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The Slovak past has one form for every kind of past: Pracoval som is “I worked”, “I was working” and “I have worked”. It is formed with the l-form of the verb, which agrees with the subject in gender and number, and, in the first and second persons, with the present of byť as an auxiliary.
The past tense: bol som, robila si, boli sme; no auxiliary in the third person#
Formation
The l-form is formed from the infinitive by replacing -ť with -l for a masculine subject, -la for a feminine subject, -lo for a neuter subject and -li for every plural subject: robiť, robil, robila, robilo, robili. In verbs in -ieť, -ie- becomes -e-: rozumieť, rozumel; vidieť, videl; chcieť, chcel; musieť, musel; vedieť, vedel. The first and second persons add the present of byť: som, si, sme, ste. The third person has no auxiliary.
| Man | Woman | |
|---|---|---|
| ja | robil som | robila som |
| ty | robil si | robila si |
| on, ona, ono | robil | robila (ono: robilo) |
| my | robili sme | robili sme |
| vy | robili ste | robili ste |
| oni, ony | robili | robili |
The past of byť is formed in the same way, on bol-: bol som, bola si, bol, boli sme.
| byť | robiť | |
|---|---|---|
| ja (on) | bol som | robil som |
| ja (ona) | bola som | robila som |
| ty (on) | bol si | robil si |
| ty (ona) | bola si | robila si |
| on | bol | robil |
| ona | bola | robila |
| ono | bolo | robilo |
| my | boli sme | robili sme |
| vy | boli ste | robili ste |
| oni/ony | boli | robili |
Use
One past translates “I did”, “I was doing” and “I have done”: Čítala som tú knihu is “I read that book” and “I have read that book”. The plural -li is the same for men, for women and for things: Hana a Ivana pracovali. With vy addressed to one person, the l-form is plural, whether a man or a woman is addressed: Pani Kováčová, boli ste doma? The negative is formed with ne- written together with the l-form: nebol som, nerobila. A question without a question word has the order of a statement: Bol si doma?; a question word comes first: Kde si bol? The tense follows the time: dnes and teraz with the present, včera with the past: Dnes pracujem doma, včera som pracovala v banke.
- Minulý týždeň sme boli v Levoči.Last week we were in Levoča.
- Ivana pracovala v banke a Andrej študoval.Ivana worked in a bank and Andrej studied.
- Čo si robil v sobotu? — Upratoval som.What did you do on Saturday? — I cleaned.
- Pani Kováčová, boli ste v sobotu na koncerte?Mrs Kováčová, were you at the concert on Saturday?
- Nebola som unavená, ale bola som hladná.I wasn’t tired, but I was hungry.
- Deti večer pozerali film.The children watched a film in the evening.
Difference from English
English was is the same for a man and a woman; Slovak shows the gender of the subject: bol som (a man), bola som (a woman). English did, was doing and have done are three forms; Slovak has one. English he was has a verb after the subject; Slovak bol is the whole third person, with no auxiliary.
Common mistakes
Hana je bola doma.→ Hana bola doma.The third person has no auxiliary.Hana a Ivana pracovala.→ Hana a Ivana pracovali.Every plural subject takes -li.Pani Kováčová, bola ste doma?→ Pani Kováčová, boli ste doma?With vy, the l-form is plural.Som bol doma.→ Bol som doma.Som never comes first.
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Short words in second place in the past: včera som pracoval, učil som sa#
Formation
The auxiliaries som, si, sme, ste and the reflexive sa and si come second in the clause, after its first word or phrase, whatever it is: Včera som pracoval, Pracoval som včera, V sobotu sme boli doma. When the auxiliary and sa are both used, the auxiliary comes first: Učil som sa, Včera sme sa učili. In the third person only sa is left: Hana sa učila.
Use
The subject pronoun is usually left out, so the auxiliary often comes right after the first word of the sentence: Ráno som bol v práci. When the pronoun is said, it is the first word: Ja som bola v kuchyni. In a question with a question word, the auxiliary follows the question word: Kde ste boli?
- V sobotu sme boli v Žiline.On Saturday we were in Žilina.
- Kedy si sa zobudil?When did you wake up?
- Ja som bola v kuchyni a Hana bola v záhrade.I was in the kitchen and Hana was in the garden.
- Večer sme sa stretli v kaviarni.In the evening we met in a café.
- Andrej sa včera nič neučil.Andrej didn’t study anything yesterday.
Difference from English
English I was has the subject first and the verb second; in Slovak the auxiliary comes second, whatever comes first, and I is often not said at all: Včera som bol doma (“Yesterday I was at home”).
Common mistakes
Včera bol som doma.→ Včera som bol doma.After včera, the auxiliary comes second.Učil sa som.→ Učil som sa.The auxiliary comes before sa.Som sa učil.→ Učil som sa.The auxiliary never comes first.
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Past forms of their own: išiel, prišiel, mohol, jedol, niesol, stretol#
Formation
Some verbs do not simply replace -ť with -l:
| Verb | Masculine | Feminine | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|
| ísť | išiel (šiel) | išla (šla) | išli (šli) |
| prísť | prišiel | prišla | prišli |
| môcť | mohol | mohla | mohli |
| jesť | jedol | jedla | jedli |
| niesť | niesol | niesla | niesli |
| stretnúť sa | stretol sa | stretla sa | stretli sa |
| obliecť sa | obliekol sa | obliekla sa | obliekli sa |
In the masculine a vowel is added before the -l (išiel, mohol, jedol, niesol, stretol); the feminine and the plural have none (išla, mohla, jedla). The shorter šiel, šla, šli are also correct. Piť, čítať, písať, spať and mať are regular: pil, čítal, písal, spal, mal.
| ísť | |
|---|---|
| ja (on) | šiel som |
| ja (ona) | šla som |
| ty (on) | šiel si |
| ty (ona) | šla si |
| on | šiel |
| ona | šla |
| ono | šlo |
| my | šli sme |
| vy | šli ste |
| oni/ony | šli |
Use
These verbs take the auxiliary and ne- like every other verb: išiel som, nemohla si, jedli sme. After chcel, mohol and musel, another verb is in the infinitive: Nemohol som prísť.
- Včera som išiel do kina s Borisom.Yesterday I went to the cinema with Boris.
- Hana prišla domov neskoro.Hana came home late.
- Na obed sme jedli rybu a ryžu.We had fish and rice for lunch.
- Prečo si nemohol prísť?Why couldn’t you come?
- Kristína stretla v meste starého kamaráta.Kristína met an old friend in town.
Difference from English
English irregular pasts have another vowel or another word (went, ate, could); the Slovak irregular l-forms are few, and they still agree with the subject: išiel (he), išla (she).
Common mistakes
išol→ išielThe past of ísť is išiel.jedel→ jedolThe past of jesť is jedol.stretnul→ stretolStretnúť has the past stretol.
In short
| Point | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| l-form | -l, -la, -lo; plural -li | robil, robila, robili |
| 1st and 2nd persons | l-form + som, si, sme, ste | bol som, boli ste |
| 3rd person | l-form alone | Hana bola doma. |
| polite vy | plural l-form | Boli ste doma? |
| negative | ne- + l-form | nebola som |
| place | som, sa second; som before sa | Včera sme sa učili. |
| forms of their own | išiel, prišiel, mohol, jedol, niesol, stretol | Hana prišla neskoro. |
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