Genitive After Amounts

Level 2

amount + genitive: pohár vody, veľa ľudí, kilo jabĺk, trochu času.

How It Works

Quantity words

  • veľa a lot, málo little or few, dosť enough, trochu a little, koľko how much or how many, niekoľko several

Containers and measures

  • pohár vody a glass of water, šálka kávy a cup of coffee, fľaša vína a bottle of wine
  • kilo jabĺk a kilo of apples, liter mlieka a litre of milk, kus chleba a piece of bread

Singular or plural?

  • Countable things, genitive plural: veľa ľudí (people), kilo jabĺk (apples). Plural-only nouns also take the genitive plural: málo peňazí (money).
  • Uncountable things, genitive singular: veľa vody, trochu času, dosť cukru.

For the endings, see Genitive Singular Endings and Genitive Plural Endings.

The verb

With veľa, málo and similar words, the verb is singular, and in the past it takes the neuter form: Na koncerte bolo veľa ľudí. (There were a lot of people at the concert.)

Numbers

From five up, numbers work the same way: päť jabĺk. See Five and More.

Examples (6)

  1. Pohár vody, prosím.

    A glass of water, please.

    Word by Word: Glass of-water, please.

  2. Na koncerte bolo veľa ľudí.

    There were a lot of people at the concert.

    Word by Word: At concert was a-lot of-people.

    The verb is neuter singular: bolo.

  3. Kúpim kilo jabĺk.

    I'll buy a kilo of apples.

    Word by Word: I-will-buy kilo of-apples.

    Jablko becomes jabĺk in the genitive plural.

  4. Máme ešte trochu času.

    We still have a little time.

    Word by Word: We-have still a-little of-time.

  5. Koľko cukru si dáš do kávy?

    How much sugar do you take in your coffee?

    Word by Word: How-much of-sugar yourself you-give into coffee?

  6. Tento mesiac mám málo peňazí.

    I don't have much money this month.

    Word by Word: This month I-have little of-money.

    Peniaze exists only in the plural, so it takes the genitive plural peňazí.

Common Mistakes

  • Leaving the noun in the nominative after a container.

    pohár voda
    pohár vody

    A container is followed by the genitive: voda becomes vody.

  • Using the nominative plural after veľa.

    veľa ľudia
    veľa ľudí

    Veľa is followed by the genitive. For people, that is ľudí.

  • Making the verb plural.

    Na koncerte boli veľa ľudí.
    Na koncerte bolo veľa ľudí.

    After veľa the verb is singular, and in the past it is neuter: bolo.

How It Connects

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Genitive After AmountsLevel 2

Learn This First

Before Genitive After Amounts, learn Genitive Singular Endings and How Much and How Many. Amount words take the genitive. koľko is the question word that asks for an amount.

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Patterns that build on this one.

Words in This Pattern

veľatrochu