Welcome to the course!
This grammar explanation will be quite thorough, which is essential for understanding the Slovak language, especially if you do not speak any Slavic language, as you might not easily grasp the logic behind certain grammatical structures otherwise.
However, if you are already familiar with a Slavic language and understand how to use the verb "to be," determine noun gender, and other fundamental concepts explained here, feel free to skip ahead.
Conjugation of 'byť' (To Be)
The verb "to be" (byť) is essential for talking about existence or identity. Its present tense forms are used to say "I am," "you are," "he is," etc., or to indicate where something is located. The present tense forms are:
- Ja som (I am)
- Ty si (You are, singular informal)
- On/Ona/Ono je (He/She/It is)
- My sme (We are)
- Vy ste (You are, plural or singular formal)
- Oni/Ony sú (They are)
- Examples: Ja som študent. Moja sestra je dobrá. My sme dobrí priatelia. Oni sú tu.
How to Determine the Gender of a Word
Slovak nouns belong to one of three genders: Masculine, Feminine, or Neuter. Knowing the gender is crucial because it affects the endings of adjectives and other words used with the noun. Generally, the gender is evident from the noun's ending in its basic form (nominative singular):
- Masculine: Most nouns ending in a consonant are masculine (e.g., dom - house, stôl - table, učiteľ - teacher).
- Feminine: Most nouns ending in -a are feminine (e.g., žena - woman, kniha - book, zem - earth/land).
- Neuter: Most nouns ending in -o or -e are neuter (e.g., mesto - city, more - sea).
- Keep in mind: There are some exceptions to these rules, but they apply to the majority of words.
The Nominative Case: The Subject and Naming
The Nominative case is the basic form of a noun or adjective, primarily used for the subject of a sentence (who or what performs the action) or simply to name things. This is the form you will find words in dictionaries.
Nouns: Singular forms follow the gender rules described above. Plural forms vary based on gender.
- Masculine Examples: Sg: dom. Pl: domy.
- Feminine Examples: Sg: žena. Pl: ženy.
- Neuter Examples: Sg: mesto. Pl: mestá.
Adjectives: Agree in gender and number with the noun they describe. Adjectives have different endings for hard and soft stems.
- Hard Stem Examples: Singular: dobrý (m), dobrá (f), dobré (n). Plural: dobrí (masculine animate), dobré (other genders/non-masculine animate).
- Soft Stem Examples: Singular: cudzí (m), cudzia (f), cudzie (n). Plural: cudzí (masculine animate), cudzie (other genders/non-masculine animate).
Examples: Dobrý dom je starý (A good house is old). Cudzie mestá sú zaujímavé (Foreign cities are interesting). Krásne ženy hovoria (Beautiful women are speaking).
Demonstrative Pronouns (Nominative) and Why Use Them
Demonstrative pronouns help us specify particular nouns, similar to using "this" or "that" in English. In the Nominative case, they must agree in gender and number with the noun they refer to. Using them helps to clarify exactly which item you mean from a group.
- Singular: tento (m), táto (f), toto (n) - (this) / ten (m), tá (f), to (n) - (that)
- Plural: títo (masculine animate), tieto (other genders/non-masculine animate) - (these) / tí (masculine animate), tie (other genders/non-masculine animate) - (those)
- Examples: Tento dom je veľký (This house is big). Tá kniha je moja (That book is mine). Toto je naše mesto (This is our city). Títo ľudia sú veselí (These people are cheerful).