Neuter Nouns Like dievča

Level 3

Nouns for young people and animals ending in -a, like dievča (girl) and mláďa (young animal), are neuter. In the other cases they add -ať-: dievčaťa, s dievčaťom.

How It Works

The pattern. These nouns mostly name young beings: dievča (girl), mláďa (young animal), žriebä (foal), šteňa (puppy). The word zviera (animal) follows the same model. They are all neuter, even when they name a girl: to dievča, malé dievča.

The singular.

  • Nominative and accusative: dievča
  • Genitive: dievčaťa
  • Dative: dievčaťu
  • Locative: o dievčati
  • Instrumental: s dievčaťom

The plural. Most nouns take -at- endings: dievčatá, bez dievčat, k dievčatám, o dievčatách, s dievčatami. Dievča also has a second standard plural with -enc-: dievčence, bez dievčeniec, k dievčencom, o dievčencoch, s dievčencami. Mláďa, zviera and žriebä have only the -at- plural: mláďatá, zvieratá, žriebätá.

The genitive plural. It ends in -iat after a short syllable but in -at after a long one, because of the rhythmic law: šteňa → šteniat, but dievča → dievčat, mláďa → mláďat, zviera → zvierat.

After p, b, m and v. After these consonants the vowel is ä: žriebä, žriebäťa, žriebätá. See the letter ä.

Dieťa. Dieťa (child) declines like dievča in the singular (dieťaťa, s dieťaťom), but its plural is deti. See irregular plurals.

Examples (6)

  1. To dievča je moja sestra.

    That girl is my sister.

    Word by Word: That girl is my sister.

    Dievča is neuter, so it takes to, not tá.

  2. Daj ten list tomu dievčaťu.

    Give the letter to that girl.

    Word by Word: Give that letter that girl.

    The dative singular adds -ať-: dievčaťu.

  3. Rozprával som sa s dievčaťom z Košíc.

    I talked with a girl from Košice.

    Word by Word: I-talked myself with girl from Košice.

    The instrumental singular is dievčaťom.

  4. Dievčatá spievali v zbore.

    The girls sang in the choir.

    Word by Word: Girls sang in choir.

  5. Vtáky kŕmia svoje mláďatá.

    The birds are feeding their young.

    Word by Word: Birds feed their young.

    Mláďa has only the -at- plural: mláďatá.

  6. V zoo sme videli veľa zvierat.

    We saw a lot of animals at the zoo.

    Word by Word: In zoo we-saw many animals.

    Zvie- is long, so the genitive plural is zvierat.

Common Mistakes

  • Treating dievča as feminine.

    Tá dievča je milá.
    To dievča je milé.

    Dievča is neuter, so the words that go with it take neuter forms: to, milé.

  • Declining dievča like žena.

    Hovoril som s dievčou.
    Hovoril som s dievčaťom.

    Dievča adds -ať- in the other cases, and the instrumental ending is -om.

  • Using the singular form after a number.

    Mačka má tri mláďa.
    Mačka má tri mláďatá.

    After two, three and four, use the nominative plural, which is mláďatá.

How It Connects

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Neuter Nouns Like dievčaLevel 3

Learn This First

Before Neuter Nouns Like dievča, learn Neuter Declension Types. dievča is a special neuter type set against mesto, srdce and vysvedčenie.

Words in This Pattern

-a-ä