Agreement With Two Subjects

Level 4

Two subjects joined by a make the verb plural: Peter a Jana prišli (Peter and Jana came), Mama a otec sú doma (Mom and Dad are at home).

How It Works

Subjects before the verb: plural. When two or more subjects come first, the verb is plural: Peter a Jana prišli. Pes a mačka spia.

Person. Think of the group as a pronoun from the subject pronouns:

  • with ja in it → my: Ty a ja sme kamaráti. Ja a môj brat bývame spolu.
  • with ty but no ja → vy: Ty a tvoj brat máte rovnaké oči.
  • otherwise → oni / ony: Otec a mama pracujú.

Gender of adjectives. In the past tense every plural ends in -li (see past forms), so only an adjective or participle after byť shows gender, as in plural adjectives: -í if the group has a man (Peter a Jana boli unavení), -é otherwise (Jana a Eva boli unavené; Stôl a stolička sú nové).

Verb first: nearest subject. When the verb comes before the subjects, it can agree with the first, nearest one: Na stole ležala kniha a zošit. Na výlet som išiel ja a môj pes. The plural is also possible here.

Other joins. With alebo only one of the subjects does the action, so the verb is usually singular: Príde Peter alebo Jana. With s, only the first noun is the subject: Otec s mamou odišiel; the plural odišli is also common when the two act together. For words like väčšina, see agreement with group words.

Examples (6)

  1. Peter a Jana prišli neskoro.

    Peter and Jana came late.

    Word by Word: Peter and Jana came late.

  2. Mama a otec sú doma.

    Mom and Dad are at home.

    Word by Word: Mom and dad are at-home.

  3. Ty a ja sme dobrí kamaráti.

    You and I are good friends.

    Word by Word: You and I are good friends.

    A group with ja takes the my form: sme.

  4. Ty a tvoj brat ste vždy vítaní.

    You and your brother are always welcome.

    Word by Word: You and your brother are always welcome.

    Ty without ja gives the vy form: ste.

  5. Jana a Eva boli po dlhej ceste unavené.

    Jana and Eva were tired after the long trip.

    Word by Word: Jana and Eva were after long trip tired(f. pl.).

  6. Na stole ležala kniha a zošit.

    A book and a notebook lay on the table.

    Word by Word: On table lay(f. sg.) book and notebook.

    The verb comes first and agrees with the nearest subject, kniha.

Common Mistakes

  • Keeping the verb singular after two subjects.

    Peter a Jana prišiel.
    Peter a Jana prišli.

    Two subjects before the verb make a plural: prišli.

  • Using the third person for a group that includes ja.

    Ty a ja sú kamaráti.
    Ty a ja sme kamaráti.

    A group with ja is "we", so the verb takes the my form: sme.

  • Using -é for a group with a man.

    Peter a Jana boli unavené.
    Peter a Jana boli unavení.

    If the group includes a man, the adjective takes the masculine personal ending -í.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Agreement With Two SubjectsLevel 4

Learn This First

Before Agreement With Two Subjects, learn Past Forms by Gender and Number and And, But and Or. The l-form agrees with two subjects. The subjects are joined with a.

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