doing) vy robte (you are doing)
on/ona/ono rob (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 ta and psa, for instance, the
corresponding form would be oni/ony taj and oni/ony pu, 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 nerobm (I am not doing) my nerobme (we are not doing)
ty nerob (you are not doing) vy nerobte (you are not doing)
on/ona/ono nerob (he/she/it is not doing) oni/ony nerobia (they are not doing)
Let us now conjugate the verbs ta and psa. The stems of these verbs are ta- and pe-, respectively.
ta (stem: ta-) = to read: ja tam, ty ta, on/ona/ono ta, my tame, vy tate, oni/ony taj
psa (stem: pe-) = to write: ja pem, ty pe, on/ona/ono pe, my peme, vy pete, oni/ony pu
o rob dnes veer? = What are you doing tonight?

Ja teraz tam knihu, ale vy pete 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 ma ('to have') in
[Lesson 10].
In particular, you can do so by using the future tense of the verb by ('to be') followed by the infinitive of the
verb you are conjugating. Let's do this for the verb robi:
ja budem robi (I will be doing) my budeme robi (we will be doing)

ty bude robi (you will be doing) vy budete robi (you will be doing)
on/ona/ono bude robi (he/she/it will be doing) oni/ony bud robi (they will be doing)
Again, you can negate by attaching the ne- prefix to the future tense form of by:
ja nebudem robi (I will not be doing) my nebudeme robi (we will not be doing)
ty nebude robi (you will not be doing) vy nebudete robi (you will not be doing)
on/ona/ono nebude robi(he/she/it will not be doing) oni/ony nebud robi (they will not be doing)
Viete, o budete robi zajtra a v pondelok? = Do you know what you will be doing tomorrow and on
Monday?
Zajtra budem a asopis, ale v pondelok budeme ja a moja kolegya psa lnok. = 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 ma ('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 -.
3.) Attach the corresponding suffix, as underlined below.
Lesson 11 - CONJUGATION IN THE FUTURE TENSE 53

Let us now conjugate robi in the past tense. First, we remove the final - 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 ta and psa in the past tense:

ta (stem: ta-)= to read: ja som tal, ja som tala, ty si tal, ty si tala, on tal, ona tala, ono
talo, my sme tali, vy ste tali, oni/ony tali
psa (stem: pe-)= to write: ja som psal, ja som psala, ty si psal, ty si psala, on psal, ona
psala, ono psalo, my sme psali, vy ste psali, oni/ony psali
Minul tde sme psali sprvu pre parlament. = Last week, we were writing a report for the parliament.
Ty vbec nevie, o si vera robil! Bol si opit? = You don't know what you were doing yesterday at all!
Were you drunk?
tal som prbeh o hrade a rozprvku 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
nmestie = (town) square
most = bridge
budova = building
Lesson 11 - WHAT'S IN A CITY? 54

cesta = road
chodnk = sidewalk
prechod pre chodcov (or simply prechod) = crosswalk
semafr = traffic lights
kriovatka = crossroads, intersection
podchod = underpass (for pedestrians)
peia zna = pedestrian zone
parkovisko = parking lot
stanica = station
autobusov stanica = bus station
eleznin stanica = railroad station, train station
hlavn stanica = main station
autobusov zastvka = bus stop
letisko = airport
prstav = port, harbor
metro = metro, subway, underground
banka = bank
poisova = insurance company (they often have their own buildings in Slovakia)
bankomat = ATM
(novinov) stnok = newsstand
obchod = shop, shore
obchodn dom = department store, shopping center, shopping mall
potraviny = grocery store
drogria = 'pharmacy' (store with toothpaste, shampoo, detergent; but without medicine)
hotel = hotel
ubytova (or penzin) = accommodation house (like a hotel, but less fancy)
retaurcia = restaurant
bar = bar
krma (or hostinec) = pub
rad = office
radn budova = office building
mestsk rad = city office (where city government services are)
radnica = townhall
kino = movie theater
divadlo = theater
dom kultry (or kultrny dom) = literally: 'a house of culture' - a building with performance venues
plavre = building with a swimming pool
kpalisko = outdoor area with swimming ppols
nemocnica (or poliklinika) = hospital
lekre = pharmacy (where you buy medicine)
kola = school
Lesson 11 - WHAT'S IN A CITY? 55

univerzita (or vysok kola) = university
pomnk = monument
socha = statue
kostol = church
cintorn = cemetery
hrob = grave
hrad = castle
zmok = manor house (similar to a castle, except smaller and does not have grand towers)
park = park
fontna = 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 Eln [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 Krovn
bielych tenisiek ('The Queen of White Tennis Shoes') [video], Neviem by sm ('I Don't Know How To Be
Alone') [video], Stukov ('High School Prom') [video], Tanenice z Lnice ('Dancers from Lnica')
[video], Zabil sa chlapec ('A Boy Has Fallen In Love') [video], Voda, o ma dr nad vodou ('The Water
That Keeps Me Above Water') [video], Nie sme zl ('We Are Not Bad') [video] or Ak nie si moja ('If You Are
Not Mine') [video].
Richard Mller [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 ahy ('A Cigarette for Two Draws') [video], Milovanie v dadi ('Making Love in the Rain')
[video], Naa lska let ('Our Love Flies') [video], Spotaj ma ('Count Me Up') [video], Nebude to tak
ahk ('It Won't Be So Easy') [video], Tlakov n ('Area of Low Air Pressure ') [video], Holub kr ('The
King of Pigeons') [video], Non optika ('Night Optics') [video] or Nah II. ('Naked II.') [video]. In recent
years, Mller has also been successful with songs in the Czech language, such as Srdce jako kne 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' birka [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], Atlantda
('Atlantis') [video], Oh me oh my (with Jana Kirschner(ov)) [video], and others. Another of his well-known
songs is 22 dn ('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: Korlky od Natlky ('Beads from Little Natalie') [video], Profesor
Indigo [video], Krsny zadok ('A Beautiful Ass') [video], Waikiki [video], Pome sa zachrni ('Let's Go
Lesson 11 - CONTEMPORARY SLOVAK MUSIC 56

Save Ourselves') [video], Zuzka [video], Sme svoji ('We Are Our Own') [video], Kristnka [video], Aj tak
sme stle frajeri ('We Are Still Ballers Anyway') [video], Lska je tu s vami ('Love Is Here With You')
[video], Psy sa brnia tokom ('Dogs Defend Themselves By Attacking') [video], S nohami na stole ('With
My Feet Up on the Table') [video]
In Kafe [website] - punk(?), pop: umil [video], Ruov zhrada ('Rose Garden') [video], Rno ('Morning')
[video], akujeme vm ('Thank You') [video], Vianoce ('Christmas') [video], Spomienky na budcnos
('Memories of the Future') [video], spene zapojen ('Successfully Connected') [video]
No Name [website] - soft rock: ily ('Veins') [video], Ty a tvoja sestra ('You and Your Sister') [video],
Pokm si na zzrak ('I Will Wait for a Miracle') [video], Nie alebo no ('No or Yes') [video], akujem, e si
('Thank You for Being') [video]
IMT Smile [website] - soft rock: Vesel pesnika ('A Happy Song') [video], udia nie s zl ('People Are Not
Bad') [video], Opri sa o ma ('Lean Against Me') [video], Km stpa dym ('While the Smoke Is Rising')
[video]
Jana Kirschner(ov) [website] - pop: Modr ('Blue') [video], Lka ('A Fox') [video], V cudzom meste ('In a
Foreign City') [video], ienka domca ('A Stay-at-Home Woman') [video]
Desmod [website] - soft rock, pop: Vyroben pre ma ('Made For Me') [video], Zhor vetko, o mm
('Everything That I Have Will Burn') [video], Stroj ('Machine') [video], Na tebe zvisl ('Addicted to You')
[video], Mrz do l ('Frost into the Veins') [video]
Horke sle [website] - grunge/punk: Brokoky [video], Koky, perie ('Skins, feathers') [video], Shanghai
Cola [video], Atmov kryt ('Atomic Shelter') [video]
Polemic [website] - ska: Komplikovan ('Complicated') [video], Ona je tak ('She Is Like That') [video],
kandl ('Scandal') [video]
Pavol Habera a Team [website] - soft rock - Km a mm ('While I Have You') [video], Reklama na ticho
('Advertisement for Silence') [video], Pre, pre ('Away, away') [video], Je to vo hviezdach ('It's in the
Stars') [video], Lska, necestuj tm vlakom ('Love, Don't Travel on That Train') [video], Drm ti miesto ('I
Am Holding This Spot for You') [video], Krtke lsky ('Short Loves') [video]
Robo Grigorov - pop: Modlitba lsky ('A Prayer of Love') [video], Ona je Madona ('She Is Madonna')
[video], Vetci sa zdeme raz v jednej posteli ('We Will All Meet One Day in the Same Bed') [video]
Kontrafakt - rap, hip-hop: ivot je boj ('Life Is A Fight') [video], Pravda bol ('The Truth Hurts') [video], ERA
[video], Dva mi ('It Is Giving Me') [video]
Gladitor - rock: Pesnika o Medulienke ('A Song about Medulienka') [video], Kpim si pekn de ('I Will
Buy a Nice Day') [video]
Rytmus - rap, hip-hop, pop: Prbeh ('Story') [video], Zlatokopky ('Golddiggers') [video], Verejn nepriate
('Public Enemy') [video], Jebe ('F--ed Up') [video], Technotronic Flow [video]
Pavol Hammel - pop: ZRP ('Parent-Teacher Association') [video], Uiteka tanca ('Dance Teacher')
[video]
Lesson 11 - CONTEMPORARY SLOVAK MUSIC 57

Lesson 12
Fakt? = Really? (literally: 'Fact?')

a tak alej (abbreviated as at.) = and so on
vetko = everything
nieo = something
ni = nothing
vetci = everybody, everyone
niekto = someone
nikto = nobody, no one
doma = at home
domov = (to/towards) home
ZUBY = HOBBIES / I LIKE
o rd rob? o rd robte? = What do you like to to? (when the person you're asking is male; informal
and formal, respectively)
o rada rob? o rada robte? = What do you like to to? (when the person you're asking is female;
informal and formal, respectively)
o radi robte? = What do you like to do? (either plural 'you', or formal for both sexes)
Note: rd/rada/radi literally means 'gladly.'
Rd / Rada... + present tense = I like to... (use rd if the 'liker' is male, and rada if the 'liker' is female)
... pozerm televziu. = ...watch TV.
... povam hudbu. = ...listen to music.
... hrm futbal. = ...play soccer.
... hrm na gitaru. = ...play the guitar.
... varm haluky. = ...cook haluky.
... peiem kol. = ...bake a cake.
... chodm do kina. = ...go to the movie theater.
pozera (stem: pozer-) = to watch
pova (stem: pova-) = to listen
spieva (stem: spieva-) = to sing
tancova (stem: tancuje-) = to dance
vari (stem: varm-) = to cook
piec (stem: peie-) = to bake
jes (stem: je-) = to eat (Note: past tense - ja som jedol, ty si jedla, ...)
pi (stem: pije-) = to drink
beha (stem: beh-) = to run, to jog
kra (stem: kra-) = to walk
chodi (stem: chod-) = to go (somewhere) regularly
spa (stem: sp-) = to sleep
hra (stem: hr-) = to play
hra + accusative case = to play (a game or a sport)
hra na + accusative case = to play (a musical instrument)
jazdi (stem: jazd-) = to drive, to ride
faji (stem: faj-) = to smoke
televzia = TV
hudba = music
rdio = radio
tanec = dance
pesnika (or piese [fem.]) = song
futbal = soccer, (European) football
hokej = hockey
tenis = tennis
volejbal = volleyball
basketbal = basketball
bejzbal = baseball
americk futbal = (American) football
gitara = guitar
klavr = piano
husle = violin
bubon = drum
flauta = flute
trbka = trumpet
PREPOSITIONS: WITH, WITHOUT, FOR, ABOUT
s (or so) = with

bez = without
pre = for
o = about (a topic)
Vera som bola nakupova s mojou kamartkou. = I went shopping with my (female) friend yesterday.
Neviem, ako sa dostanem do mesta bez fungujceho auta. = I don't know how I'll get into town without a
functioning car.
Tto vetrovka je mj dar pre Jakuba. = This winter coat is my gift for Jakub.
Moja nov kniha je o histrii. = My new book is about Slovak history.
Lesson 12 - PREPOSITIONS: WITH, WITHOUT, FOR, ABOUT 59

VOCABULARY: NATURE
prroda = nature
prostredie (neuter) = environment
hora (or vrch) = mountain
pohorie (neuter) = mountain range
kopec = hill
dolina (or dolie) = valley
les = forest
strom = tree
trva = grass
kvet = flower
lka = meadow
rieka = river
potok = stream, creek
breh = (river) bank
jazero = lake
kame = stone
skala = rock (very large piece of stone)
more (neuter) = sea
ocen = ocean
vlna = wave
pobreie (neuter) = shore, coast
ostrov = island
pl (fem.) = beach
sopka = volcano
jaskya = cave
p (fem.) = desert
piesok = sand
PAST TENSE CONJUGATION OF VERBS WITH -IE INFINITIVES
In [Lesson 11], we saw how to conjugate verbs in the past tense: First, remove the final -. Then, attach the
appropriate suffixes.
If a verb infinitive ends in -ie, however, we also have to remove the 'i' from '-ie' in the past tense. Let us
take the verb vedie ('to know') as an example:
Lesson 12 - VOCABULARY: NATURE 60

vedie (stem: vie-) = to know
In the past tense, vedie 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
vavo (or naavo) = on the left
vpravo (or napravo) = on the right
doava = to the left
doprava = to the right
The corresponding adjectives are:
horn = upper
doln (or spodn) = lower
av = left
prav = right
REFLEXIVE VERBS WITH "SA" AND "SI"
Some verbs in Slovak are reflexive: Their actions refer back to the sentence's subject.
Reflexive verbs come in two flavors:
- One type uses the word 'sa,' which indicates 'oneself' as a direct object of the verb.
- The other type uses 'si,' which means 'to oneself.'
As an example of a "sa" reflexive verb, let us take vola sa ('to call oneself'):
non-reflexive: vola (stem: vol-) = to call

reflexive: vola sa (stem: vol- sa) = to call oneself (i.e., to be called), as in "Volm sa Marek."
('My name is Marek.')
Lesson 12 - UP, DOWN, LEFT, RIGHT 61

Let us conjugate vola sa in the present tense:
ja sa volm my sa volme
(I call myself) (we call ourselves)
ty sa vol vy sa volte
(you call yourself) (you call yourselves)
on/ona/ono sa vol oni/ony sa volaj
(he/she/it calls itself) (they call themselves)
In the future tense:

ja sa budem vola my sa budeme vola
(I will call myself) (we will call ourselves)
ty sa bude vola vy sa budete vola
(you will call yourself) (you will call yourselves)
on/ona/ono sa bude vola oni/ony sa bud vola
(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 myslie si ('to think [to oneself]'):
non-reflexive: myslie (stem: mysl-) = to think (as a cognitive process), in sentences such as: "Humans
think, but stones do not."
reflexive: myslie si (stem: mysl- 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" 62

Let us now conjugate myslie si in the present tense:
ja si myslm (I think [to myself]) my si myslme (we think [to ourselves])
ty si mysl (you think [to yourself]) vy si myslte (you think [to yourselves])
on/ona/ono si mysl (he/she/it thinks [to itself]) oni/ony si myslia (they think [to hemselves])
In the future tense:

ja si budem myslie my si budeme myslie
(I will think [to myself]) (we will think [to ourselves])
ty si bude myslie vy si budete myslie
(you will think [to yourself]) (you will think [to yourselves])
on/ona/ono si bude myslie oni/ony si bud myslie
(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 -ie):
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: "E" AND "I"
e = that (used to subordinate clauses)

vidie (stem: vid-) = to see
Vidm, e tate knihu. = I see that you are reading a book.
Vedeli ste, e tam nikto nehovor po anglicky? = Did you know that no one spoke English there?
Nemyslm si, e je to dobr npad. = I don't think that's a good idea.
by rd, e = to be glad that...

Som rd, e m rd polievku. = I am glad that you like the soup. (speaker is male)
Moja dcra je rada, e tala knihu. = My sister is glad that she was reading the book.
Lesson 12 - SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS: "E" AND "I" 63

i = whether/if
Neviem, i mm dos peaz. = I don't know if I have enough money.
Viete, i tu bol mj 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 prce nie s kole. = Without work, there are no cakes.

Ak matka, tak Katka. = Like mother, like little Catherine. (similar to 'Like father, like son.')
Mli sa je udsk. = To err is human.
Trafen hus zaggala. = The hit goose has cackled. (hard to translate, similar to 'the pot calling the kettle
black')
Lska ide cez aldok. = Love goes through the stomach.
Komu niet rady, tomu niet pomoci. = For the person who does not take advice, there is no help.
o sa v mladosti nau, v starobe akoby si naiel. = What you learn in your youth - in old age, it's as if
you found it.
Opakovanie - matka mdrosti. = Repetition - the mother of wisdom. (somewhat similar to 'Practice makes
perfect.')
Kto chce psa bi, palicu si njde. = Who wants to beat a dog, will find a stick.
Dobr rada nad zlato. = Good advice above gold. (i.e., Good advice is worth more than gold.)
Kpil maku vo vreci. = He bought a cat in a bag. (means: He didn't know what he was really buying.)
Nechv de pred veerom. = Do not praise the day before the evening.
Pomaly alej zjde. = Slowly, you'll get further.
Uen nikto z neba nespadol. = Learned, no one has fallen from the heavens.
Ke nepr, aspo kvapk. = When it does not rain, at least it drips. (means: Something is better than
nothing.)
In kraj, in mrav. = Another country/region, another set of morals.
Dovtedy sa chod s dbnom po vodu, km 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 SVTOPLUK
Svtopluk was an important 9th century ruler of the most of Great Moravia (Vek 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 Svtopluk asked his three sons to come to his death
bed, and bring twigs (small tree branches). Svtopluk 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. Svtopluk 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. Svtopluk 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 Svtopluk 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 Svtopluk's sons. In modern Slovak, the word Bratislava appears to consist of
two parts: brat (meaning 'brother') and slva (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 Svtopluk,
LASICA AND SATINSK
Below, please see an older video of two very well-known Slovak comedians and intellectuals, Milan Lasica
and (the late) Jlius Satinsk. 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 SATINSK 65

Lesson 13
HYGIENICK POTREBY = ITEMS OF PERSONAL HYGIENE
umvadlo = washbasin
vaa = bathtub
umva sa (stem: umva- sa) = to wash oneself
sprcha = shower
sprchova sa (stem: sprchuje- sa) = to shower (oneself)
zubn kefka = toothbrush
zubn pasta = toothpaste
zubn ni = dental floss
iletka = razor
holiaci strojek = electric shaver
holi sa (stem: hol- sa) = to shave (oneself)
voda po holen = aftershave (literally: water after shaving)
mydlo = soap
ampn = shampoo
sprej = spray
deodorant = deodorant
parfm (or voavka) = perfume
SOME USEFUL VERBS
pta sa (stem: pta- sa) = to ask

pracova (stem: pracuje-) = to work
nudi sa (stem: nud- sa) = to be bored
meka (stem: mek-) = to be late; to be running late
aka (stem: ak-) = to wait
otvori (stem: otvra-) = to open
zatvori (stem: zatvra-) = to close
otvoren = open (adj.)
zatvoren = closed (adj.)
otvracie hodiny = opening hours
vedie (stem: vie-) = to know (meaning: to possess knowledge of, to be able to do)
pozna (stem: pozn-) = to know (meaning: to be familiar with, to have been acquainted with)
Note: vedie is like the Spanish verb saber, the French savoir, the Italian sapere, or the German wissen,
whereas pozna is like the Spanish conocer, the French connatre, the Italian conoscere, or the German
kennen.
ui (stem: u-) = to teach
ui sa (stem: u- sa) = to learn
Lesson 13 - HYGIENICK POTREBY = ITEMS OF PERSONAL HYGIENE 66

vlastni (stem: vlastn-) = to own
pamta si (stem: pamt- 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 - and use the -ho 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)
mal syn = little son malho syna
vek dom = big house vek dom
Examples:
Moja suseda m malho syna. = My (female) neighbor has a little son.
Vidm vek dom. = I see a big house.
Feminine gender: Replace the final - by the - suffix in the adjective.

pekn dcra = beautiful daughter pekn dcru
chutn polievka = tasty soup chutn polievku
Examples:
Jozefova teta m vemi pekn dcru. = Jozef's aunt has a very beautiful daughter.
Jeho vnuka je chutn polievku. = His granddaughter is eating a tasty soup.
Neuter gender: No change from the nominative case form in either the adjective or the noun.
studen pivo = cold beer studen pivo
drah auto = expensive car drah auto
Examples:
Prosm si studen pivo. = I would like to have a cold beer.
Mj f vlastn vemi drah 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 ma
ty = you (sg. informal) a teba
on = he ho jeho
ona = she ju ju
ono = for neuter (rare) ho jeho
my = we ns ns
vy = you (pl., or sg.formal) vs vs
oni, ony = they ich ich
Vie, e a milujem. = You know that I love you.

Teba nikto nikdy nemal rd. = Nobody has ever liked you.
Videl som ju pred obchodom, ale jeho som tam vbec nevidel. = I saw her in front of the store, but I did
not see him there at all.
Budem ich aka 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 vs budem ui po slovensky. = Today, I will be teaching you Slovak.
EXPRESSING CERTAINTY
urite = 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
mono = maybe
urite nie = surely not
ist = sure, certain
by si ist = to be sure
Pamt si, i tam bude aj jej priate? = Do you remember if her boyfriend will also be there?
Pravdepodobne, ale nie som si celkom ist. = Probably, but I am not quite sure.
T ena ho mono vbec nepozn. = That woman maybe does not know him at all.
sn = hopefully
dajne (or, informally, vraj) = reportedly, allegedly
zrejme = apparently
oividne = obviously
Lesson 13 - EXPRESSING CERTAINTY 68

Oividne nevie, kto m pravdu. = Obviously you don't know who is correct. (literally: ...who has the truth.)
Sn si nemysl, e obed budem vari ja. = Hopefully you don't think I'll be cooking lunch.
Bol to zrejme on, kto otvoril horn okno. = It was apparently him who opened the upper window.
Ten zloinec dajne nikdy nebol v Bratislave. = That criminal was reportedly never in Bratislava.
Vraj bol vemi hladn, ale nemal rd zeleninov polievku. = He was allegedly very hungry, but did not
like vegetable soup.
WORDS USEFUL IN CHRONOLOGICAL NARRATION
najprv = at first
potom = then, afterwards
neskr = later
nakoniec = in the end, finally (meaning 'in the end')
Najprv som otvoril fau, ale potom som ju zatvoril. = First I opened the bottle, but then I closed it.
Neskr som sa umval v kpeni. = Later, I washed myself in the bathroom.
Nakoniec som sa uil po nemecky. = In the end, I was studying (learning) German.
konene = finally, at last

No konene! = Oh, finally! (Note: no can sometimes mean the same as ale ['but'])
Konene si tu, mil brat - dlho som a akala. = Finally you are here, dear brother - I've been waiting for
you for a long time.
skoro = early (can also mean 'almost')

prli skoro = too early, too soon
neskoro = late
prli neskoro = too late
oskoro = soon
Je len osem hodn - ste tu naozaj prli skoro. = It is only eight o'clock - you are here really too early.
Dnes trochu mekm - asi tam budem prli neskoro. = Today, I am running a little late - I'll probably be
there too late.
oskoro budeme vedie, preo si nebola doma. = Soon we will know why you were not at home.
zrazu = suddenly
okamite (also hne or ihne) = immediately
takmer (also skoro) = almost
ete raz = once again, one more time, once more
znovu, znova, zase, zasa, zas, op = again
Som rd, e a op vidm. = I am glad to see you again.
Znovu ti hovorm, e o porte ni neviem. = I am telling you again that I don't know anything about sports.
Zase budeme v divadle prli neskoro. = Again, we'll be at the theater too late.
u = already; yet (in questions)
Lesson 13 - WORDS USEFUL IN CHRONOLOGICAL NARRATION 69

zatia = so far
ete = yet (in affirmative sentences)
stle = still
medziasom (or medzitm) = meanwhile, in the meantime
Videl si u ten film? = Have you seen that movie yet?
U som ho videl. = I have already seen it.
Zatia som videl tri jeho filmy. = So far, I have seen three of his movies.
Ete a nevidm. Kde si? = I don't see you yet. Where are you?
Stle neviem, preo si vera nepracoval. = I still don't know, why you weren't working yesterday.
Medziasom som chodil hore dole nmestm. = 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
(adov 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 Koice. 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 astn [wiki], Stan Mikita [wiki], Marin Hossa
[wiki], Marin Gbork [wiki], Miroslav atan [wiki], igmund 'Ziggy' Plffy [wiki], Jozef Stmpel [wiki],
Zdeno Chra [wiki], Robert vehla [wiki], Pavol Demitra [wiki], Richard Zednk [wiki] and ubomr
Vinovsk [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 Martikn, one of the world's most successful kayakers, after he
won the gold medal at the Beijing Olympics in 2008
Lesson 13 - SLOVAK SPORTS 70

Lesson 14
FINANCIAL AND ECONOMIC TERMS
peniaze = money
cena = price
cenovka = price tag
et = (bank) account, can also mean 'bill' (as in, how much you have to pay)
f = boss
zamestnanec (m), zamestnankya (f) = employee
zkaznk (m), zkaznka (f) = customer
na pln vzok = full-time (literally: 'on full commitment')
na polovin vzok = part-time (literally: 'on half commitment')
tovar = good(s)
sluba = service
dopyt = demand
ponuka = supply, offer
zava = discount
plat (or mzda) = salary
prjem = income
dchodok = pension
zisk (or profit) = profit
nklady = costs
poistenie = insurance
pika (or ver) = loan
hypotka = mortgage
rok = interest (financial term)
faktra = invoice
objednvka = order
poukka = voucher
da = tax
da z prjmu = income tax (literally: tax from income)
rovn da = flat tax
daov sadzba = tax rate
daov priznanie = tax return (literally: tax admission)
da z pridanej hodnoty (usually abbreviated as dph, or colloquially dphka) = value-added tax (similar
to a sales tax)
zarba (stem: zarba-) = to earn
plati (stem: plat-) = to pay
kupova (stem: kupuje-) = to buy
nakupova (stem: nakupuje-) = to shop
Lesson 14 - FINANCIAL AND ECONOMIC TERMS 71

predva (stem: predva-) = to sell
ALSO
tie = 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 tie platil v eurch, ale nemal som ich dos. = I also paid in euros, but I didn't have enough (of
them).
Aj moja manelka vie, preo je to tak. = My wife also knows why it is so.
V obchodnom dome bud predva nielen nbytok, ale aj obleenie a aut. = 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:
by = to be ja som bol = I was ja by som bol = I would be

psa = to write on psal = he was writing on by psal = he would be writing / he would write
ta = to read vy ste tali = you were reading vy by ste tali = 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 mdry, psal by knihu. = If he were smart, he would be writing a book.
Keby som mal peniaze, nepredval 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 ma as, budem vari obed a mono aj veeru. = If I have time, I will cook lunch and maybe
also dinner.
Ak vie, koko mm rokov, potom urite vie, koko m rokov aj mj brat. = If you know how old I am,
then you certainly know how old my brother is too.
Lesson 14 - ALSO 72
MODAL VERBS
potrebova (stem: potrebuje-; 3rd pers. plural: oni/ony potrebuj) = to need

Potrebujem vedie, kedy v pondelok rno bude v prci. = I need to know when you will be at work on
Monday morning.
Minul tde sme varili polievku, a preto sme potrebovali zeleninu, so a vodu. = Last week we were
cooking soup, and therefore we needed vegetables, salt and water.
Nebudeme potrebova prli vea peaz? = Won't we need too much money?
chcie (stem: chce-; 3rd pers. plural: oni/ony chc) = to want

Naozaj som to vetko nechcel ta. = I really did not want to read all that.
o bude chcie robi neskr? = What will you want to do later?
Chcel som nov motorku, ale nechcel som kupova ni drah. = I wanted a new motorbike, but I did not
want to buy anything too expensive.
The conditional form of chcie (i.e.: chcel(a) by som, chcel(a) by si,...) is equivalent to the English 'would
like:'
o by si chcel na obed? Kuracie mso alebo uhorkov alt? = What would you like for lunch? Chicken
meat or cucumber salad?
Chcel by som hovori vemi dobre po slovensky, ale stle sa iba um. = I would like to speak very
good Slovak, but I am still only learning.
Nechcel by som by prli bohat, lebo mj ivot by nebol jednoduch. = I would not like to be too rich,
because my life would not be easy/simple.
ma + verb infinitive = to be supposed to

Zajtra mm s do Bratislavy, ale ete nemm lstok. = Tomorrow, I am supposed to go to Bratislava, but
I don't have a ticket yet.
Mal som tam by u v nedeu v noci, ale mekal vlak. = I was supposed to be there already on Sunday at
night, but the train was late.
The conditional form of ma + verb infinitive (i.e.: mal(a) by som, mal(a) by si,...) is equivalent to the
English 'should' or 'ought to':
Naozaj by som u mal s domov - je vemi neskoro. = I really should go home already - it is very late.
Pozajtra mm dleit skku. Mal by som sa ui. = The day after tomorrow, I have an important exam.
I should be studying.
musie (stem: mus-; 3rd pers. plural: oni/ony musia) = must, to have to
Nemuste ni robi, lebo vetko je u hotov. = You don't have to do anything, because everything is
already done.
Lesson 14 - MODAL VERBS 73

Teraz ma skutone mus pova - hovorm nieo vemi dleit. = Now you must really listen to me - I
am saying something very important.
Moja sesternica bude musie oskoro s do lekrne, lebo potrebuje nov lieky. = My female cousin
will soon have to go to the pharmacy, because she needs new medicine.
smie (stem: smie-; 3rd pers. plural: oni/ony sm) = may, to be permitted/allowed to
Je tu prli horco. Smiem otvori okno? = It is too hot in here. May I open the window?
Nesmiem sa hra na potai, pretoe sa zle um. = 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 konene budem smie hra vonku s kamartmi? = When will I finally be allowed to play outside
with friends?
Nesmel som ni poveda. = I was not allowed to say anything.
Note: Please use nesmie to express 'must not.' Nemusie means 'not to have to', 'not to be required to.'
mc (stem: me-; 3rd pers. plural: oni/ony mu; 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 chce, meme ma na veeru rybu so zemiakmi. = If you want, we can have fish with potatoes for
dinner.
Nemohla u bohuia ni robi. Vetko bolo straten. = She could unfortunately not do anything
anymore. All was lost.
Mohol by som s neskorm vlakom, prosm? = Could I go on a later train, please? (speaker is male)
Moja ruka je stle zlomen, ale dfam, e oskoro budem mc znovu psa. = 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 ktor behaves just like an adjective, and means 'which.' It should be distinguished from ak,
which is closer in meaning to 'what kind of' or 'what' + noun. (Note, however, that ktor and ak can
sometimes be interchangeable, just like the English 'which' and 'what.')
Ktor jedlo mte rd? = Which meal do you like?

Neviem, ktor lohu mm robi okamite. = I don't know which task I am supposed to work on (to do)
immediately.
Ktor can also be used to introduce a subordinate clause - much like the English 'which', 'that' (when roughly
equivalent to 'which') or 'who':
Polievka, ktor si vera varila, bola vemi chutn. = The soup that you were cooking yesterday was very
tasty.
lovek, ktorho som stretol, nebol vbec priatesk. = The man (person) that I met was not friendly at
all.
Lesson 14 - SUBORDINATE CLAUSES: WHICH, THAT AND WHO 74

Often - especially in colloquial speech - you can also replace ktor by o to introduce a subordinate clause:
Ten lovek, o bol vera v kole, tam vbec nemal by. = The man, who was in the school yesterday,
was not supposed to be there at all.
Chcem tak auto, o bude dobre fungova. = I want (such) a car that will function well.
INDEFINITE PRONOUNS: EVERY, SOME, NO, ANOTHER
kad = every, each

nejak, niektor = some (Note: nejak is more general, while niektor is close to 'some' that means 'one of
a given set')
iadny = no
Kad tudent, ktor sa tu u po slovensky, u vie hovori vemi dobre. = Every student, who is
learning Slovak here, already know how to speak very well.
Chcela by som nejak dobr knihu. Pozn nejak? = I would like some good book. Do you know any?
iadny lekr nevie vyliei kad chorobu. Niektor s, bohuia, prli nebezpen. = No doctor
knows how to cure every disease. Some are, unfortunately, too dangerous.
in = another (meaning 'a different one')

al (masc.), alia (fem.), alie (neut.) = another (meaning 'one more'), the next one
Nemm rd zeleninov polievku. Mte in? = I don't like vegetable soup. Do you have another one
(meaning: a different one)?
Potrebujeme aliu piku. U nemme dos peaz. = We need another loan. We don't have enough
money anymore.
Lesson 14 - INDEFINITE PRONOUNS: EVERY, SOME, NO, ANOTHER 75

Lesson 15
zrove = at the same time

naraz (or sasne) = concurrently, at the same time, simultaneously
spolu = together
samostatne (or osobitne) = separately
naschvl = deliberately, on purpose
nechtiac = accidentally, unintendedly, unwittingly (i.e., the opposite of naschvl)
nhodou = by coincidence, accidentally; also 'by any chance' in questions
keby nieo = just in case
Daj mi pokoj! = Leave me alone! (literally: 'Give me peace/quiet.')
Pome! = Let's go!
Ani nhodou! = No way! (literally: 'Not even by coincidence.')
USEFUL VERBS
predpoklada (stem: predpoklad-) = to assume

tvrdi (stem: tvrd-) = to claim
potvrdi (stem: potvrdzuje-) = to confirm
veri (stem: ver-) = to believe
dverova (stem: dveruje-) = to trust
aka (stem: ak-) = to wait
oakva (stem: oakva-) = to expect
dokza (stem: doke-) = to manage (to do sth), also 'to prove'
tui (stem: tu-) = to have a feeling (that)..., to have a inkling (that)..., to have a sense..., to have an idea...
ska (stem: ska-) = to try
snai sa (stem: sna- sa) = to try hard, to strive (to do sth), to make an effort
zisti (stem: zisuje-) = to find out
mli sa (stem: mli- sa) = to be wrong
uskutoni sa (stem: uskutoni- sa) = to take place (about events)
zastni sa (stem: zastuje- sa) = to participate, to take part
vyhra (stem: vyhrva-) = to win
prehra (stem: prehrva-) = to lose (the opposite of 'to win')
hada (stem: had-) = to look for, to search
njs (stem: nachdza-, past: naiel/nala som) = to find
strati (stem: strca-) = to lose (the opposite of 'to find')

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:
N otec stratil svoju vetrovku. = Our father lost his jacket. (the jacket was his own)
N 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 vlastn ('own'):
Predpokladm, e m aj svoj vlastn nzor. Alebo sa mlim? = I assume you also have your own
opinion. Or am I wrong?
Some more examples:
Skal som vyhra ttnu lotriu, ale stratil som svoj lstok. = I was trying to win the state lottery, but I
had lost my ticket.
Neverm, e ten bohat obchodnk naozaj stratil svoju peaenku. = I don't believe that that wealthy
businessman has really lost her wallet.
Vdy som sa snail hovori svojim priateom 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:

nominative accusative nominative accusative nominative accusative
(subject) (direct object) (subject) (direct object) (subject) (direct object)
this tento tohto tto tto toto toto
that ten toho t t to to
that over there tamten tamtoho tamt tamt tamto tamto
Chcel by som njs t knihu, ktor si tal minul rok. = I would like to find that ('the') book that you read
last year.
Mohli by ste zisti meno tamtoho starho mua? = Could you find out the name of that old man over
there?
Lesson 15 - THE 'SVOJ' POSSESSIVE PRONOUN 77

Hadme toto auto u dva roky, ale stle ho nevieme njs. = We have been looking for this car for two
years already, but we still can't find it.
Neakte nhodou tamt enu alebo tohto mladho pna? = 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 mj mjho (for persons and animals), mj (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 n nho (for persons and animals), n (for everything else)
your, yours v vho (for persons and animals), v (for everything else)
their, theirs ich ich
'svoj' svoj svojho (for persons and animals), svoj (for everything else)
If direct object is feminine, singular:

my, mine moja moju
your, yours tvoja tvoju
her, hers jej jej
our, ours naa nau

your, yours vaa vau
'svoj' svoja svoju
If direct object is neuter, singular: (Note: In this case, the forms do not change.)
my, mine moje moje
your, yours tvoje tvoje
Lesson 15 - POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS IN THE ACCUSATIVE CASE 78

her, hers jej jej
our, ours nae nae

your, yours vae vae
'svoj' svoje svoje
Some examples:
Pri dome vidm nae zelen auto, tvoju motorku a ich modr bicykel. = Next to the house, I see our
green car, your motorcycle and their blue bike.
Poznte u nho syna, alebo ste zatia stretli iba nau dcru? = Do you already know our son, or have
you only met our daughter so far?
ALTHOUGH, DESPITE, ETC.
napriek = despite, in spite of, notwithstanding

kvli = due to... ('bad' causes)
vaka = thanks to... ('good' causes)
bez ohadu na... = regardless of..., irrespective of...
kadopdne (or v kadom prpade) = in any case, in any event
Napriek svojmu krehkmu zdraviu sa zastnil maratnu. = Despite his fragile health, he participate in
the marathon.
Kvli zlmu poasiu sa koncert bude musie uskutoni neskr. = Due to bad weather, the concert will
have to take place later.
Vaka svojej rchlosti dokzal vyhra kad svoj pretek. = Thanks to his speed, he managed to win
every one of his races.
Chcem tto kvalitn prku, bez ohadu na cenu. = I want this quality washing machine, regardless of
(its) price.
V kadom prpade musme najprv zaplati njomn. = In any case, we must pay the rest first.
Kadopdne tum, ktor odpove je sprvna. = In any case, I have an idea about which answer is the
right one.
hoci = although, even though

napriek tomu, e... = 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 ke = even when
aj tak = even so, anyway
tak i tak = anyway (literally: 'so or so')
Lesson 15 - ALTHOUGH, DESPITE, ETC. 79

Hoci nikdy nebol dobr tudent, vdy poznal sprvnu odpove. = Although he was never a good
student, he always knew the correct answer.
Napriek tomu, e sa na kongrese nezastnil, oakval, e ho vetci bud voli. = Despite the fact that
he did not participate in the congress, he expected that everyone would be voting for him.
Aj keby ten dom stl tri miliny, kpil by som ho. = Even if that house cost three million, I would buy it.
Aj ke ho f poiadal, stle ni nechcel robi. = Even when (his) boss asked him, he still didn't want to
do anything.
Nevad, e sme prehrali. Aj tak sme boli lep. = It doesn't matter that we have lost. We were better,
anyway.
Tak i tak zajtra budem potrebova nejak 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, koko m jeho vlastn syn rokov. = That guy does not even know how old his own
son is.
T piese nielen pozn, ale dokonca ju vie hra 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 80

Lesson 16
USEFULLY EVASIVE WORDS AND PHRASES
Learn these phrases and you'll sound just like a Slovak politician:
Bez komentra. = No comment.

Nemem to potvrdi, ani vyvrti. = I can neither confirm, nor deny (literally: refute) that.
Je predasn o tom hovori. = It is premature to talk about that.
NEWS-RELATED AND POLITICAL VOCABULARY
sprvy = news
sprva = message, report
noviny = newspaper
dennk = daily newspaper
tla (fem.) = press
tlaov konferencia (also tlaov beseda, or colloquially tlaovka) = press conference
fotoapart = photo camera
kamera = video camera
mikrofn = microphone
novinr, novinrka (also redaktor, redaktorka) = journalist (m, f)
reportr, reportrka = reporter (m, f)
hovorca (masc.), hovorkya = spokesman, spokeswoman
rozhovor (also interview) = interview
otzka = question
odpove (fem.) = answer
pta sa (stem: pta- sa) = to ask (questions about sth)
odpoveda (stem: odpoved-) = to answer
iada (stem: iada-) = to request, to ask for
vyhlsenie (neut.) = statement
prhovor = (formal) speech, usually short
prejav = (formal) speech, usually longer
debata = debate
prehad = overview
zhrnutie (neut.) = summary
monos (fem.) = possibility, choice
voby = election
hlas = a vote (also, a voice)
voli (stem: vol-) = to vote
ponuka = offer
Lesson 16 - USEFULLY EVASIVE WORDS AND PHRASES 81

ponka (stem: ponka-) = to offer
prija (stem: prijma-) = to accept
odmietnu (stem: odmieta-) = to refuse
zamietnu (stem: zamieta-) = to decline, to refuse formally
podpora = support (noun)
podporova (stem: podporuje-) = to support
rokova (stem: rokuje-) = to negotiate
shlasi (stem: shlas-) = to agree
neshlasi (stem: neshlas-) = to disagree
potvrdi (stem: potvrdzuje-) = to confirm
popiera (stem: popiera-) = to deny
predpoveda (stem: predpoved-) = to predict
vymenova (stem: vymenva-) = to appoint (someone into office)
odvola (stem: odvolva-) = to recall (a politician from his office), to take back (what one has said)
odstpi (stem: odstupuje-); also rezignova (stem: rezignuje-) = to step down, to resign
DESCRIBING ABSTRACT PROPERTIES: -NESS, -ITY
We can use the suffix -os to turn adjectives into abstract properties.
Please note that all nouns that end in -os are of the feminine gender.
schopn = able schopnos = ability

primn = sincere primnos = sincerity
unaven = tired unavenos = tiredness
blzky = near, close (adj.) blzkos = proximity
skromn = humble, modest skromnos = humility, modesty
nron = difficult nronos = difficulty
zelen = green zelenos = greenness
presn = precise presnos = precision
minul = past (adj.) minulos = the past (literally: 'pastness')
budci = future (adj.) budcnos = the future (literally: 'futureness')
Lesson 16 - DESCRIBING ABSTRACT PROPERTIES: -NESS, -ITY 82

NOUNS THAT DESCRIBE ACTIVITIES: THE '-NIE' SUFFIX
We can use the suffix -nie to turn verbs into nouns that describe activities. Using the -nie prefix in Slovak is
roughly equivalent to using -ing at the end of English nouns.
In many cases, you can simply remove the final - from the verb infinitive, and replace it by -nie. This is true
especially if the infinitive ends in -a. (See examples below.)
Important: All nouns that end in -nie are neuter.
psa (stem: pe-) = to write psanie = writing (noun)

ta (stem: ta-) = to read tanie = reading (noun)
akova (stem: akuje-) = to thank akovanie = thanking (noun)
Often, when the infinitive ends in -i, the corresponding noun will end in -enie rather than -anie:
ri = to spread, to disseminate renie = spreading (noun)
svieti = to shine, to be alight svietenie = shining, being alight (noun)
Poda ma je tanie vemi nudn. = In my opinion (literally: 'according to me'), reading is very boring.
PREPOSITIONS AND THE ACCUSATIVE CASE OF PERSONAL PRONOUNS
Later in this lesson, we will talk about the propositions that are followed by the accusative case. When
personal pronouns are preceded by a preposition that requires the accusative case, the accusative case
form of these pronouns is somewhat different from the standalone accusative form (which we covered in
[Lesson 13]). See here:
nominative case (subject) accusative case after prepositions (direct object)

ja = I ma
ty = you (sg. informal) teba
on = he neho
ona = she u
my = we ns
vy = you (pl., or sg. formal) vs
my = oni, ony nich
PREPOSITIONS ASSOCIATED WITH THE ACCUSATIVE CASE
The prepositions pre ('for') and cez ('through'), as well as bez ohadu na ('regardless of', 'irrespective of')
are always followed by the words in the accusative case:
Tto hraku som kpil nielen pre neho, ale aj pre u a pre vho 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 83
N autobus mus s najprv cez nebezpen most a potom cez vek kriovatku. = Our bus must first
go though a dangerous bridge and then though a large crossroads.
Bez ohadu na vau schopnos tu by naas, muste zajtra prs do prce. = 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?'
Zelen knihu som poloil na tamt mal stoliku. = I put the green book on that small chair over there.
Novinr si odloil svoj mikrofn pod stl. = The journalist put away his microphone under the desk.
Mal by si sa pozera 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!
Urite sa utiekol skry za t vysok stenu. = Surely, he ran away to hide behind the that tall wall.
Vymenil som svoju obben hraku za nov potaov hru. = I exchanged my favorite toy for a new
computer game.
Svoje auto zaparkovali medzi n dom a vau zhradu. = They parked their car between our house and
your garden.
GIVEN..., GIVEN THAT...
vzhadom na... = given ... (followed by a noun)

Vzhadom na neskor prchod vlaku asi nebudem schopn prs dostatone skoro. = Given the late
arrival of the train, I probably won't be able to come early enough.
kee = given that... (followed by a clause)
Kee vlak prli dlho mekal, iadny pasaier nestihol veern predstavenie. = Given that the train
was too late, no passanger made the evening performance.
Lesson 16 - GIVEN..., GIVEN THAT... 84

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 -krt ('times').
jedenkrt (or raz) once
dvakrt twice
trikrt three times
osemdesiatkrt eighty times
V zahrani som zatia bol iba tyrikrt. = 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:
nult - - null
prv - - first
druh - - second
tret (m), tretia (f), tretie (n) third
tvrt - - fourth
piaty -a -e fifth
iesty -a -e sixth
siedmy -a -e seventh
smy -a -e eighth
deviaty -a -e ninth
desiaty -a -e tenth
jedensty -a -e eleventh
dvansty -a -e twelfth
trinsty -a -e thirteenth
trnsty -a -e fourteenth
ptnsty -a -e fifteenth
estnsty -a -e sixteenth
sedemnsty -a -e seventeenth
osemnsty -a -e eighteenth
devtnsty -a -e nineteenth
dvadsiaty -a -e twentieth
tridsiaty -a -e thirtieth
tyridsiaty -a -e fourtieth
ptdesiaty -a -e fiftieth
Lesson 17 - N-TIMES: ONCE, TWICE, THREE TIMES, ... 85

esdesiaty -a -e sixtieth
sedemdesiaty -a -e seventieth
osemdesiaty -a -e eightieth
devdesiaty -a -e ninetieth
st - - hundredth
tisci (m), tisca (f), tisce (n) thousandth
To create compound ordinal numerals, simply put the 'partial' ordinal numbers after one another:
tridsiaty tret = thirty-third
sedemdesiaty smy = seventy-eighth
In larger ordinal numeral, the part of the numeral that exceeds 100 takes on the 'cardinal' form. See
examples below:
sto dvansty = hundred twelfth
tristo tyridsiaty siedmy = three hundred forty-seventh
tsic piaty = thousand fifth
ptisc osemsto devdesiaty druh = five thousand eight hundred ninety-second
FOR THE Nth TIME, ON THE Nth ATTEMPT
po + ordinal numeral (masc.) + krt = for the ______th time
po prv krt = for the first time

po tret krt = for the third time
na + ordinal numeral (masc.) + pokus = on the ______th attempt
na druh pokus = on the second attempt

na dvansty pokus = on the twelfth attempt
LAST, FORMER, PREVIOUS
posledn = last (when ordering thing)

predposledn = the one before last, penultimate
naposledy = last time (as as adverb), for the last time
Posledn krt ti hovorm, e by si to nemal ska. = I am telling you for the last time that you should not
be trying that.
Kto bol v sai na predposlednom mieste? = Who come in the penultimate place in the competition?
Naozaj ti to hovorm naposledy - u sa nemm chu opakova. = I am really telling you that for the last
time - I don't feel like repeating myself anymore.
Naposledy som bol v Bratislave v oktbri. = I was last in Bratislava in October.
Lesson 17 - FOR THE Nth TIME, ON THE Nth ATTEMPT 86

See below for the differences between several ways of saying 'last' (or similar things) in Slovak:
posledn = last (the opposite of prv = first):
As in, prv voze = first wagon, vs. posledn zastvka = last stop.
minul = last (the opposite of budci = next / future):

As in, minul rok = last year, vs. budci tde = next week.
bval = former:
As in, bval predseda vldy = the former Prime Minister
predchdzajci = previous (the opposite of nasledujci = following):

As in, predchdzajca strana = previous page, nasledujci lnok = 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 Maarsko, and the associated adjective
('Hungarian') is maarsk. A male inhabitant of Hungary is called Maar, whereas a female one is called
Maarka. The Hungarian language is maarina or, slightly more formally, maarsk jazyk (adjective +
'jazyk').
country/region adjective demonym (male, female) language

Eurpa = Europe eurpsky Eurpan, Eurpanka
Slovensko = Slovakia slovensk Slovk, Slovenka slovenina
esk republika (or esko) = Czech Rep. esk ech, eka etina
Posko = Poland posk Poliak, Poka potina
Maarsko = Hungary madarsk Maar, Maarka maarina
Nemecko = Germany nemeck Nemec, Nemka nemina
Raksko = Austria raksky Rakan, Rakanka
vajiarsko = Switzerland vajiarsky vajiar, vajiarka
Holandsko = the Netherlands holandsk Holanan, Holananka holandina
Belgicko = Belgium belgick Belgian, Belgianka
Franczsko = France franczsky Francz, Franczka francztina
Taliansko = Italy taliansky Talian, Talianka talianina
panielsko = Spain panielsky paniel, panielka panielina
Portugalsko = Portugal portugalsk Portugalec, Portugalka portugalina
Grcko = Greece grcky Grk, Grkya grtina
Lesson 17 - COUNTRIES, NATIONALITIES AND LANGUAGES OF THE WORLD 87

Spojen krovstvo = United Kindgom
Vek Britnia = Great Britain britsk Brit, Britka
Anglicko = England anglick Anglian, Anglianka anglitina
ktsko = Scotland ktsky kt, ktka
rsko = Ireland rsky r, rka
vdsko = Sweden vdsky vd, vdka vdina
Nrsko = Norway nrsky Nr, Nrka nrina
Dnsko = Denmark dnsky Dn, Dnka dnina
Fnsko = Finland fnsky Fn, Fnka fnina
Island = Iceland islandsk Islanan, Islananka islandina
Estnsko = Estonia estnsky Estnec, Estnka estnina
Lotysko = Latvia lotysk Loty, Lotyka lotytina
Litva = Lithuania litovsk Litovan, Litovanka litovina
Rumunsko = Romania rumunsk Rumun, Rumunka rumunina
Bulharsko = Bulgaria bulharsk Bulhar, Bulharka bulharina
Slovinsko = Slovenia slovinsk Slovinec, Slovinka slovinina
Rusko = Russia rusk Rus, Ruska rutina
Bielorusko = Belarus bielorusk Bielorus, Bieloruska bielorutina
Ukrajina = Ukrajinec ukrajinsk Ukrajinec, Ukrajinka ukrajinina
Srbsko = Serbia srbsk Srb, Srbka srbina
Chorvtsko = Croatia chorvtsky Chorvt, Chorvtka chorvtina
Bosna = Bosnia bosniansky Bosniak, Bosniaka bosnianina
Amerika = America americk Amerian, Amerianka americk
anglitina
Spojen tty americk = United States of America
Kanada = Canada kanadsk Kanaan, Kanaanka
Mexiko = Mexico mexick Mexian, Mexianka
Brazlia = Brazil brazlsky Brazlan, Brazlanka
Argentna = Argentina argentnsky Argentnan, Argentnanka
zia = Asia zijsk zijec, zijka
na = China nsky nan, nanka ntina
Japonsko = Japan japonsk Japonec, Japonka japonina
Krea = Korea krejsk Krejec, Krejka krejina
Vietnam = Vietnam vietnamsk Vietnamec, Vietnamka vietnamina
India = India indick Ind, Indka
Blzky vchod = Near East

Stredn vchod = Middle East
Turecko = Turkey tureck Turek, Turkya turetina
Izrael = Israel izraelsk Izraelan, Izrealanka
Jewish idovsk id, idovka = Jew (m, f) hebrejina
Lesson 17 - COUNTRIES, NATIONALITIES AND LANGUAGES OF THE WORLD 88

Irak = Iraq irack Iraan, Iraanka
arabsk = Arab Arab, Arabka arabina = Arabic
Irn = Iran irnsky Irnec, Irnka
Afrika = Africa africk Afrian, Afrianka
Egypt = Egypt egyptsk Egypan, Egypanka
Austrlia = Australia austrlsky Austrlan, Austrlanka
Nov Zland = New Zealand novozlandsk Novozlanan, Novozlananka
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:
Londn = London
Par = Paris
Moskva = Moscow
Praha = Prague
Varava = Warsaw
Berln = Berlin
tokholm = Stockholm
Koda = Kop
Mnchov = Munich
Brusel = Brussels
Viede = Vienna
Budape = Budapest
eneva = Geneva
Jeruzalem = Jerusalem
Khira = Cairo
Peking = Beijing
Nov Dill = New Delhi
Lisabon = Lisbon
Rm = Rome
Milno = Milan
Lesson 17 - NAMES OF FOREIGN CITIES 89

Lesson 18
Vaka. / Dky. (or even Dk.) = very colloquial versions of 'thank you' (as opposed to the more formal
akujem.)
vie o = you know what (often used to introduce a suggestion; extremely common in Slovak - much more
so than in English)
(To) nevad. = (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.')
Netum. or o ja viem? ('What do I know?') or very colloquially: Nemm ajnu. = I have no idea.
HOUSEHOLD AND ELECTRONIC APPLIANCES
chladnika = fridge, refrigerator

mraznika = freezer
spork = stove
rra (or, in some dialects, trba) = oven
mikrovlnn rra (or simply mikrovlnka) = microwave oven
vari = cooker
umvaka riadu = dishwasher
prka = washing mashine
suika = dryer
ehlika = iron (the household appliance, not the material)
televzor = TV set
diakov ovlda (or simply ovlda) = remote control
pota = computer
notebook (or, more recently, also laptop) = laptop (i.e., portable computer)
tlaiare (fem.) = printer
fn = hairdryer
kulma = hair curling iron
ehlika na vlasy = hair straightener (literally: 'iron for the hair')
ohrieva = heater
raditor = radiator
WHERE, WHERE TO, ETC.
Kde? = Where?
Kam? = Where to?
Odkia? = Where from?
Tam. = There. (both for location and direction.)

Tu. = Here. (expresses location; an object is already there)
Sem. = Here. (meaning 'To here.'; expresses direction of movement)
nasp = back
Nikde. = Nowhere.
Nikam. = (To) nowhere. (when talking about direction of movement)
Vade. = Everywhere.
Kedy? = When?
Odkedy? = Since when?
Dokedy? = Until when?
odvtedy = from then
dovtedy = until then
odteraz = from now on
doteraz = until now
odjakiva = since time immemorial; since anyone remembers
navdy = forever
CONJUGATION OF THE VERB 'TO GO' (S)
The verb s ('to go') is quite irregular in Slovak.
In the present tense, the verb s takes on the following forms:

ja idem (I am going) my ideme (we are going)
ty ide (you are going) vy idete (you are going)
on/ona/ono ide (he/she/it is going) oni/ony id (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 nejde (you are not going) vy nejdete (you are not going)
on/ona/ono nejde (he/she/it is not going) oni/ony nejd (they are not going)
Past tense forms (positive):

ja som iiel (I went - speaker is male)
ja som ila (I went - speaker is female) my sme ili (we went)
ty si iiel / ila (you went) vy ste ili (you went)
on iiel / ona ila / ono ilo (he/she/it went) oni/ony ili (they went)
Negation in the past tense:

ja som neiel (I didn't go - speaker is male)
ja som nela (I didn't go - speaker is female) my sme neli (we didn't go)
ty si neiel / nela (you didn't go) vy ste neli (you didn't go)
on neiel / ona nela / ono nelo (he/she/it didn't go) oni/ony neli (they didn't go)
Lesson 18 - CONJUGATION OF THE VERB 'TO GO' (S) 91

Future tense:
ja pjdem (I will go) my pjdeme (we will go)
ty pjde (you will go) vy pjdete (you will go)
on / ona / ono pjde (he/she/it will go) oni/ony pjdu (they will go)
We negate the future tense forms in the usual way - by adding the ne- prefix: ja nepjdem, ty nepjde,
etc.
Note: You may notice that the future tense forms of s do not follow the pattern we learned in [Lesson 11]
(i.e., budem, bude, 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 ide? Teraz idem do mesta, ale neskr pjdem aj na zhradu. = Where are you going? I am now
going to town, but later I will also go to the garden.
Naozaj sme nikam neli, lebo sme nemali iadne vozidlo. = We really didn'tgo anywhere, because we did
not have any vehicle.
Nepjde niekedy oskoro u 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 chcie (to want), potrebova (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.
Iiel som na univerzitu, aby som mohol by ekonm. = I went to university so I could be an economist.
Robme to len preto, aby ste mohli zajtra by 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?
Tamt radnka iada, aby sme sa vrtili o dva dni. = That (female) bureaucrat requests that we return
in two days.
Lesson 18 - EXPRESSING INTENTION USING 'ABY' = 'SO THAT' 92

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.
Nemte niekedy ten pocit, akoby ste ili na plante opc? = Don't you sometimes have that feeling, as if
you were living on a planet of monkeys ('on the Planet of Apes')?
Vyzer to, ako keby si vbec nechcel vedie pravdu. = It seems, as if he didn't want to know the truth at
all.
WHILE, UNTIL
km = while (when followed by positive - non-negated - verb)
dovtedy, km ... = until ... (usually followed by negative future tense); can also be simply km, followed by a
negative verb
Km je f stle v rade, nikto neme s domov. = While the boss is still in the office, no one can go
home.
Nechcem kupova nov ehliku, km sa t star nepokaz. = I don't want to buy a new iron until the old
one breaks.
Muste na u aka dovtedy, km nebude ma nov pas. = You have to wait for her until she has/gets a
new passport.
Lesson 18 - AS IF 93
Lesson 19
Me by. = 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
prrodn katastrofa (or pohroma) = natural disaster

zemetrasenie (neut.) = earthquake
povode (fem.) (or zplava) = flood, flooding
vbuch = explosion
brka = storm, thunderstorm
torndo = tornado
vchrica = windstorm
snehov vchrica = (snow) blizzard
nehoda = accident
dopravn nehoda = traffic accident
automobilov nehoda (or havria) = car accident
zrka = crash
prei (stem: preva-) = to survive (also can mean 'to experience')
zomrie (stem: zomiera-) = to die
zrani sa (stem: zrauje-) = to be injured (literally: to injure oneself)
zabi sa (stem: zabja- sa) = to kill oneself (often also used to mean 'to be killed in an accident'
zachrni (stem: zachrauje-) = to save
zachrni sa (stem: zachrauje- sa) = to save
mtvy = dead
zranen = injured
nezvestn = missing (only about people when others can't find them after a disaster, crime, etc.)
iv = living
naive = alive (adverb)

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 nm nm
vy = you (pl., or sg. formal) vm vm
oni, ony = they im im
Some of the examples below will use the verb da (stem: dva-) = to give. In addition to meaning 'to give',
the verb da 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.'
Vetci chceli da peniaze iba mne, ale vbec nie jej. = Everyone wanted to give money only to me, but
not at all to her.
Hovorm ti, e si mu mal da pokoj. = I am telling you that you should have left him alone. ('should have
given him peace')
Povedal som im, aby vm dali nov peaenku. = I told them to give you a new wallet.
Jemu som nikdy neveril, ale jej no. = I never trusted him (literally: 'to him'), but I did trust her.
Lesson 19 - DATIVE CASE: PERSONAL PRONOUNS 95

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.
rad = office radu

Svoj obiansky preukaz musm odovzda radu. = 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 (, , , , c,
dz, j, d, , , ), we change it into an -i ending.
uiteka = female teacher uiteke
Mala by si by vemi van uiteke. = You should be very grateful to the teacher. (you are female)
opica = monkey opici

Opici som hodil chutn bann. = I threw the monkey a tasty banana.
Neuter gender: The -o ending changes into a -u.

mesto = city mestu
Neleglnu skldku som oznmil mestu. = I reported the illegal garbage dump to the city.
divadlo = theater divadlu

Divadlu som daroval dvesto er. = I donated two hundred euros to the theater.
Lesson 19 - DATIVE CASE: NOUNS 96

Lesson 20
VOCABULARY: CRIME, PUNISHMENT AND (IN)JUSTICE
zloin (or, in legalese, trestn in) = crime, felony

priestupok = misdemeanor, offence (less serious than a crime)
trest = punishment
bezpenos = safety, security
zkon = law
droga = illegal drug
drogov dler = drug dealer
zloinec (or kriminlnik) = criminal
obe (fem.) = victim
svedok = witness
oit svedok = eye witness
vrada = murder
zabitie or usmrtenie (both neut.) = manslaughter
znsilnenie (neut.) = rape
napadnutie (neut.) = assault
krde = theft
podvod = fraud
vrah = murderer
zlodej = thief
nsilnk = violent person, abuser
nsilie (neut.) = violence
nsiln = violent
mafia (or podsvetie, neut.) = maifa, 'underworld'
mafin = mafia member
vze = prisoner, inmate
vzenie (neut.) = jail
sudca = judge
prokurtor = prosecutor, like 'district attorney' in the US
alobca = plaintiff, the accuser
obalovan = defendant, the accused
prvnik = lawyer
obhajca = defense lawyer
obhajoba = legal defence
vinn = guilty
nevinn = innocent (literally, 'non-guilty')
obvinen = accused
odsden = convicted
Lesson 20 - VOCABULARY: CRIME, PUNISHMENT AND (IN)JUSTICE 97

zbra = weapon
streln zbra = fire arm
n = knife
pito = pistol
brokovnica = shotgun
samopal = machine gun
spravodlivos = justice
nespravodlivos = 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
mj = my mjmu moja = my mojej moje = my mjmu

tvoj = your tvojmu tvoja = your tvojej tvoje = your tvojmu
jeho = his jeho jej = her jej jeho = its jeho
n = our nmu naa = our naej nae = our nmu

v = your vmu vaa = your vaej vae = your vmu
ich = their ich ich = their ich ich = their ich
svoj svojmu svoja svojej svoje svojmu
Ich synovi som ukzal, ako by naej krave mal da jes. = I showed their son, how he should give
something to eat to our cow.
o ste potom povedali ich prvnikovi? = What did you tell their lawyer, then?
Lesson 20 - DATIVE CASE: POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS 98

DATIVE CASE: THIS, THAT, THAT OVER THERE
For pronouns such as this (tento, tto, toto), that (ten, t, to) and that over there (tamten, tamt, tamto):
nominative dative nominative dative nominative dative
tento = this tomuto tto tejto toto tomuto

ten = that tomu t tej to tomu
tamten tamtomu tamt tamtej tamto tamtomu
See the following examples:

Tamtomu sudcovi ani trochu neverm, ale o mm robi? = I don't trust that judge over there a bit, but
what am I supposed to do?
Dal som tej ene nejak peniaze, ale tejto nechcem da ni. = 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 nm
vy = you (pl., sg. formal) vm
oni, ony= they nim
Dnes veer pjdem na nvtevu k mojej tete. = Tonight I will go for a visit to my aunt.
Preo sa tak pekne sprva k nemu, ale naprklad nie k nej? = Why do you behave so nicely to him, but
not - for example - to her?
Iiel som ku oknu, ale musel som zastavi. = I went to(wards) the window, but had to stop.
Lesson 20 - DATIVE CASE: THIS, THAT, THAT OVER THERE 99

DATIVE CASE: ADJECTIVES
Masculine gender: We replace the final - with -mu:

vek = nice vekmu
Svojmu vekmu bratovi som dal nov taku. = I gave my big brother a new bag.
star = old starmu

Tomu starmu pnovi vdy rd pomham. = I always gladly help that old gentleman.
Feminine gender: Here, we replace the final - with -ej:

mil = nice (personality trait) milej
Tej milej pani som ni nepovedala. = I didn't tell that nice lady anything.
nrodn = national nrodnej

avicov poslanec nrodnej rade predstavil svoj nvrh. = A left-wing representative presented
his proposal to the National Council.
Neuter gender: For neuter adjectives, we will replace the final - with the suffix -mu (as was the case with
the masculine gender):

modr = blue modrmu
Zelen Mercedes ide k tomu modrmu autu. = A green Mercedes is going to that blue car.
nsiln = violent nsilnmu

K tomuto nsilnmu prepadnutiu sa nikto nepriznal. = No one admitted to (have committed)
this violent assault.
Lesson 20 - DATIVE CASE: ADJECTIVES 100

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:
rozpoet = budget
pozemok = land property
majetok = property
tma = topic
nvrh = proposal
kauza = political or economic scandal
tka sa (stem: tka- sa) = to be relevant/related to, to touch upon (thematically)
etri (stem: etr-) = to save (money)
zana (stem: zana-) = to begin
Lesson 20 - CRIME AND PUNISHMENT IN THE SLOVAK MEDIA 101

Lesson 21
VOCABULARY: MATERIALS
materil (or, sometimes, ltka) = material; (Note: ltka can also mean 'cloth' or 'textile')
drevo = wood
dreven = wooden
papier = paper (noun)
papierov = paper (adj.)
kartn = cardboard (noun)
kartnov = cardboard (adj.)
plast = plastic (noun)
plastov = plastic (adj.)
guma = rubber (noun)
gumen = rubber (adj.)
betn = concrete (noun)
betnov = concrete (adj.)
sklo = glass (noun)
sklen (or sklenen) = glass (adj.)
keramika = ceramic (noun)
keramick = ceramic (adj.)
porceln = porcelain (noun)
porcelnov = porcelain (adj.)
kov = metal (noun)
kovov = metal, metallic (adj.)
elezo = iron (noun)
elezn = iron (adj.)
oce = steel (noun)
oceov = steel (adj.)
koa = leather (noun); also means 'skin'
koen = leather (adj.)
vlna = wool (noun); also means 'wave'
vlnen = wool, woolen (adj.)
bavlna = cotton (adj.)
bavlnen = cotton (adj.)
HOW TO TURN NOUNS INTO ADJECTIVES
In English, you don't usually have to change the noun's form to turn it into an adjective: You can speak of
orange juice, strawberry ice cream or a concrete building.
Lesson 21 - VOCABULARY: MATERIALS 102

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 -ov, but - as you have seen in the materials vocabulary above -
sometimes you need to use other suffixes such as -n, -en, -sk or -ick. 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 -ov.
Remember that all suffixes, of course, have to match the gender and grammatical case of the words they are
attached to.
Some examples:
pomaran (orange) + ds (juice) = pomaranov ds (orange juice)

jahoda (strawberry + zmrzlina (ice cream) = jahodov zmrzlina (strawbery ice cream)
betn (concrete) + budova (building) = betnov budova (concrete building)
sklo (glass) + tanier (plate) = sklenen tanier (glass plate)
lekr (medical doctor) + sprva (report) = lekrska sprva (medical report)

drevo (wood) + podlaha (floor) = dreven podlaha (wooden floor)
zub (tooth) + hygiena (hygiene) = zubn hygiena (dental hygiene)
JUST (TEMPORAL MEANING) + RIGHT NOW
You can use prve (=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 akurt (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).
Prve som mu vysvetlil situciu a bohuia, vbec nebol astn. = I just explained the situation to him
and, unfortunately, he was not happy at all.
Bol som prve doma, ale sestru som tam nevidel. = I was just at home, but I did not see (my) sister there.
Akurt som iiel na rad, ke na ma zatoil nejak zloinec. = I was just going to the office, when
some criminal attacked me.
prve teraz = right now

Tlaov konferencia sa zana prve teraz a bude trva len tridsa mint. = The press conference is
beginning right now, and it will last only thirty minutes.
MA RD VS. PI SA FOR EXPRESSING LIKES AND DISLIKES
In [Lesson 10], you learned how to use ma rd to express your likes and dislikes. It turns out that there is
another verb in Slovak - the verb pi sa - that can also be used for similar purposes.
Lesson 21 - JUST (TEMPORAL MEANING) + RIGHT NOW 103

Ma rd 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.
Pi 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 ma rd much like the
English verb to like: Mm rd paradajkov polievku. = I like tomato soup.
Pi sa, however, is used much more like the English verb to appeal (to): Tento obraz sa mi pi. = This
painting appeals to me. (='I like this painting.')
- The verb pi sa assumes a grammatical form that corresponds to what is being liked.
- The thing or person that is being liked is the grammatical subject of the sentence.
- Typically, you would include a phrase or a personal pronoun in the dative case to indicate who is doing the
liking (i.e., to whom something appeals).
Let us look at some examples to illustrate:
Mne sa pi toto zelen auto, ale mjmu bratovi sa pi tamto lt. = 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 modr vlnen sveter sa vbec nepi mojej priateke. = 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 pi 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:
Naej rodine sa vemi pilo v Nemecku. = Our family liked Germany very much. (literally: 'To our family,
it appealed in Germany very much.')
Ako sa ti pilo na vlete? = How did you enjoy the trip? (literally: How did it appeal to you on the trip?)
Toto by sa ti malo celkom pi. = You should like this quite a bit. (literally: This should appeal to you quite
a bit.)
Lesson 21 - MA RD VS. PI SA FOR EXPRESSING LIKES AND DISLIKES 104

Lesson 22
ART
umenie = art
umelec, umelkya = artist (m, f)
vstava = exhibition
mzeum = museum
galria = gallery
vtvarn umenie = creative art (meaning largely painting or drawing)
dielo = work of art
majstrovsk dielo = masterpiece
sochr, sochrka = sculptor (m, f)
socha = sculpture
maliar = painter
obraz = painting, picture
kresba = drawing
kol = collage
pltno = canvass
tetec = (paint)brush
vystpenie = performance (artistic, musical, etc. event)
koncert = concert
opera = opera
orchester = orchestra
filharmnia = philharmonic
dirigent = music conductor
predstavenie = theatrical performance
divadeln hra = theatrical play
LITERATURE AND BOOKS
kninica = library
knhkupectvo = bookstore
kniha = book
letk (or letik) = leaflet
prruka = handbook
slovnk = dictionary
literatra = literature
spisovate, spisovateka = writer (m, f)
beletria = fiction literature
nun literatra = non-fiction literature
Lesson 22 - ART 105

odborn literatra = specialized, expert literature
ner = genre
romn = novel
novela = novella
prbeh = story
krtky prbeh = short story
ivotopis (or biografia) = biography
autobiografia = autobiography
cestopis = travel account, travel narrative
uebnica = 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 romn = Michael's novel,
Kristnina uebnica = Kristna'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 manelkina obben 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:
romn mladho Michala.
My sister Kristna's textbook would really be the textbook of my sister Kristna: uebnica mojej sestry
Kristny.
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 slunho policajta and obben kniha mojej manelky.
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 106

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 prli mal. = 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 (, , , , c,
dz, j, d, , , ), we change it into an -e ending.
spoluiaka = classmate spoluiaky
Nzor mojej spoluiaky nie je dleit. = My classmate's opinion is not important.
prca = work prce

Vid vsledok jej prce? = Do you see the result of her work?
Neuter gender: The -o ending changes into a -a.

mydlo = soap mydla
Od takho mydla vea neoakvam. = I am not expecting much from such soap.
lietadlo = airplane lietadla
Zlomilo sa krdlo toho vekho lietadla. = The wing of that big plane has broken.
Lesson 22 - GENITIVE CASE: NOUNS 107

GENITIVE CASE: POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS
You can form the genitive case of possessive pronouns in this way:

nominative genitive nominative genitive nominative genitive
mj = my mjho moja = my mojej moje = my mjho

tvoj = your tvojho tvoja = your tvojej tvoje = your tvojho
jeho = his jeho jej = her jej jeho = its jeho
n = our nho naa = our naej nae = our nho

v = your vho vaa = your vaej vae = your vho
ich = their ich ich = their ich ich = their ich
svoj svojho svoja svojej svoje svojho
Netu nhodou, ako sa vol pes jeho suseda? = Don't you, by any chance, have any idea what their
dog's name is?
Chcel s na kolu svojho brata, ale nakoniec iiel na kolu 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, tto, toto), that (ten, t, to) and that
over there (tamten, tamt, tamto):

nominative genitive nominative dative nominative dative
tento = this tohto tto tejto toto tohto

ten = that toho t tej to toho
tamten tamtoho tamt tamtej tamto tamtoho
Notebook tamtoho mua nebol drah, ale pota tej eny bol. = That man over there's laptop was not
expensive, but that woman's computer was.
Motor tohto novho auta mus by vemi siln. = This new car's engine must be very strong.
Lesson 22 - GENITIVE CASE: POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS 108

GENITIVE CASE: ADJECTIVES
Masculine gender: We replace the final - with -ho:

mlad = nice mladho
Obraz toho mladho pna je naozaj ndhern. = That young man's painting is truly beautiful.
lt = yellow ltho
Golier jeho ltho trika sa mi nepi. = I don't like to collar of his yellow shirt.
Feminine gender: Replace the final - with -ej:

vysok = high, tall vysokej
Prinou vysokej ceny je nzka ponuka. = The cause of the high price is low supply.
vtipn = funny, witty vtipnej

U sa tem na prbehy naej vtipnej babiky. = I am already looking forward to our witty grandma's
stories.
Neuter gender: Here, we will replace the final - with the suffix -ho (just like with the masculine gender):

nrodn = national nrodnho
Histria Nrodnho divadla je dobre znma. = The history of the National Theater is well-known.
bval = former bvalho

Meno mjho bvalho priatea si nepamtm. = I don't remember the name of my ex-boyfriend.
Lesson 22 - GENITIVE CASE: ADJECTIVES 109

Lesson 23
VOCABULARY: VISITING THE DOCTOR
bolie (stem: bol-) = to hurt

Bol ma _____. = My ______ hurts. (literally: _____ hurts me.)
Dnes ma vemi bol 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
lekre (fem.) = pharmacy (where you buy medical drugs)
sanitka = ambulance
ambulancia = doctor's office
nvteva = visit
kontrola = check-up
vyetrenie = medical examination
preventvna prehliadka = (preventive) physical examination
hospitalizcia = hospitalization
hospitalizova (stem: hospitalizuje-) = to hospitalize
lekr, lekrka (or doktor, doktorka) = doctor, physician (m, f)
zdravotn sestra (or simply sestrika) = nurse (m, f); literally means 'medical sister' and 'little sister,'
respectively
oetrovate, oetrovateka = caretaker (m, f)
lekrnik, lekrnika = pharmacist (m, f);
lekrnika also means 'medical kit' (such as the one found in automobiles)
pacient = patient
krvn tlak = blood pressure
vysok tlak / nzky tlak = high blood pressure / low blood pressure
krvn test = blood test
odber krvi = blood drawing
krvn obraz = result of a blood test; literally: 'the blood image'
zdravotn stav = medical condition'
diagnza = diagnosis
prognza = prognosis
vsledok = result (in general)
lieba = treatment
liei (stem: liei-) = to treat
vyliei (stem: vylieuje-) = to cure
oddelenie = department (in a hospital, store, office, etc.)
infekn oddelenie = infectious diseases' department
Lesson 23 - VOCABULARY: VISITING THE DOCTOR 110

chirurgia = surgical department
onkolgia = oncology
urolgia = urology
nefrolgia = nephrology (deals with kidneys)
dermatolgia = dermatology
traumatolgia = traumatology (deals with broken limbs, accidents, etc.)
gynekolgia = gynecology
stomatolgia = stomatology, dental medicine
detsk lekr, detsk lekrka (or pediater, pediatrika) = childrens' doctor, pediatrician
chirurg, chirurgika = surgeon
kon lekr (or dermatolg) = dermatologist
gynekolg, gynekologika = gynecologist
zubr, zubrka (or stomatolg, stomatologika) = dentist
opercia = operation, surgery
operan sla = operating room
operova = to operate
zdravotn zznam (or zdravotn karta) = medical records
kartika poistenca (also preukaz poistenca, or simply kartika) = health insurance card (Note: kartika
literally means 'little card')
VOCABULARY: DISEASES
choroba = disease
ochorenie (or nemoc) = ailment
vysok teplota = high temperature
horka = fever
ndcha = (common) cold
chrpka = flu
kae = cough
kaa (stem: kale-) = to cough
kcha (stem: kcha-) = to sneeze
alergia = allergy
senn ndcha = hay fever
infekcia = infection
zpal = inflammation
zpal pc (or pneumnia) = pneumonia ('inflammation of the lungs')
zpal slepho reva = appendicitis (literally: 'inflammation of the 'blind intestine' (=appendix)')
zapli sa (stem: zapli- sa) = to become inflamed
tuberkulza = tuberculosis
rakovina = cancer
Lesson 23 - VOCABULARY: DISEASES 111

dlh choroba or ak choroba = literally 'long disease' or 'difficult disease'; often used as a euphemistic
expression for cancer
ndor (or tumor) = tumor
leukmia = leukemia
chemoterapia = chemotherapy
oarovanie (or radicia) = radiation therapy
infarkt = heart attack
mtvica = stroke
nadvha = (the state of being) overweight
obezita = obesity
baktria = bacterium
vrus = virus
ivot = life
smr = death
zranen = wounded
iv = living, alive
mtvy = dead
v bezvedom = unconscious (literally: 'in unconsciousness')
zomrie (stem: zomiera-) = to die
prei (stem: preva-) = to survive
zdravotn = medical, health-related
nkazliv (or prenosn) = contagious
infekn = infectious
neprenosn = non-contagious
nebezpen = dangerous
smrten = deadly, lethal
VOCABULARY: MEDICAL DRUGS
liek = medical drug

droga = illegal drug
predpis (or recept) = prescription
predpsa (stem: predpisuje-) = to prescribe
uva (stem: uva-) = to take/use (medicine)
liek na predpis = prescription-only medicine
vonopredajn 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 112

antikoncepcia = contraception
vitamn = vitamin
vivov 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 ma
ty = you (sg. informal) teba
on = he neho
ona = she nej
ono = for neuter (rare) neho
my = we ns
vy = you (pl., sg. formal) vs
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 hlavnho mesta sme sa vrtili bez neho. = We returned from the capital city without him.
Obed budeme ma u nho suseda. = We will have lunch at our neighbor's place.
o ste od nich vtedy pouli? = What did you hear from them that time?
Nemm chu teraz s 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
veda = next to
vntri = inside
Naa zhrada sa nachdza mimo dediny. = Our garden is located (literally: 'finds itself') outside of the
village.
Lesson 23 - GENITIVE CASE: PERSONAL PRONOUNS AFTER A PREPOSITION 113

V pes stle beh okolo nho domu. = Your dog always runs around our house.
Stratili sme sa uprostred lesa. = We got lost in the middle of the forest. (literally: 'we lost ourselves')
Veda ma stoj riadite firmy. = The company director is standing next to me.
Vntri starej nemocnice je onkologick oddelenie. = Inside the old hospital is the oncological department.
okrem = except, aside from

poas = during
blzko = near
namiesto = instead of
Okrem penicilnu, uvate aj nejak in liek? = Aside from penicillin, do you take any other medicine?
Pacient, bohuia, zomrel poas opercie. = The patient, unfortunately, died during the surgery.
Blzko parku nali bombu. = They found a bomb near the park.
Namiesto mjho uja by mal s jeho syn. = His son should go instead of my uncle.
Lesson 23 - GENITIVE CASE: PREPOSITIONS 114

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Slovak Language Lessons for Beginners

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

SLOVENSK KOLSTVO = THE SLOVAK EDUCATION SYSTEM ..................................................... 14

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

SLOVENSK POLITIKA = SLOVAK POLITICS ..................................................................................... 19

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

BASIC WORDS AND PHRASES............................................................................................................ 37

OBLEENIE = CLOTHING ..................................................................................................................... 37

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

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

UDSK TELO = HUMAN BODY ........................................................................................................... 39

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

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

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

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

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

BASIC WORDS AND PHRASES............................................................................................................ 44

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

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

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

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

NPOJE = drinks .................................................................................................................................... 45

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

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

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