sám / samý

Alone, Oneself and Nothing but

Level 4

Sám means alone or by oneself: Bol som tam sám (I was there alone), Urobila to sama (She did it herself). Samý means nothing but or the very: samé problémy (nothing but problems), na samom konci (at the very end).

How It Works

Sám: alone, by oneself, himself. It agrees with the person it describes:

  • Singular: sám (he), sama (she), samo (it)
  • Plural: sami for groups with a man (see plural for men), samy for all other groups: Chlapci boli sami. Dievčatá boli samy.

It has three meanings: alone (Býva sám. He lives alone.), without help (Urobila to sama. She did it herself.) and emphasis before a noun (Otvoril nám sám riaditeľ. The director himself opened the door for us.). With seba it means "oneself": sám sebe (to himself), sám od seba (on his own).

Polite vy. When you say vy to one person, sám and sama stay singular, just like a predicate adjective: Urobili ste to sám? (see polite vy agreement).

Samý: nothing but, the very. Samý has adjective endings like pekný: samý, samá, samé. Before a plural or a mass noun it means "nothing but": samé jednotky (nothing but top marks), samá voda (all water). With place and time words it means "the very": na samom konci (at the very end), v samom centre (in the very center).

Do not mix the endings. Sama (short a) means "alone"; samá (long á) means "nothing but". In other cases the two words share many forms: samého, samej, samom. Standard Slovak also keeps samo and samy for "alone", never samé.

Examples (6)

  1. Včera som bol v kine sám.

    Yesterday I was at the cinema alone.

    Word by Word: Yesterday I-was in cinema alone.

  2. Tú tortu upiekla sama.

    She baked that cake herself.

    Word by Word: That cake she-baked alone(f.).

    Sama agrees with the female subject.

  3. Deti zostali doma samy.

    The children stayed at home alone.

    Word by Word: Children stayed at-home alone(pl.).

    Deti is not a masculine word for people, so the plural is samy, even if some of the children are boys.

  4. Otvoril nám sám riaditeľ.

    The director himself opened the door for us.

    Word by Word: Opened to-us himself director.

  5. Tento týždeň mám samé problémy.

    This week I have nothing but problems.

    Word by Word: This week I-have nothing-but problems.

  6. Na samom konci filmu sa všetko vysvetlí.

    At the very end of the film everything is explained.

    Word by Word: At very end of-film everything gets-explained.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the masculine form for a woman.

    Urobila som to sám.
    Urobila som to sama.

    Sám agrees with the speaker: a woman says sama, just as she says urobila.

  • Using samý for "alone".

    Bol som tam samý.
    Bol som tam sám.

    Samý means "nothing but" or "the very". For "alone" or "by myself", use sám.

  • Using samé for a group that is not all men.

    Dievčatá boli doma samé.
    Dievčatá boli doma samy.

    For "alone", the plural of sám is sami for men and samy for everyone else. Samé is a form of samý (nothing but).

How It Connects

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

sám / samýLevel 4Alone, Oneself and Nothing but

Learn This First

Before Alone, Oneself and Nothing But, learn Myself and Yourself: seba. sám means oneself, alone, related to seba.

Words in This Pattern

sámsamý