stať sa + Instrumental
Becoming Something
Stal sa lekárom (He became a doctor) and Jana sa chce stať učiteľkou (Jana wants to become a teacher) put the new role in the instrumental.
How It Works
Forms. Stať sa is perfective: stanem sa, staneš sa, stane sa, staneme sa, stanete sa, stanú sa refer to the future (see perfective verbs for the future). The past is stal sa, stala sa, stalo sa, stali sa. The imperfective partner is stávať sa.
The new role is in the instrumental. Use the instrumental for the job, role or state:
- Stal sa lekárom. He became a doctor. (lekár → lekárom)
- Jana sa chce stať učiteľkou. Jana wants to become a teacher. (učiteľka → učiteľkou)
- Stali sa dobrými priateľmi. They became good friends. (plural instrumental)
Adjectives are in the instrumental too: Stala sa vážnou. (She became serious.) Cez noc sa stal slávnym. (He became famous overnight.)
Another pattern: z + genitive. You can also start from what someone was before, with z and the genitive. Then the result is the subject in the nominative: Z Petra sa stal lekár. (Peter became a doctor.) Z malého chlapca sa stal muž. (The little boy became a man.)
stať sa = to happen. Without a role, stať sa means to happen, and the event is the subject: Čo sa stalo? (What happened?) Stala sa nehoda. (There was an accident.) Nič sa nestalo. (It's all right, as a reply to an apology.)
Compare byť: Je lekár. (He is a doctor.) See the nominative or instrumental after byť.
Examples (6)
- Stal sa lekárom.
He became a doctor.
Word by Word: Became himself doctor(instr.).
- Jana sa chce stať učiteľkou.
Jana wants to become a teacher.
Word by Word: Jana herself wants to-become teacher(instr.).
- Stali sa dobrými priateľmi.
They became good friends.
Word by Word: Became themselves good friends(instr.).
Plural nouns and adjectives take the plural instrumental endings -mi and -ými.
- Keď vyrastiem, stanem sa hasičom.
When I grow up, I'll become a firefighter.
Word by Word: When I-grow-up, I-become myself firefighter(instr.).
- Z malého mesta sa stalo turistické centrum.
The small town became a tourist centre.
Word by Word: From small town itself became tourist centre.
With z and the genitive, the result is the subject in the nominative.
- Čo sa stalo?
What happened?
Word by Word: What itself became?
Without a role, stať sa means to happen.
Common Mistakes
Putting the new role in the nominative.
Stal sa lekár.Stal sa lekárom.When the person is the subject, what they become is in the instrumental. The nominative is used only in the pattern Z Petra sa stal lekár.
Forgetting the feminine instrumental ending.
Jana sa chce stať učiteľka.Jana sa chce stať učiteľkou.Feminine nouns in -a take -ou in the instrumental.
Using the masculine past when asking what happened.
Čo sa stal?Čo sa stalo?Čo is neuter, so the past is stalo.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Before Becoming Something, learn Instrumental Singular Endings. stať sa takes the instrumental.
Related Patterns
- Dative, Locative and Instrumental Plural
Gives the plural ending in Stali sa priateľmi.
Level 3 - Nominative or Instrumental After byť
Byť can take the nominative or the instrumental; stať sa takes the instrumental.
Level 6 - Perfective Verbs for the Future
Explains why stanem sa refers to the future.
Level 2 - Verb + saReflexive Verbs with Sa
Stať sa is a sa-verb and follows the same word-order rules.
Level 2 - Imperfective and Perfective Aspect
Stať sa is perfective; stávať sa is its imperfective partner.
Level 2
Words in This Pattern
Practice stať sa + Instrumental in Bubblegum
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