Sentences Without a Subject

Level 2

No subject, no it: Prší. (It's raining.) Je teplo. (It's warm.) Bolo neskoro. (It was late.)

How It Works

Weather verbs

  • Prší. It's raining. Sneží. It's snowing.
  • Mrzne. It's freezing. Hrmí. It's thundering.
  • Stmieva sa. It's getting dark.

Do not add to for English it. To means that or this and points to something real. In speech it can also add surprise: To ale prší! (Wow, is it raining!)

States with je + adverb

  • Je teplo. It's warm. Je chladno. It's chilly.
  • Je neskoro. It's late. Je tu ticho. It's quiet here.
  • Je zima. It's cold. (zima is a noun: cold, winter)

Use the adverb form in -o, not an adjective. Je teplý means he or it (a masculine thing) is warm. See Adverbs From Adjectives.

Past and future

  • past: the neuter l-form: pršalo, snežilo, bolo teplo: Včera snežilo. (It snowed yesterday.)
  • future: bude: Bude pršať. (It will rain.) Zajtra bude zima. (It will be cold tomorrow.)

Adding a person. To say how someone feels, add the person in the dative: Je mi zima. (I'm cold.) See How Someone Feels. Treba and dá sa build similar sentences without a subject.

Examples (6)

  1. Prší.

    It's raining.

    One word is a full sentence. There is no word for it.

  2. Včera snežilo.

    It snowed yesterday.

    snežilo is the neuter past form.

  3. Je teplo.

    It's warm.

  4. Bolo neskoro.

    It was late.

    bolo is the neuter past of byť.

  5. Zajtra bude zima.

    It will be cold tomorrow.

  6. Je mi zima.

    I'm cold.

    Adding mi (to me) turns the weather into a feeling.

Common Mistakes

  • Adding to as a subject for English it (intended meaning: a plain statement, It's raining).

    To prší.
    Prší.

    Weather verbs have no subject in Slovak. To means that or this, and in speech it only adds surprise, as in To ale prší! (Wow, is it raining!). For a plain statement, leave it out.

  • Using a masculine past form.

    Bol teplo.
    Bolo teplo.

    A sentence without a subject takes the neuter past form ending in -lo.

  • Using an adjective instead of an adverb (intended meaning: the weather is warm).

    Je teplý.
    Je teplo.

    Teplý must describe a masculine noun, so Je teplý means he or it is warm. For the weather, use the adverb teplo.

How It Connects

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

Sentences Without a SubjectLevel 2

Learn This First

Before Sentences Without a Subject, learn Present Tense of byť. Many subjectless sentences use byť: je zima.

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Patterns that build on this one.

Words in This Pattern

pršať