The Genitive Case: Possession, Absence, and More
The Genitive case indicates possession (like 'of' or 's), absence (with bez - without), origin (with z/zo - from), or location at/having ('at' or 'have' with u). Its primary role is showing belonging or relation, or being required by certain prepositions.
Nouns: Endings vary based on gender and hard/soft stem.
- Singular Masculine/Neuter: hard -a, soft -a. (e.g., dom brata - brother's house, kniha učiteľa - teacher's book, okno mesta - city window, kvet poľa - field flower)
- Singular Feminine: ending -y or -e. (e.g., kniha sestry - sister's book, hlas zeme - voice of the earth)
- Plural (all genders): Various endings, often -ov (masculine), -∅ (feminine and neuter). (e.g., domy bratov - brothers' houses, knihy učiteľov - teachers' books, knihy žien∅ - women's books, okná miest∅ - city windows)
Adjectives:
- Singular (all genders): hard -ého, soft -ieho. (e.g., dom dobrého brata - house of a good brother, kniha novej učiteľky - book of a new teacher, okno cudzieho mesta - window of a foreign city)
- Plural (all genders): hard -ých, soft -ích. (e.g., domy dobrých bratov - houses of good brothers, knihy cudzích učiteľov - books of foreign teachers)
Prepositions: Used after bez (without), z/zo (from), u (at/by/have), and others like do (to/until), od (from).
Examples: To je práca môjho otca (This is my father's work). Ja som z mesta (I am from the city). U mňa je hodinky (I have a watch - literally "At me there is a watch"). Oni idú bez vody (They are going without water). Videl som veľa krásnych žien (I saw many beautiful women).