nehovoriac o + Locative
Not to Mention
Nehovoriac o + locative means not to mention: Nemám čas, nehovoriac o peniazoch (I have no time, not to mention money). It adds one more item that makes the point even stronger.
How It Works
A frozen form. Nehovoriac is the negated transgressive of hovoriť (to speak). Slovak dictionaries now treat nehovoriac o as a preposition with the locative, meaning not to mention. It never changes: the form is the same for every subject and tense.
The locative. After o, the noun takes the locative: o peniazoch, o cene, o zdržaní, o slovenčine.
Placement. It usually comes at the end, after a comma, as an added thought: Byt je drahý, nehovoriac o poplatkoch. The sentence before it can be positive or negative, unlike nieto, which only follows a negative clause.
A related idiom. O tom ani nehovoriac means that goes without saying, or don't even mention it: Je to zlý nápad, o cene ani nehovoriac. A synonym with the same pattern is nevraviac o.
Examples (5)
- Nemám čas, nehovoriac o peniazoch.
I don't have time, not to mention money.
Word by Word: I-don't-have time, not-speaking about money.
- Byt je drahý, nehovoriac o poplatkoch za energie.
The flat is expensive, not to mention the energy bills.
Word by Word: Flat is expensive, not-speaking about fees for energies.
- Hovorí plynule po nemecky a po anglicky, nehovoriac o slovenčine.
He speaks German and English fluently, not to mention Slovak.
Word by Word: He-speaks fluently German and English, not-speaking about Slovak.
- Cesta trvala päť hodín, nehovoriac o zdržaní na hranici.
The journey took five hours, not to mention the delay at the border.
Word by Word: Journey lasted five hours, not-speaking about delay at border.
- Je to zlý nápad, o cene ani nehovoriac.
It's a bad idea, and that's before we even mention the price.
Word by Word: Is it bad idea, about price not-even not-speaking.
O ... ani nehovoriac is a fixed idiom.
Common Mistakes
Using the accusative after o.
Nemám čas, nehovoriac o peniaze.Nemám čas, nehovoriac o peniazoch.Nehovoriac o takes the locative: peniaze → peniazoch.
Replacing nehovoriac with the participle.
Nemám čas, nehovoriaci o peniazoch.Nemám čas, nehovoriac o peniazoch.The fixed phrase uses the transgressive nehovoriac, which never changes. Nehovoriaci is a participle that would describe a person.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Before Not To Mention, learn The Transgressive and About, After and Near: o, po and pri. nehovoriac is a frozen transgressive. o takes the locative.
Related Patterns
Words in This Pattern
Practice nehovoriac o + Locative in Bubblegum
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