Welcome to the course!
The following grammar will be quite thorough but its essential to understand for learning Interslavic in case you are not slavic since you won't understand the logic behind the phrases very well.
But in case you speak a slavic language and you know how to use byti, how to detemine the gender of a word and the rest of the basics explained here, feel free to skip to the exercises.
Conjugation of 'Byti' (To Be)
The verb "to be" (byti) is essential for talking about existence or identity. Like in many languages, its present tense forms are a bit special, but they are easy to learn. You use these to say "I am," "you are," "he is," etc., or to say where something is located.
- Ja jesm (I am)
- Ty jesi (You are, singular)
- On/Ona/Ono jest (He/She/It is)
- My jesmo (We are)
- Vy jeste (You are, plural or formal)
- Oni/One sut (They(male/neuter) are/They(female) are)
- Examples: Ja jesm student (I am a student). Moja sestra jest dobra (My sister is good). My jesmo dobri prijatelji (We are good friends). Oni sut tu (They are here).
How to Determine the Gender of a Word
Interslavic nouns belong to one of three genders: Masculine, Feminine, or Neuter. Knowing the gender is important because it affects the endings of adjectives and other words used with the noun. Usually, the gender is clear from the noun's ending in its basic (nominative singular) form:
- Masculine: Most nouns ending in a consonant are masculine (e.g., dom - house, stol - table, učitelj - teacher).
- Feminine: Most nouns ending in -a or -ja are feminine (e.g., žena - woman, kniga - book, zemlja - land).
- Neuter: Most nouns ending in -o or -e are neuter (e.g., selo - village, okno - window, solnce - sun).
- Keep in mind: There are some exceptions, but these rules cover most words!
The Nominative Case: The Subject and Naming
The Nominative case is the fundamental form of a noun or adjective, used mainly for the subject of a sentence (who or what is doing the action) or simply for naming things. It's the form you'll find words listed under in dictionaries.
Nouns: Singular forms follow the gender rules (consonant for M, -a/-ja for F, -o/-e for N). Plural nouns often end in -y or -i (hard/soft).
- Hard: Sg: dom (m), žena (f), selo (n). Pl: domy, ženy, sela.
- Soft: Sg: muž (m), zemlja (f), polje (n). Pl: muži, zemlji, polja.
Adjectives: Agree in gender and number.
- Hard: Sg: dobry (m), dobra (f), dobro (n). Pl: dobri (virile), dobre (non-virile).
- Soft: Sg: svěži (m), svěža (f), svěže (n). Pl: svěži (virile), svěže (non-virile).
Examples: Dobry dom jest stary (A good house is old). Svěže polja sut zelene (New fields are green). Krasne ženy govorjat (Beautiful women are speaking).
Demonstrative Pronouns (Nominative) and Why Use Them
Demonstrative pronouns help us point out specific nouns, like saying "this" or "that." In the Nominative case, they also match the gender and number of the noun they refer to. Using them helps you specify exactly which item you mean from a group.
- Singular: toj (m), ta (f), to (n) - (this/that)
- Plural: ti (m/n) - (these/those) te (non-virile) - (these/those)
- Examples: Toj dom jest veliky (This/That house is big). Ta kniga jest moja (This/That book is mine). To jest naše selo (This/That is our village). Ti ljudi sut veseli (These/Those people are cheerful).