Slovak Grammar List

When a masculine noun for a person or animal ends in a consonant, it adds -a in the accusative singular: brat becomes brata and pes becomes psa. Nouns for men ending in -a, like hrdina, take -u instead.

Many verbs take -iem, -em or -jem for I, like nesiem, píšem and pijem. They take -ú, -u or -jú for they: nesú, píšu, pijú.

Rozumieť (to understand) goes rozumiem, rozumieš, rozumie, rozumieme, rozumiete, rozumejú. The they form has a plain e: rozumejú.

When a feminine noun ending in -a is the direct object, the -a becomes -u: sestra becomes sestru, káva becomes kávu and ulica becomes ulicu. Feminine nouns that end in a consonant do not change.

Verbs in -ovať, like pracovať (to work), use -uj- plus the endings -em, -eš, -e, -eme, -ete and -ú: pracujem, pracuješ, pracujú.

Many verbs in -ať conjugate like volať: volám, voláš, volá, voláme, voláte, volajú. After a long syllable the á becomes short, as in čítam.

Verbs like robiť conjugate robím, robíš, robí, robíme, robíte, robia. After a long syllable the í is short, as in chválim, but the they form stays chvália.

Slovak adjectives change their endings to match the noun. Hard adjectives end in -ý, -á or -é, like nový dom, nová kniha and nové auto. After a long syllable the ending is short, as in krásny deň.

Ahoj and the more casual čau say hello or goodbye to friends, family and anyone you address with ty.

Ako sa máš? and Ako sa máte? use the verb mať sa (to be doing, to get on). The answer uses the same verb with an adverb: Mám sa dobre (I'm fine), not "som dobre".

Masculine nouns split into two groups. Nouns for people and animals, like chlap and pes, are animate, and nouns for things, like dub and stroj, are inanimate. The two groups use different endings in some cases.

A neutral Slovak sentence usually goes subject, verb, object, as in Peter číta knihu (Peter is reading a book), but because endings mark each word's role, you can change the order to put the new or important information at the end.

Learn the Slovak counting numbers from one to a thousand: the teens end in -násť, the tens in -dsať or -desiat, and compound numbers like dvadsaťpäť (twenty-five) are written as one word.

Dobré ráno (good morning) and Dobrý večer (good evening) greet people at those times of day. Dobrú noc (good night) is a goodbye for late in the evening or before sleep, never a greeting.

Dobrý deň (good day) is the everyday polite greeting for strangers, shops, offices and anyone you address with vy.

Dovidenia is the everyday polite goodbye that works with anyone. Maj sa and majte sa mean take care: maj sa goes to one person you call ty, and majte sa to someone you call vy or to a group.

Most feminine nouns end in -a, like žena and ulica. Some end in a consonant, like dlaň and kosť.

Slovak has two ways to say "you" to one person. Ty (tykanie) is for friends, relatives and children. Vy with a plural verb (vykanie) is polite, for strangers and people you know formally. Vy is also the normal word for several people.

The acute mark, called dĺžeň, makes a vowel long. A long vowel lasts about twice as long, and it can change the meaning of a word, as in pas (passport) and pás (belt).

Most masculine nouns end in a consonant, like dom and stroj. Nouns for men that end in -a, like hrdina, are masculine too.

Nech sa páči is a fixed polite phrase for handing something over or inviting someone to do something, such as come in, sit down or take some food. It does not change for ty or vy.

Most neuter nouns end in -o, -e or -ie, like mesto, srdce and vysvedčenie. Nouns for young people and animals, like dievča and mláďa, are neuter too, even though they end in -a or -ä.

Slovak has no words for "a" or "the". Kniha can mean "a book" or "the book".

Slovak nouns have three genders. Adjectives, ten / tá / to and past verb forms all match the noun's gender.

To make a noun plural, choose the ending by gender and final sound: -y or -e for most masculine things and feminine nouns, -i, -ia or -ovia for men, and -á, -a or -ia for neuter nouns.

Prepáčte and prepáč apologize or get someone's attention, like English "sorry" and "excuse me". Use prepáčte with people you call vy or with a group, and prepáč with one person you call ty.

The caron, called mäkčeň, marks eight consonants: č, š, ž, dž, ď, ť, ň and ľ. In small ď, ť and ľ it looks like an apostrophe.

Stress always falls on the first syllable, as in BRA-ti-sla-va. A short preposition joins the next word and carries the stress: DO mes-ta.

The subject pronouns are ja, ty, on, ona, ono, my, vy, oni and ony. Oni is for groups that include a man, and ony for all other groups. Because the verb ending already shows the person, the pronoun is usually dropped and used only for emphasis or contrast.

The accusative marks the direct object, the person or thing a verb acts on. Masculine things, neuter nouns and feminine nouns ending in a consonant look the same as the dictionary form, while feminine -a becomes -u and most masculine nouns for people and animals take -a.

The nominative is the form you find in a dictionary. It marks the subject, the person or thing doing the action or being described, and the verb agrees with it.

After a long syllable, an ending that is normally long becomes short: pekný but krásny, volám but čítam. A few endings, such as -ia in chvália, keep their length.

Slovak has six cases: nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, locative and instrumental. Each case shows the role of a word in the sentence and answers its own question words.

The Slovak alphabet has 46 letters. Marked letters such as č, ľ, á and ô, and the pairs dz, dž and ch, each count as a letter of their own.

Voiced consonants lose their voice at the end of a word and before voiceless consonants, so dub (oak) sounds like dup. Unlike Czech, a final voiceless consonant becomes voiced before a vowel or l, r, m, n or j: tak ako sounds like tag ako.

To ask a yes-no question, keep the words of a statement and change your voice. Slovak adds no helper word like English "do".

Join words and sentences with a (and), ale (but) and alebo (or), as in čaj a káva (tea and coffee), Je malý, ale pekný (It's small but nice) and Kávu alebo čaj? (Coffee or tea?).

Byť (to be) is irregular: som, si, je, sme, ste, sú. It links the subject to a name, a job, a description or a place, and the pronoun is usually left out.

Chcieť (to want) goes chcem, chceš, chce, chceme, chcete, chcú. Use it with a noun in the accusative, as in Chcem kávu, or with an infinitive, as in Chcem spať.

Before e and i, d, t and n are said soft even though no mark is written, as in deti (children) and nie (no). Common exceptions include ten, jeden, teraz and borrowed words.

Do takes the genitive and means going into or to a place, as in do školy and do Bratislavy. It can also mean until a time, as in do piatej (until five).

Slovak has four diphthongs, ia, ie, iu and ô, which sounds like uo. Each is one syllable and counts as long.

Slovak has no word for the "there" in "there is". Use je or sú with a place instead.

The number one works like an adjective: it takes the gender and case of the noun, as in jeden stôl (one table), jedna káva (one coffee), jedno pivo (one beer) and Jednu kávu, prosím (One coffee, please).

Jesť (to eat) has the forms jem, ješ, je, jeme, jete and jedia. The form je (eats) looks just like je (is), so the sentence tells you which one it is.

Kde asks where something is, kam where it is going, kedy when, ako how and prečo why.

Koľko means both "how much" and "how many". Use it for prices, age, amounts and the time.

Kto means "who" and čo means "what". When the person is the object, kto becomes koho.

Mať (to have) goes mám, máš, má, máme, máte, majú. What you have is in the accusative, as in Mám brata, and the negative is nemám.

In Slovak you have your age: Mám dvadsať rokov (I'm twenty). The word for year depends on the number: jeden rok, dva, tri or štyri roky, and päť or more rokov.

Say what or whom you like with mať rád and an accusative object, and change rád to match the speaker, as in Mám rád kávu (I like coffee, said by a man) and Mám ťa rada (I love you, said by a woman).

Use môcť for ability or permission and musieť for necessity, and put the second verb in the infinitive, as in Môžem sa opýtať? (May I ask?) and Musím ísť (I have to go).

Môj (my), tvoj (your), náš (our) and váš (your) take the gender of the thing owned, as in môj brat and moja sestra. Jeho (his), jej (her) and ich (their) always stay the same.

To say not, write ne- on the front of the verb: nerozumiem, nemám, nepracujeme. Only byť in the present tense uses a separate word: nie som, nie je.

The present tense of byť is the only verb form negated with a separate nie: nie som, nie si, nie je, nie sme, nie ste, nie sú. Other verbs, and byť in the past and future, take ne- written onto the verb.

Say po slovensky, po anglicky or po nemecky to name the language you use. The language word ends in a short -y and never changes.

R and l can be the center of a syllable, short or long, as in prst (finger), vlk (wolf), vŕba (willow) and stĺp (pillar).

Put rád, rada, radi or rady before a normal present-tense verb to say you like doing something, as in Rád čítam (I like reading), Rada varí (She likes cooking) and Radi cestujeme (We like travelling).

S means together with and takes the instrumental case, as in káva s mliekom and s kamarátom. Before words starting with s, z, š or ž, and before some consonant groups, it becomes so, as in so sestrou.

Ten, tá and to point to a masculine, feminine or neuter noun, as in ten dom, tá žena and to mesto. Tento (this) and tamten (that over there) change the same way.

Use to je for one person or thing and to sú for several. The noun after it stays in its dictionary form.

To say where something is, use v (in) or na (on, at) with the locative case: v Bratislave, na stole. V becomes vo before words starting with v or f and before some consonant groups, as in vo vlaku.

Slovak gives a name with the verb volať sa (to be called): Volám sa Jana, Ako sa voláš? (informal) and Ako sa voláte? (polite). The name stays in the nominative, and sa cannot come first in the sentence.

Z means "from" or "out of" and is always followed by the genitive. It becomes zo before s, z, š and ž.

Áno and nie answer yes-no questions. Nie can also negate one word or phrase, as in nie dnes (not today), but to negate a verb you attach ne- to it, as in nerozumiem.

The letter ä appears almost only after p, b, m and v, as in päť (five) and mäso (meat). In everyday speech it is usually said like e.

Ísť (to go) goes idem, ideš, ide, ideme, idete, idú. Use it for going on foot or by car, bus or train, as in Idem domov and Ideme vlakom.

Ďakujem (thank you) takes za for the thing you are thankful for. Prosím makes a request polite, answers ďakujem like "you're welcome", and as a question means "pardon?".

Trikrát denne means three times a day. Add -krát to a number and write it as one word, but say raz for once.

To say how something is done, change the adjective ending to -o, -e or -y: vysoký → vysoko, pekný → pekne, slovenský → slovensky. Comparative adverbs end in -šie or -ejšie, like rýchlejšie.

Novák becomes Nováková and Hrušovský becomes Hrušovská. These forms change like adjectives, as in s pani Novákovou.

Adding -te to the singular command speaks to several people or politely to one person, as in Poďte ďalej (Come in). Adding -me means let's, as in Poďme! (Let's go!).

Many aspect pairs are formed by adding a prefix to the imperfective verb, as in robiť / urobiť and čítať / prečítať. Each verb takes a particular prefix, so learn the pairs together.

The singular command is made from the oni (they) form without its ending, as in Rob! (Do!) and Čítaj! (Read!). Some common verbs are irregular: Buď! (Be!), Jedz! (Eat!), Choď! (Go!) and Poď! (Come!).

To say older or warmer, add -ší or -ejší to the adjective: starší, teplejší. To say oldest or warmest, put naj- in front of that: najstarší, najteplejší.

To say how you feel, put yourself in the dative and use je with a word such as zima (cold), teplo (warm), zle (sick), dobre (fine) or ľúto (sorry): Je mi zima. There is no subject, so the verb is always je, bolo or bude.

The dative pronouns are mi (to me), ti (to you), mu (to him or it), jej (to her), nám (to us), vám (to you) and im (to them). They mark the receiver, as in Daj mi to, and the person who feels something, as in Páči sa mu to.

In the dative singular, nouns for male people and animals take -ovi (bratovi), masculine things and neuter nouns take -u (domu, mestu), and feminine nouns take -e (sestre) or, after a soft consonant, -i (ulici, kosti).

Prvý deň means the first day. Ordinals change like adjectives, and a figure used as an ordinal gets a period: 3. poschodie.

Words of quantity and containers are followed by the genitive, as in veľa ľudí (a lot of people), pohár vody (a glass of water), kilo jabĺk (a kilo of apples) and trochu času (a little time).

The genitive plural follows numbers from five up and words like veľa. Masculine nouns usually add -ov: stolov. Most feminine and neuter nouns lose their ending, and the last syllable gets longer: žena → žien, mesto → miest.

Nouns take genitive endings after prepositions like do, z and bez: masculine -a or -u (bez brata, z domu), feminine -y, -e or -i (do školy, z ulice, bez soli) and neuter -a (do mesta).

Most adjectives follow pekný (nice) and change their ending to match the noun's gender, number and case, as in v peknom meste and s peknou ženou. After a long syllable the long vowel in the ending becomes short: krásny, krásneho.

Stojí to tristo eur means It costs three hundred euros. After sto and tisíc the noun is genitive plural, and 1993 is read tisíc deväťsto deväťdesiattri.

Most Slovak verbs come in pairs. The imperfective verb describes an ongoing or repeated action, and the perfective verb describes one completed action with a result.

In the instrumental singular, masculine and neuter nouns take -om (s bratom, autom) and feminine nouns take -ou (so sestrou, s radosťou). Neuter nouns in -ie take -ím (s vysvedčením).

Five everyday adjectives change their stem when you compare them: dobrý → lepší, zlý → horší, veľký → väčší, malý → menší and pekný → krajší. The superlative still adds naj-: najlepší, najväčší.

Common irregular past forms include bol, išiel or šiel, mohol, jedol and niesol.

Sú tri hodiny means It's three o'clock, and o tretej means at three. Half hours count toward the next hour, so pol tretej is 2:30.

The locative is used only after prepositions such as v, na, o, po and pri. Male people and animals take -ovi (o bratovi). Masculine things and neuter nouns take -e (v meste), -u after k, g, h, ch (v parku, v jablku), or -i after a soft stem (v čaji, v srdci). Feminine nouns take -e or -i (na ulici).

V januári means in January and v lete means in summer, but in spring is na jar.

Som Slovák is said by a man and Som Slovenka by a woman. The adjective slovenský and the language slovenčina are written in lowercase.

Negative commands add ne- to the front of the command, written as one word. They normally use the imperfective verb, as in Nerob to! and Nebojte sa.

The accusative pronouns stand for a direct object: ma (me), ťa (you), ho (him, it), ju (her, it), nás (us), vás (you) and ich (them). They follow grammatical gender, so a masculine thing is ho and a feminine thing is ju.

Peter prišiel, Jana prišla, dieťa spalo and ženy prišli show the four past endings.

Perfective verbs form their future with the ordinary present endings, so urobím means I'll do it. Budem + infinitive is only for imperfective verbs.

Put the owner in the genitive after the thing it owns, as in dom mojej sestry (my sister's house), koniec filmu (the end of the film) and centrum mesta (the town centre).

Vo vode, so sestrou, zo školy and ku kamarátovi add a vowel so the preposition is easy to say.

After s (with) and other instrumental prepositions the pronouns are mnou, tebou, ním, ňou, nami, vami and nimi. After o, v, na, po and pri they are mne, tebe, ňom, nej, nás, vás and nich.

Prvého mája means on the first of May. Both the ordinal and the month are in the genitive: desiateho júna.

Slovak has no word for the empty it of English it's raining. A weather verb or je with an adverb stands alone, and in the past it takes the neuter form: Prší, Je teplo, Bolo neskoro.

Adjectives with a soft consonant before the ending, like cudzí, domáci and ďalší, follow the cudzí model. Their endings match pekný, but with í, ia, ie and iu instead of ý, á, é and ú.

Use the dative for the person something is given, sent, told or shown to, and for the person you do something for. Slovak needs no word for to or for here: Píšem mame (I'm writing to mom).

To say what you do something with, how you travel or how you pay, put the tool in the instrumental with no preposition: písať perom (to write with a pen), ísť vlakom (to go by train), platiť kartou (to pay by card).

Bol som doma means I was at home. The third person has no helper word: Peter bol doma.

Some verbs always come with sa, and some change meaning when sa is added, like učiť (teach) and učiť sa (learn). Sa goes right after the first stressed word or phrase, never at the start of the sentence.

Si means for myself or to myself, as in Kúpim si kávu (I'll buy myself a coffee) and Umyl som si ruky (I washed my hands). Some verbs always use si, and like sa it stands in second position.

Aj stands before the word it adds and tiež usually after it, both meaning also or too. In negative sentences use ani with a negated verb: Ani ja nerozumiem (I don't understand either).

Use ak to say if about something that can really happen now or later. The ak clause is always separated by a comma: Ak chceš, pomôžem ti (If you want, I'll help you).

Use ako or než after a comparative to say than: Je starší ako ja. Both are standard, and ako is the more common choice in everyday speech.

Aký asks about qualities: Aký je to film? It changes like pekný to match the noun: aká izba, aké počasie, v akom meste.

Bez (without), u (at someone's place), od (from a person or a starting point), okolo (around), vedľa (next to) and počas (during) take the genitive, as in káva bez cukru, u babky, list od mamy and počas leta.

Budem pracovať means I will work or I will be working. Only imperfective verbs use this future.

Zajtra budem doma means I will be at home tomorrow. Budem already means will be, so byť is not added.

Slovak has three words for two. Use dva with masculine nouns for things and animals, dve with feminine and neuter nouns, and dvaja with men. The noun after two is in the nominative plural.

Chyba has y after ch, and čistý has i after č. I and y sound the same, except that after d, t, n and l the letter shows whether the consonant is hard or soft.

K means toward, up to, or to a person's place, as in Idem k lekárovi (I'm going to the doctor's). It always takes the dative. Say ku before words starting with k or g and in ku mne.

Keď prídem domov, zavolám ti means When I get home, I'll call you. Keď is not a question word; to ask when, say kedy.

Ktorý means which: Ktorý autobus ide do centra? It changes like pekný to match the noun: ktorá taška, ktoré auto, na ktorej zastávke.

Nejdem von, lebo prší means I'm not going out because it's raining. Both words are standard; lebo is very common in speech.

Len and iba mean only or just. They are interchangeable, len is more common in speech, and they go directly before the word they limit: Mám len päť eur (I only have five euros).

Idem na koncert means I am going to a concert. Na takes the accusative for direction and the locative for location.

Na Slovensku means in Slovakia and na Slovensko means to Slovakia, while Czechia takes v Česku and do Česka.

Nemusíš prísť means you don't have to come, and Nesmieš prísť means you are not allowed to come. English must not matches nesmieť, not nemusieť.

Add nie- to a question word to talk about someone or something you do not name: kto → niekto (someone), čo → niečo (something), kde → niekde (somewhere). Nejaký (some, any) is spelled with ne-.

Slovak uses double negatives. Nikto (nobody), nič (nothing), nikde (nowhere), nikdy (never) and žiadny or nijaký (no, none) always go with a negative verb. One sentence can hold several of them.

O means about (kniha o Slovensku) and also gives clock time (o piatej, at five). Po means after (po obede) or around, all over (po meste). Pri means near or by (pri okne) and also during an activity (pri jedle).

To je pre teba means That is for you. Pre is always followed by the accusative.

S pánom Novákom means with Mr Novák, but with Mrs Nováková is s pani Novákovou: pani before a name does not change.

Páčiť sa means to please or appeal to. The thing you like is the subject, so the verb agrees with it, and the person is in the dative: Páči sa mi Bratislava (I like Bratislava), Páčia sa mi tie topánky (I like those shoes).

After päť (five) and higher numbers, the noun goes into the genitive plural: päť domov, desať eur. When this phrase is the subject, the verb is singular, and in the past it ends in -o: Prišlo sedem ľudí.

Slovak has different words for being somewhere and going somewhere: tu (here) and doma (at home) for location, sem (here, to this place) and domov (home) for direction. Tam (there) covers both.

Už marks something that has started or changed, and ešte marks something that continues or has not happened yet: Už som tu (I'm already here), Ešte som nejedol (I haven't eaten yet).

V pondelok means on Monday and v sobotu means on Saturday. Only štvrtok takes vo.

Use vedieť for facts and skills, as in Viem, kde býva (I know where he lives) and Viem plávať (I can swim). Use poznať with a noun for people and places you are familiar with, as in Poznám ho (I know him).

Za + accusative means in an amount of time, for a price, or in return for something, as in Ďakujem za pomoc.

Use ísť for a single trip that is happening now or is planned. Use chodiť for going somewhere regularly, for walking as an ability, and for attending school or a course.

Viem, že prídeš means I know you'll come. Slovak cannot leave out že the way English can leave out that.

Otcov dom (father's house), Petrova sestra (Peter's sister) and mamina kniha (mom's book) show whose something is in one word.

Plural adjectives have two subject forms: -í for men (slovenskí študenti) and -é for everything else (nové autá). After a long syllable they become -i and -e, and soft adjectives use -í and -ie.

Kupovať / kúpiť (to buy) and dávať / dať (to give) are aspect pairs built with a suffix. The longer form is usually imperfective.

Celý večer som písal means I was writing all evening, while Napísal som list means I wrote the letter and finished it.

Sedím means I'm sitting, and Sadni si means Sit down. The position verbs take a location, and the movement verbs take a direction.

U môjho brata, v tom dome and s našou mamou show ten, môj and náš in the cases. Their endings follow the gender, number and case of the noun.

K priateľom, o ženách and s kamarátmi show the plural dative, locative and instrumental. Masculine nouns take -om, -och and -mi, while feminine and neuter nouns take -ám, -ách and -ami.

Stolík is a little table and mamička is mommy. Slovak uses diminutives all the time, for small things, for loved ones and to sound friendly.

Bez ženy, bez ulice, bez dlane and bez kosti show the four feminine models. Nouns in -ná such as gazdiná take adjective endings in the singular.

Čakal som hodinu means I waited for an hour and každú sobotu means every Saturday. No preposition is needed.

To put a question inside a sentence, keep the question word and the rest of the question as it was, and add a comma before it. Yes-no questions use či.

Človek (person) has the plural ľudia, and dieťa (child) has deti. The body parts oko (eye) and ucho (ear) have the plurals oči and uši.

Use the short form by default and the long form when the pronoun is stressed, as in Vidím ťa (I see you) but Teba vidím, nie jeho (It's you I see, not him).

O chlapovi, o hrdinovi, o dube and o stroji show the four masculine models. Choose the model by asking whether the noun is a person and how it ends.

Plural nouns for men use the genitive form as the accusative, and so do the words around them: Pozval som mojich kamarátov (I invited my friends). Other plural nouns keep their nominative form as objects.

V meste, v srdci and na vysvedčení show the three main neuter models. The last letter of the noun tells you which model to use.

Dievča (girl) becomes dievčaťa and s dievčaťom, and its plural is dievčatá or dievčence. Mláďa (young animal) works the same way: mláďaťa, mláďatá.

S dobrými priateľmi means with good friends. Outside the nominative and accusative, a plural adjective has the same form for every gender.

A masculine animal noun behaves like a person in the singular and like a thing in the plural: Vidím psa but Vidím kone. A few nouns, such as pes, vták and vlk, also have a person-like plural: psi, vtáci, vlci.

Masculine nouns for people take -i, -ia or -ovia in the plural, often with a sound change such as k to c: Slovák becomes Slováci, učiteľ becomes učitelia and syn becomes synovia.

Nohavice (trousers), dvere (door), okuliare (glasses) and Vianoce (Christmas) exist only in the plural. Many town names work the same way: Košice sú krásne.

Say Boli ste spokojný? to a man and Boli ste spokojná? to a woman. The verb is plural, but the adjective is singular.

Vojsť means to go in and vyjsť means to go out or up. Each prefixed verb is perfective and has an imperfective partner in -chádzať.

Jeho becomes neho, jej becomes nej and ich becomes nich after a preposition, as in bez neho (without him), s ňou (with her) and pre nich (for them).

Ktorý starts a clause that describes a noun. It declines like pekný: its gender and number come from the noun, and its case comes from its job inside the new clause.

When a relative clause refers back to všetko, niečo, nič or to, Slovak uses čo. Čo takes the case of its role in the clause: čo, čoho, čomu, o čom, čím.

Išiel by som means I would go. Build it from the past-tense l-form, add by, and add som, si, sme or ste for I, you and we.

Unstressed words like som, sa, mi and ho stand together in second place in the clause, as in Včera som ho videl (I saw him yesterday).

Čakám na autobus means I am waiting for the bus. Learn each verb together with its preposition and case.

Pes becomes psa and otec becomes otca because the e drops out. In the genitive plural a vowel can appear instead: okno → okien, sestra → sestier.

Aby means so that or in order to. The verb after it takes the l-form, as in the conditional, and never the present tense.

Put ani before each thing you rule out and make the verb negative, because Slovak uses double negation. A comma goes before the second ani.

Asi prší means It's probably raining and Možno prídem means Maybe I'll come. These words show how sure you are, and the verb does not change.

Bolí ma hlava means I have a headache. The body part is the subject and the person is in the accusative (ma, ťa, ho, ju).

Put buď before the first option and alebo before the second, usually with a comma before alebo, as in Buď dnes, alebo zajtra (Either today or tomorrow).

Bojím sa tmy means I am afraid of the dark. With báť sa, týkať sa and držať sa, the object goes in the genitive, not the accusative.

Cez park means through the park and cez víkend means over the weekend. Cez always takes the accusative.

Chce sa mi spať means I feel sleepy, Darí sa mi means I am doing well and Podarilo sa mi means I managed. There is no subject and the person is in the dative.

Chcel by som kávu means I would like a coffee. Mohli by ste mi pomôcť? means Could you help me?

Chutí mi means I like the taste, Chýbaš mi means I miss you and Patrí mi means it belongs to me. The person is in the dative.

Counting men takes special numbers: dvaja bratia, traja študenti, štyria kamaráti, with a plural verb. As objects they become dvoch, troch and štyroch, and the noun takes its genitive-like form, usually in -ov: Mám dvoch bratov.

Hoci means although or even though. The hoci clause names the obstacle, and the main clause says what happened anyway. A comma always separates them.

Každý deň is every day, všetci študenti is all the students and celý týždeň is the whole week. Všetci is for groups with men; všetky is for everyone else.

Keby som mal čas, išiel by som means If I had time, I would go. Keby already contains by, so the keby clause has no second by.

Kým introduces a time clause. With an ordinary verb it means while. With a negated verb, usually a perfective one, it means until. It can also contrast two people: while, whereas.

Mal by si viac spať means You should sleep more. Nemali by sme meškať means We shouldn't be late.

Mám, máš, má and the other present forms of mať with an infinitive express what someone is expected, told or scheduled to do. It is very common in questions asking for instructions.

Pod stromom means under the tree and Daj to pod stôl means put it under the table. Position takes the instrumental, movement the accusative.

Nech with an ordinary present-tense verb says what you want to happen or what a third person should do. It also appears in good wishes and fixed phrases like Nech žije!

Nesiem tašku means I'm carrying a bag right now, while Nosím okuliare means I wear glasses as a habit. Carry, drive, lead, run and fly all work this way.

Pomáham mame means I help Mom. With these verbs the person goes in the dative, where English uses a plain object.

Pred rokom means a year ago. Pred comes before the time phrase, which is in the instrumental.

Preto and tak both introduce a result. Preto is neutral in speech and writing, and tak is more conversational. Preto, lebo means because, not so.

Práve jem means I'm eating right now, Práve odišiel means He has just left and Práve on to povedal means He is the very one who said it.

Vlak prišiel means the train arrived. Vlaky odchádzajú každú hodinu means trains leave every hour.

Pôjdem means I will go and ponesiem means I will carry. Ísť always uses pôjdem, and other one-direction motion verbs often form the future with po-.

Rád by som ťa videl means I'd like to see you. Rád agrees with the speaker, and the verb is in the l-form, not the infinitive.

Poznajú sa means They know each other, and Píšu si means They write to each other. Add navzájom when you need to make each other clear.

Use seba for myself, yourself, himself, ourselves and so on after prepositions or with emphasis, as in Myslí len na seba (He only thinks of himself).

Stal sa lekárom means he became a doctor. After stať sa, the new role or quality is in the instrumental.

When the owner is the subject, use svoj, as in Peter hľadá svoje okuliare (Peter is looking for his glasses). Jeho okuliare would be someone else's.

Je taký vysoký ako otec means He is as tall as his father. Use taký before an adjective and tak before an adverb.

Treba is an impersonal word meaning it is necessary. It does not change for person, it has no je in the present, and it adds bolo or bude for the past and future.

Plural pointing words and pronouns split like adjectives: tí and oni for men and mixed groups, tie and ony for women, children, animals and things: tí študenti, tie knihy.

Však links two contrasting ideas like ale, but it comes second in its clause, as in Chcel som prísť, nemal som však čas (I wanted to come, but I didn't have time).

Add a comma and však?, pravda? or nie? to a statement to ask for agreement, as in Je to pekné, však? (It's nice, isn't it?). Že? is common in casual speech but is not standard.

Začalo pršať means It started raining, and Prestal fajčiť means He stopped smoking. The verb after them is always imperfective.

Idem nakupovať means I'm going shopping. The infinitive gives the purpose of the movement, not a future tense.

Idem za kamarátom means I'm going to see a friend. The person or goal after za takes the instrumental case.

Či means whether or if in an indirect yes-no question. It follows verbs such as vedieť, pýtať sa and zistiť, and the verb keeps the tense of the original question.

Pick the form that matches the owned noun, as in Čí je to kabát? (Whose coat is it?), Čia je tá taška? (Whose bag is that?) and Čie sú tie kľúče? (Whose keys are these?).

Čítanie is reading, písanie is writing and pitie is drinking. These neuter nouns name an action, and their object goes in the genitive: umývanie riadu.

Hrdý na syna means proud of his son and spokojný s prácou means satisfied with the work. The preposition often differs from English, so learn each adjective with its partner.

Peter a Jana prišli means Peter and Jana came. Two subjects make the verb plural, and the person and the adjective ending depend on who is in the group.

Musím sa učiť means I have to study, as an activity. Musím to dokončiť means I have to get it finished. Choose the aspect of the infinitive by what you mean, not by the modal verb.

Otvor okno becomes Neotváraj okno, because telling someone not to do something uses the imperfective. A negative perfective such as Nezabudni! is a warning about something that could happen by mistake.

Viem, že prídeš needs a comma, but čaj a káva does not. Two že clauses joined by a have no comma before a: Povedal, že príde a že zavolá.

Slovak often says whose thing is affected with a dative instead of a possessive word. Ukradli mi peňaženku literally says they stole the wallet to me, and it means someone stole my wallet.

Pol kila is half a kilo, rok a pol is a year and a half and tretina ľudí is a third of the people.

Písať is to write, prepísať is to rewrite once, and prepisovať is to be rewriting or to rewrite again and again. Prefixed perfectives get a new imperfective partner through a suffix.

Neprišiel včera says he did not come yesterday. Prišiel nie včera, ale dnes says he did come, only today instead of yesterday.

S dvoma priateľmi means with two friends, and pred piatimi rokmi means five years ago. Here both the number and the noun change.

To call someone, Slovak simply uses the nominative: Peter!, Jana!, pán Novák! A handful of old address forms like pane (sir) and Bože (God) remain.

When several short unstressed words meet in second position, they line up in one order: by, the past-tense helper, sa or si, the dative and then the accusative. Dal by som ti ho means I would give it to you.

Napísaný list is a written letter and umytý tanier is a washed plate. The participle ends in -ný or -tý and agrees with its noun like any adjective.

Pracujúci ľudia are working people and spiace dieťa is a sleeping child. These -ing adjectives are formal; speech often uses a ktorý clause instead.

Tu sa predávajú lístky means Tickets are sold here. This is the most common passive in Slovak, used when the doer does not matter.

Use kde for a place where something is, kam for a place someone goes to, odkiaľ for a place someone comes from, and keď for a time.

Slovak does not move tenses back in reported speech. A present stays present and a future stays future, while pronouns and verb endings change to fit the new speaker.

Bol by som prišiel means I would have come. Keby som bol vedel, bol by som ti zavolal means If I had known, I would have called you.

Many prefixes do more than make a verb perfective. They add a meaning such as finishing, redoing, answering or writing underneath, so each prefixed verb is a new word to learn.

V lete sme chodievali k moru means In the summer we used to go to the seaside. Často tu sedávam means I often sit here.

Knihu som dal Petrovi answers "who got the book?", while Petrovi som dal knihu answers "what did Peter get?". The new part goes at the end.

Počkaj! (Wait!) becomes Povedal mi, aby som počkal (He told me to wait). When you pass on a message, nech is also common: Povedz mu, nech zavolá (Tell him to call).

Aj keby pršalo, pôjdeme means Even if it should rain, we'll go. Aj keby som chcel, nemôžem means Even if I wanted to, I can't.

Aj keď bol unavený, pracoval ďalej means Even though he was tired, he kept working. I keď means the same and is common in writing.

Ak bude pršať, zostaneme doma means If it rains, we'll stay at home. Keby pršalo, zostali by sme doma means If it were raining, we would stay at home.

Tvári sa, akoby nič nevedel means He acts as if he knew nothing. Akoby is one word, ako keby is two, and both take the l-form.

Príde až zajtra means He won't come until tomorrow. Where English says not ... until, Slovak uses až and keeps the verb positive.

Most bol postavený v roku 1920 means The bridge was built in 1920. The participle agrees with the subject, and this passive sounds most natural in writing.

Jedny okuliare is one pair of glasses, dvoje dverí is two doors and troje nohavíc is three pairs of trousers.

Dá sa to opraviť means It can be fixed. Nedá sa tu parkovať means You can't park here.

Opýtaj sa hocikoho means ask anyone at all. These words say that the choice does not matter; for a plain "not anyone" in a negative sentence, use nikto.

Hovorí sa, že bude zima means They say it will be cold. Vie sa, že... means It is known that...

Keďže prší, zostaneme doma means Since it's raining, we'll stay at home. To answer the question prečo?, use lebo instead.

Muž, ktorého auto stojí vonku means "the man whose car is parked outside". Choose ktorého, ktorej or ktorých by the gender and number of the owner.

Len čo prídem, zavolám ti means As soon as I arrive, I'll call you. For the future, the verb after len čo is usually perfective, without budem.

Mám napísanú úlohu means I have my homework written. Mať plus a participle stresses the finished result, and it is common in spoken Slovak.

Musí byť doma means He must be at home. Môže to byť pravda means It may be true. To nemôže byť pravda! means That can't be true!

Nechaj ho hovoriť means Let him speak. Dal som si opraviť auto means I had my car repaired.

Nielen ... ale aj means "not only ... but also". Always put a comma before ale.

O hodinu neskôr means an hour later, and o hlavu vyšší means a head taller. O with the accusative tells you by how much something differs or changes.

Oba stoly is both tables, obe ruky is both hands and obaja bratia is both brothers. The longer forms obidva, obidve and obidvaja mean the same.

Odkedy tu bývaš? means How long have you lived here? Odvtedy som ho nevidel means I haven't seen him since then.

Prišlo päť študentov and Prišli piati študenti both mean Five students came. The piati form is only for men.

Po with the accusative means up to a limit, as in voda po kolená (water up to the knees), or going to get something, as in Idem po chlieb (I'm going to get bread).

Podľa mňa means in my opinion, namiesto kávy means instead of coffee, and okrem teba means except you. All four prepositions here take the genitive.

Pokiaľ máš horúčku, zostaň doma means As long as you have a fever, stay at home. Pokiaľ viem means as far as I know.

Proti means against, as in proti vetru (against the wind) or Som proti tomu (I'm against it). Oproti means opposite, as in oproti škole, or compared with, as in oproti minulému roku.

Zavolaj mi, skôr ako odídeš means Call me before you leave. Potom ako skončil, išiel domov means After he finished, he went home.

Bol som tam sám means I was there alone, and Urobila to sama means she did it herself. Samé problémy means nothing but problems.

Síce ... ale means "it is true that ... but". Síce prepares the listener for a contrast, so ale (or no, lenže) must follow.

Use takže or teda for "so" or "then", and čiže for "that is" or "in other words". Takže can also join a result clause after a comma.

Use ten, kto for a person and to, čo for a thing when you describe them by a whole clause. Each word takes the case its own clause needs.

Totiž gives an explanation after the fact it explains. It also means "namely" before a detail, as in jedna vec, totiž čas.

Veď and predsa add emphasis. Veď gives a reason everyone should agree with, and predsa insists that something is true even against doubt.

Vraj príde zajtra means He is supposedly coming tomorrow: someone said so. Údajne does the same job in news and formal writing.

These four prepositions take the dative: vďaka tebe (thanks to you), napriek dažďu (despite the rain), kvôli deťom (for the children's sake) and úcta voči starším (respect towards older people).

Ja pracujem, zatiaľ čo ty spíš means I'm working while you're sleeping. Zatiaľ čo is two words, and the comma goes before zatiaľ.

Both verbs mean to depend on, but each has its own preposition and case: záležať na + locative and závisieť od + genitive. Záleží mi na tebe means I care about you.

To comment on everything the previous clause says, use čo, not ktorý. Čo takes the case its own clause needs: Nezavolal, čím ma sklamal.

Put čo in front of a superlative to say "as ... as possible". It works with adverbs, as in čo najlepšie, and with adjectives, as in čo najlacnejší byt.

Čoraz shows that a change keeps going. It always goes with a comparative, as in čoraz lepšie (better and better) or čoraz menej (less and less).

Čím skôr, tým lepšie means The sooner, the better. Both halves use a comparative form, as in čím viac čítaš, tým lepšie píšeš.

Kopať means to kick (repeatedly) and kopnúť to kick once. After a long syllable the suffix is short: kýchnuť, mávnuť. The past tense usually drops -nu-: kopol, kýchol.

Starnúť means to grow old and chudnúť to lose weight; with a prefix the change is complete: zostarol (he has aged), schudla (she has lost weight). -ieť verbs work the same way: zmúdrieť, ošedivieť.

The suffixes -osť and -stvo build abstract nouns: múdrosť (wisdom), rýchlosť (speed), priateľstvo (friendship), bohatstvo (wealth). Nouns in -osť are feminine; nouns in -stvo are neuter.

Surname + -ovci names a whole family: Novákovci (the Nováks). It is a plural for men and declines like one: u Novákovcov, k Novákovcom, s Novákovcami.

Where English puts two nouns together, Slovak often makes the first one an adjective: školský rok (school year), jablkový koláč (apple cake), drevený stôl (wooden table).

Many words for people come from a verb or noun plus -teľ, -ár, -ník or -č: učiteľ (teacher), lekár (doctor), úradník (clerk), predavač (shop assistant). Add -ka for a woman: učiteľka, lekárka, predavačka.

Add -teľný to a verb stem to say that something can be done to it, like English -able: čitateľný (readable), viditeľný (visible). With ne- it means it cannot: neodpustiteľný (unforgivable).

Some adjectives and participles are used as nouns for people: vedúci (manager), známy (acquaintance), cestujúci (passenger), hostinský (innkeeper). They still take adjective endings: vedúcemu, so známym, cestujúcich.

Adjectives like páví, vtáčí, líščí, kozí and rybí describe things belonging to a kind of animal. They follow the páví pattern, and their long endings are never shortened: vtáčie hniezdo (a bird's nest), z vtáčieho pohľadu.

Borrowed nouns usually take normal Slovak endings: na festivale, v múzeu, v centre mesta. Nouns in -um drop -um before an ending. A few words ending in a vowel, such as alibi, menu and kupé, never change.

Two adjectives can join into one, with -o at the end of the first part. Equal parts take a hyphen: slovensko-maďarský. If the first part describes the second, write one word: tmavomodrý, malokarpatský.

Po skončení stretnutia odišiel means after the end of the meeting he left. Official texts pack actions into nouns; everyday speech usually prefers a clause with a verb.

Nepodal by si mi soľ? means Could you pass me the salt? The ne- makes the request sound softer, and the person answers as if it were a normal request.

Počul som ho spievať means I heard him sing. The person is in the accusative (ho), and what they do is an infinitive (spievať).

The genitive can mean "some of" a substance: Nalej mi vody (Pour me some water), Pridaj ešte soli (Add some more salt).

Kniha bola napísaná známym autorom means the book was written by a well-known author. The doer takes the instrumental case, and everyday speech usually prefers the active.

Nefajčiť! means No smoking! The infinitive gives a command to nobody in particular, so it suits notices, instructions and recipes.

Idúc domov, stretol som suseda means walking home, I met a neighbor. The transgressive never changes its ending and must share its subject with the main verb.

The instrumental alone can mean "along" or "through": Išli sme lesom (We walked through the forest), Choďte touto ulicou (Go along this street).

Čítanie kníh means reading books and riešenie problému means solving the problem. A verbal noun takes its direct object in the genitive, mostly in formal writing.

Some verbs, mostly borrowed ones in -ovať such as informovať, analyzovať and financovať, are both imperfective and perfective, so informujem vás can mean "I am informing you" or "I will inform you".

Start a formal letter with Vážený pán or Vážená pani plus a title or surname in the nominative: Vážená pani riaditeľka, Vážený pán Novák. In a letter to a specific person, write Vy, Váš and Vám with a capital letter.

Ak by ste mali otázky, ozvite sa nám means Should you have any questions, please contact us. Ak by sounds more tentative than plain ak.

Chcel prísť, avšak nestihol to means He wanted to come; however, he didn't make it. No works the same way: Snažil sa, no nepodarilo sa mu to.

Odišiel bez toho, aby sa rozlúčil means He left without saying goodbye. The verb after aby is in the l-form and stays positive.

Zaoberať sa otázkou means to deal with a question, and disponovať rozpočtom means to have a budget available. The object is a bare instrumental, without s.

Prišiel dokonca aj minister means Even the minister came. Bolo teplo, ba až horúco means It was warm, even hot.

Všetko je hotové, ibaže chýba podpis means Everything is ready, except that the signature is missing. Prídem, ibaže by pršalo means I'll come unless it rains.

Je potrebné vyplniť formulár means The form must be filled in. Nie je nutné prísť osobne means It is not necessary to come in person.

Kiežby už bolo leto! means If only it were summer already! Kiežby works like keby: it already contains by, so the verb that follows is the l-form.

With nouns for men, mnohí, niekoľkí and viacerí agree like adjectives and the verb is plural: Mnohí ľudia s tým súhlasia. With other nouns, use mnohé and viaceré: mnohé ženy, viaceré mestá.

Nemožno to vylúčiť means It cannot be ruled out. Possibility is stated without naming who does the action, which suits reports and official texts.

Zajtra má pršať means It's supposed to rain tomorrow. Má byť veľmi bohatý means He's said to be very rich.

Formal Slovak builds prepositions from whole phrases: na základe zmluvy (on the basis of the contract), v rámci projektu (as part of the project). The noun after them is always in the genitive.

Najesť sa means to eat one’s fill, vyspať sa to get a good sleep and nachodiť sa to have walked a lot. The prefix and sa together add "enough" or "to the full".

Namiesto toho, aby sa učil, hral sa means Instead of studying, he played. The verb after aby is always in the l-form.

Niet času means There is no time. Niet is a stronger, more expressive nie je, and the missing thing always stands in the genitive.

Pozatvárať okná means to close all the windows one by one, and pozbierať hračky to pick up all the toys. The object, or the subject, is plural.

Posedieť si means to sit for a while, pospať si to have a nap and zaspievať si to sing a little for fun. These perfective verbs describe a short, pleasant stretch of an activity.

Pre neho and preňho both mean "for him". The joined -ňho form is used only for male persons; for a thing or an animal the short form preň, naň, zaň is used.

Hovoril dlho, pričom nepovedal nič nové means He spoke for a long time without saying anything new. Pričom is especially common in written and formal Slovak.

Rozplakať sa means to burst into tears and rozosmiať sa to burst out laughing. Roz- + sa marks the start of an action that then carries on.

Adding s- or spo- to pod, za, nad, pred and medzi gives prepositions of movement away from a position, all with the genitive: spod stola (from under the table), spomedzi stromov (from among the trees).

Some verbs always take na with the locative, even when no place is meant: Trvám na tom (I insist on it), Pracujem na projekte (I am working on a project).

Pomôžeš mi tým, že prídeš včas means You'll help me by coming on time. Where English uses by and an -ing form, Slovak uses a full clause with its own verb.

V prípade, že nebudete spokojní, vrátime vám peniaze means If you are not satisfied, we will return your money. It is typical of notices, instructions and official letters.

Vyhnúť sa problémom means to avoid problems, and zabrániť nehode means to prevent an accident. English uses a direct object, but Slovak uses the dative.

Vzhľadom na situáciu means given the situation, and v súvislosti s projektom means in connection with the project. Both are typical of formal Slovak.

Je malý, zato silný means He's small, but strong. Zato balances a drawback with an advantage, or the other way round.

Zbaviť sa strachu means to get rid of fear, and Dožil sa sto rokov means He lived to be a hundred. The object of these verbs is in the genitive.

To exclaim that there is a lot of something, start with čo or koľko and put the noun in the genitive: Čo tu je ľudí! Koľko kníh! Koľko tu bolo snehu!

Čo sa týka ceny, dohodneme sa means As for the price, we'll agree on it. Pokiaľ ide o mňa, súhlasím means As far as I'm concerned, I agree.

Adding -isko to a noun makes it big, rough or unpleasant: pes → psisko (a huge dog), chlap → chlapisko (a big hulk of a man), dom → domisko (a huge house). These words decline like mesto.

Slovak texts usually give foreign women's surnames the ending -ová too: Angela Merkelová, s Taylor Swiftovou (with Taylor Swift). The ending shows that the person is a woman and lets the name decline.

Past active participles such as zvíťazivší (having won) or vrátivší sa (having returned) work like adjectives in bookish writing. Everyday Slovak uses a ktorý clause instead: tím, ktorý zvíťazil.

Slovak normally puts the adjective first: nová kniha. An adjective after its noun marks a scientific term or elevated style, as in kyselina sírová (sulfuric acid) and lipa malolistá (small-leaved lime).

Nouns of amount such as väčšina (majority), polovica (half), skupina (group) and rad (a number of) take a singular verb that matches their own gender in careful style: Väčšina ľudí súhlasila (Most people agreed).

In written and elevated Slovak, i can replace aj (I ja, me too) or a (dňom i nocou, day and night). It also appears in pairs and phrases such as i ... i, tak ..., ako i and i keď.

Slovaks often say jak for ako (how), šak for však or veď, furt for stále (all the time) and bysme for by sme. Recognize them in speech, but use the standard forms when you write or speak formally.

Speech often says ten chlap, čo tam stojí (the guy who's standing there). Careful writing prefers ten muž, ktorý tam stojí. When the clause needs a preposition or another case form, speech adds a pronoun: tá kniha, čo som ti o nej hovoril.

Foreign personal names take Slovak case endings based on how they sound at the end: Dickens – Dickensa, Shakespeare – Shakespeara, Goethe – Goetheho, Verdi – Verdiho.

An extra dative pronoun can add the speaker's feelings to a sentence, as in Ty si mi ale hrdina! (Well, aren't you quite the hero!) and Len mi neprechladni! (Just don't go catching a cold!).

Nepovedal ani slova (He didn't say a single word) and Nebolo tam ani živej duše (There wasn't a living soul there) use the genitive after negation. Today it survives mainly with ani, in set phrases and in literary style.

Bookish Slovak can describe people and things with a genitive phrase: muž stredného veku (a middle-aged man), výrobky vysokej kvality (high-quality products). The phrase normally contains an adjective.

In lively storytelling some interjections act as the verb of a sentence, as in Chlapec hop do vody (The boy jumped into the water) and A on buch na zem (And down he fell with a thump).

Notices, headlines and quick replies often leave out the verb or other words that are easy to guess, as in Vstup zakázaný (No entry) and Kam? – Domov. (Where to? – Home.)

After byť, a profession or role is usually in the nominative (Otec je lekár), while the instrumental stresses a function or a temporary role (Desať rokov bol riaditeľom školy).

Official texts point back with adjectives that agree with their noun: uvedená suma (the amount mentioned), predmetný pozemok (the plot in question), dotyčná osoba (the person concerned). Dotyčný can also stand alone as a noun.

Slovak dialects fall into western, central and eastern groups. Standard Slovak is based mainly on central Slovak. Eastern dialects stress the second-to-last syllable and have no long vowels.

Standard Slovak says počas leta (during the summer) and v priebehu týždňa (during the week). Behom in this sense comes from Czech během and is not standard; depending on the meaning, use počas, v priebehu, cez or za.

Storytellers often switch to the present tense to make a past event feel as if it is happening now: Včera idem po ulici a zrazu vidím Petra (Yesterday I'm walking down the street and suddenly I see Peter).

The past perfect adds the past of byť to the ordinary past form: Keď som prišiel, už boli odišli (When I arrived, they had already left). It is rare today, and everyday Slovak usually uses the plain past tense instead.

Two negations can cancel into a careful positive: To nie je nezaujímavé (That is not uninteresting), nie bez dôvodu (not without reason). The effect is understatement or polite caution.

Poetry and literary prose sometimes use an unusual word order, as in Tichá je noc (Quiet is the night) instead of Noc je tichá. Endings still show who does what, and the grammar rules stay the same.

Prídem zajtra, a to ráno means I'll come tomorrow, in the morning to be precise. A to specifies what was just said and follows a comma. You will also hear a síce, but Slovak dictionaries rate it as non-standard.

Bodaj by sa ti darilo! means May things go well for you! Bodaj by introduces a heartfelt wish with the verb in the conditional. It sounds expressive or folksy; kiežby is the neutral equivalent.

Dačo (something), dakto (someone) and voľajaký (some) mean the same as niečo, niekto and nejaký. The dictionary accepts them, but they sound folksy or regional. You meet them in speech and fiction, as in Chceš dačo? (Do you want something?).

Formal letters and speeches use set phrases: dovoľujem si + infinitive (I would like to, I take the liberty of), dovoľte mi (allow me) and bol by som rád, keby (I would be glad if).

Nakoľko is often misused for since or because. In careful Slovak a reason takes keďže, pretože or lebo, and nakoľko keeps its meaning of to what extent or as far as.

Nebyť teba, zle by som skončil means If it weren't for you, I would have ended badly. The noun or pronoun after nebyť is in the genitive, and the other clause uses by.

Nehovoriac o comes from an old transgressive of hovoriť (literally not speaking about) and now works like a preposition with the locative: Nemám čas, nehovoriac o peniazoch (I have no time, not to mention money).

Nie že by, also written niežeby, is followed by the conditional (by + l-form) and denies an interpretation before the real reason: Nie že by som nechcel, ale nemám čas (It is not that I do not want to, but I have no time).

After a negative clause, nieto adds something even less possible: Nemá ani na chlieb, nieto na auto (He can't afford bread, let alone a car). Tobôž means all the more so, and tobôž nie means certainly not.

Nuž, čo narobíme means Well, what can we do. Nuž opens a reaction, a resigned conclusion or an invitation (Nuž, poďme! Well then, let's go!). It sounds old-fashioned or literary.

O to viac, že means all the more because: Teší ma to o to viac, že to nikto nečakal (I am all the more pleased because nobody expected it). Any comparative can follow o to: o to horšie, o to cennejší.

Onen means that in bookish Slovak: v onen deň (on that day), na onom svete (in the next world), ten i onen (this one and that one, everyone). In everyday speech use ten or tamten.

Počnúc and končiac are frozen transgressives used as prepositions with the instrumental: počnúc pondelkom (starting from Monday), končiac nedeľou (ending with Sunday). Počnúc od takes the genitive instead.

S cieľom + infinitive expresses purpose in formal writing: Stretli sa s cieľom dohodnúť sa (They met in order to reach an agreement). Language guides recommend it instead of the non-standard za účelom.

Sotva has three uses: barely (Sotva stojím na nohách, I can barely stand), probably not (Sotva príde, he is unlikely to come), and, opening a clause, no sooner ... than (Sotva prišiel domov, začalo pršať).

Súc unavený, ľahol si means Being tired, he lay down. Súc never changes form, but the adjective after it agrees with the subject. Everyday Slovak says Keďže bol unavený, ľahol si.

Súdiac podľa is a frozen transgressive of súdiť that now works as a preposition with the genitive: Súdiac podľa oblakov bude pršať (Judging by the clouds, it is going to rain).

V dôsledku and následkom are formal prepositions with the genitive that introduce a cause: v dôsledku búrky (as a result of the storm), následkom nehody (as a consequence of the accident). V dôsledku toho and následkom toho mean as a result.

Vo veci + genitive names what an official message or decision is about: Píšem Vám vo veci objednávky (I am writing to you regarding the order). The preposition is vo, not v, because veci starts with v.

Čo ako sa snažil, nepodarilo sa mu to means No matter how hard he tried, he didn't succeed. Nech je to akokoľvek ťažké, zvládneme to means However hard it is, we'll manage.