Contents · A1
- Byť
- The present
- Gender
- The plural
- The accusative
- The locative
- The instrumental
- Going places
- Possessives
- The past
- The future
- Modal verbs
- Numbers and time
- Cardinal numbers from 0 to 100 and one or two: jeden, jedna, jedno; dva, dve
- Two, three and four with the plural: dve kávy, tri autá; dvaja, traja, štyria
- Five and more, prices and age: päť eur, desať minút, mám dvadsať rokov
- Telling the time: koľko je hodín?, o piatej, od ôsmej do piatej
- Days and parts of the day: v pondelok, vo štvrtok, ráno, dnes, zajtra
- Ordinal numbers: prvý, druhý, tretí … desiaty
- The date and the months: prvého mája, v januári, dvakrát
- Small words
Tap a sentence to see its translation.
Slovak numerals are joined to nouns in three ways: jeden and dva agree with the gender of the noun, the nominative plural follows dva, tri and štyri, and from päť on the noun is in the genitive plural, learnt at A1 in set phrases. Time is expressed with prepositions and cases: o piatej, v stredu, v januári, prvého mája.
Cardinal numbers from 0 to 100 and one or two: jeden, jedna, jedno; dva, dve#
Formation
| 0 nula | 1 jeden | 2 dva | 3 tri | 4 štyri |
| 5 päť | 6 šesť | 7 sedem | 8 osem | 9 deväť |
| 10 desať | 11 jedenásť | 12 dvanásť | 13 trinásť | 14 štrnásť |
| 15 pätnásť | 16 šestnásť | 17 sedemnásť | 18 osemnásť | 19 devätnásť |
| 20 dvadsať | 30 tridsať | 40 štyridsať | 50 päťdesiat | 60 šesťdesiat |
| 70 sedemdesiat | 80 osemdesiat | 90 deväťdesiat | 100 sto |
The numbers between the tens are written as one word: dvadsaťjeden, dvadsaťpäť, tridsaťdva. Jeden agrees with its noun like an adjective: jeden stôl, jedna káva, jedno auto; dva is used with masculine things and dve with feminine and neuter nouns: dva stoly, dve kávy, dve autá.
Use
Jeden counts (“one, not two”) and is not an article: “a coffee” is káva, “one coffee” jedna káva. In the accusative, jedna becomes jednu and jeden with a masculine person or animal jedného: Dám si jedno pivo a jednu polievku. Dva with men is dvaja, as explained in Two, three and four with the plural: dve kávy, tri autá; dvaja, traja, štyria.
- V triede je jeden stôl a jedna tabuľa.There’s one desk and one board in the classroom.
- Máme dve deti a jedného psa.We have two children and one dog.
- Na stole sú dva kľúče.There are two keys on the table.
- Moje telefónne číslo je dvadsaťpäť, štyridsaťdva, sedemnásť.My phone number is twenty-five, forty-two, seventeen.
Difference from English
English one and two never change; Slovak jeden, jedna, jedno and dva, dve follow the gender of the noun. English “a” is not translated by jeden.
Common mistakes
dva kávy→ dve kávyKáva is feminine, so the numeral is dve.jeden auto→ jedno autoAuto is neuter.
Practise
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Two, three and four with the plural: dve kávy, tri autá; dvaja, traja, štyria#
Formation
After dva (dve), tri and štyri the noun is in the nominative plural, and the verb is plural: dve kávy, tri autá, štyri zošity; Tri autá sú pred domom. With men the numerals have their own forms, dvaja, traja, štyria, followed by the plural of men: dvaja bratia, traja študenti, štyria kamaráti.
Use
Dvaja, traja and štyria are used for men and for groups of men and women; women and things take dve, tri, štyri: dve kamarátky, tri izby. The plural endings are explained in The plural of things and the words that agree: obchody, kávy, autá, ulice; nové, moje, tie and The plural of men: študenti, bratia, učitelia, synovia; tí, mladí.
- Dám si dve kávy a tri sušienky.I’ll have two coffees and three biscuits.
- Traja moji kamaráti sú z Popradu.Three of my friends are from Poprad.
- Pri okne sedia dvaja chlapci.Two boys are sitting by the window.
- V byte sú štyri izby.There are four rooms in the flat.
Difference from English
English three is the same for men and things; in Slovak a group of men takes traja: traja študenti, but tri študentky.
Common mistakes
tri študenti→ traja študentiWith men, the numeral is traja.dve kávu→ dve kávyAfter dve, the noun is plural.
Practise
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Five and more, prices and age: päť eur, desať minút, mám dvadsať rokov#
Formation
From päť on, the noun is in the genitive plural, learnt at A1 in set phrases: päť eur, desať minút, päť hodín, sto gramov, dvadsať rokov. The euro and the cent have three forms each: jedno euro, dve eurá, päť eur; jeden cent, dva centy, päť centov. Rok (“year”) likewise: jeden rok, dva roky, päť rokov.
Use
A price is asked with Koľko to stojí? and given with stáť: To stojí päť eur. When a phrase with päť or more is the subject, the verb is singular: Je päť hodín, but Sú dve hodiny. Age is given with mať: Koľko máš rokov? — Mám dvadsať rokov.
- Lístok do kina stojí sedem eur.A cinema ticket costs seven euros.
- Káva tu stojí dve eurá.A coffee costs two euros here.
- Autobus príde o desať minút.The bus will come in ten minutes.
- Môj syn má päť rokov a dcéra dva roky.My son is five and my daughter is two.
Difference from English
English “I am twenty” has to be; in Slovak age is given as “I have twenty years”: Mám dvadsať rokov. English euros, minutes and years have one plural; Slovak has one form after dve, tri, štyri and another after päť.
Common mistakes
Som dvadsať.→ Mám dvadsať rokov.Age is given with mať and rok.päť eurá→ päť eurAfter päť, the form is eur.
Practise
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Telling the time: koľko je hodín?, o piatej, od ôsmej do piatej#
Formation
The time is asked with Koľko je hodín? and given with the numeral and hodina: Je jedna hodina. Sú dve (tri, štyri) hodiny. Je päť hodín. “At” an hour is o with the locative of the feminine: o jednej, and for the other hours the ordinal: o druhej, o tretej, o štvrtej, o piatej, o šiestej, o siedmej, o ôsmej, o deviatej, o desiatej, o jedenástej, o dvanástej; the word hodine is understood. The question is O koľkej?
Use
The beginning and the end of a period are given with od and do: od ôsmej do piatej. Po with the locative is “after”: po obede. At A1 only the full hours are told.
- Koľko je hodín? — Sú tri hodiny.What time is it? — It’s three o’clock.
- Obchod je otvorený od deviatej do šiestej.The shop is open from nine to six.
- Večeriame o siedmej.We have dinner at seven.
- O koľkej ide vlak? — O jedenástej.What time does the train leave? — At eleven.
Difference from English
English “at five” has the plain number; Slovak has o and a form of the ordinal: o piatej.
Common mistakes
o päť→ o piatejAfter o, the hour has the form piatej.Je tri hodiny.→ Sú tri hodiny.Tri is followed by the plural hodiny and the verb sú.
Practise
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Days and parts of the day: v pondelok, vo štvrtok, ráno, dnes, zajtra#
Formation
The days of the week are pondelok, utorok, streda, štvrtok, piatok, sobota, nedeľa, written with a small letter. “On” a day is v with the accusative: a feminine noun takes -u, a masculine noun does not change; before štvrtok the preposition is vo.
| Day | On that day |
|---|---|
| pondelok | v pondelok |
| utorok | v utorok |
| streda | v stredu |
| štvrtok | vo štvrtok |
| piatok | v piatok |
| sobota | v sobotu |
| nedeľa | v nedeľu |
Use
Ráno (“in the morning”) and večer (“in the evening”) are used without a preposition, v noci is “at night”, dnes večer “this evening” and cez víkend “over the weekend”. Dnes (“today”), včera (“yesterday”) and zajtra (“tomorrow”), minulý týždeň and budúci týždeň need no preposition; the verb is in the tense that suits them: Včera som bol doma, Zajtra budem v práci.
- V utorok a vo štvrtok mám kurz.I have a class on Tuesday and Thursday.
- Ráno pijem čaj, večer víno.In the morning I drink tea, in the evening wine.
- Kde si bol včera večer?Where were you last night?
- Cez víkend sme boli doma.We were at home over the weekend.
Difference from English
English “on Monday” has on; Slovak has v and the accusative: v pondelok, v nedeľu. English days take a capital letter; Slovak days do not.
Common mistakes
na pondelok→ v pondelokA day is introduced with v.v nedeľa→ v nedeľuAfter v, the day is in the accusative.
Practise
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Ordinal numbers: prvý, druhý, tretí … desiaty#
Formation
An ordinal numeral agrees with its noun like an adjective: prvý, prvá, prvé. Prvý and druhý are not formed from the cardinal; from piaty on the stem is that of the cardinal. After a long syllable the ending is short (piaty, šiesty, deviaty, desiaty); tretí is a soft adjective.
| Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | prvý | prvá | prvé |
| 2nd | druhý | druhá | druhé |
| 3rd | tretí | tretia | tretie |
| 4th | štvrtý | štvrtá | štvrté |
| 5th | piaty | piata | piate |
| 6th | šiesty | šiesta | šieste |
| 7th | siedmy | siedma | siedme |
| 8th | ôsmy | ôsma | ôsme |
| 9th | deviaty | deviata | deviate |
| 10th | desiaty | desiata | desiate |
Use
At A1 the ordinals are used in the nominative and in the accusative of the feminine (piatu stranu), and in the set forms of the hour (o piatej) and the date (prvého mája).
- To je môj prvý deň v práci.It’s my first day at work.
- Andrej je druhý a Hana tretia.Andrej is second and Hana third.
- Naše okno je tretie vľavo.Our window is the third on the left.
Difference from English
English first and second never change; a Slovak ordinal agrees with its noun or with the person it names: Andrej je druhý, Hana je druhá.
Common mistake
Hana je tretí.→ Hana je tretia.The ordinal agrees with Hana.
Practise
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The date and the months: prvého mája, v januári, dvakrát#
Formation
The date is given with the genitive of the ordinal and the genitive of the month: Dnes je prvého mája. The question is Koľkého je dnes? The nominative is also heard: Dnes je prvý máj. The masculine ordinal takes -ého after a short syllable (prvého, druhého, štvrtého) and -eho after a long one (piateho, šiesteho, desiateho); tretí has tretieho. “In” a month is v with the locative, vo before február.
| Month | Genitive | Locative |
|---|---|---|
| január | januára | v januári |
| február | februára | vo februári |
| marec | marca | v marci |
| apríl | apríla | v apríli |
| máj | mája | v máji |
| jún | júna | v júni |
| júl | júla | v júli |
| august | augusta | v auguste |
| september | septembra | v septembri |
| október | októbra | v októbri |
| november | novembra | v novembri |
| december | decembra | v decembri |
The locative ends in -i, except v auguste; marec, september, október, november and december lose their e before the ending. The words of frequency are formed with -krát: raz (once), dvakrát, trikrát, štyrikrát; raz za týždeň is “once a week”.
Use
The months are written with a small letter. At A1 the date is given with the day and the month; the year is not part of A1.
- Koľkého je dnes? — Tretieho marca.What’s the date today? — The third of March.
- Narodeniny mám piateho júna.My birthday is on the fifth of June.
- V auguste sme na dovolenke.In August we’re on holiday.
- Do Bratislavy cestujem dvakrát za týždeň.I go to Bratislava twice a week.
Difference from English
English the fifth of June and in June have no endings; a Slovak date needs the genitive (piateho júna) and a month after v the locative (v júni).
Common mistakes
Dnes je piateho jún.→ Dnes je piateho júna.After the ordinal in the genitive, the month is in the genitive too.v jún→ v júniAfter v, the month is in the locative.
In short
| Point | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| one | jeden, jedna, jedno | jedna káva |
| two | dva (masculine things), dve (feminine, neuter), dvaja (men) | dve autá, dvaja chlapci |
| 2, 3, 4 | + nominative plural | tri izby |
| men | dvaja, traja, štyria | traja kamaráti |
| 5 and more | + genitive plural, set phrases | päť eur, desať minút |
| age | mať + rokov | Mám dvadsať rokov. |
| the time | Koľko je hodín?; o + piatej | Večeriame o siedmej. |
| days | v, vo + accusative | v stredu, vo štvrtok |
| ordinals | prvý, druhý, tretí | Hana je tretia. |
| the date | genitive | prvého mája |
| months | v, vo + locative | v januári, vo februári |
Practise
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