Some of Something: Partitive Genitive
Nalej mi vody means "pour me some water", while Nalej mi vodu means "pour me the water". The genitive of a mass noun marks an unspecified part of it.
How It Works
Some, not all. When the object is a substance such as water, salt, bread or soup, Slovak can put it in the genitive to say that only part of it is meant:
- Nalej mi vody. Pour me some water.
- Nalej mi vodu. Pour me the water (a particular amount, or all of it).
Typical verbs. The partitive genitive is most common with perfective verbs of pouring, adding and taking: naliať, nasypať, nabrať, nakrájať, pridať, priliať, ubrať, odliať, and with dať in everyday speech: Daj mi chleba. The reflexive napiť sa (to have a drink) always takes the genitive: napiť sa vody, never napiť sa vodu.
Endings to watch. Many substance nouns are masculine inanimate and take -u in the genitive: cukor → cukru, čaj → čaju, med → medu. A few take -a: chlieb → chleba, syr → syra. Feminine nouns end in -y or -i: voda → vody, soľ → soli.
The same idea with amounts. Words like trochu, veľa, kúsok always take the genitive (genitive after amounts), so trochu vody is the partitive idea with an amount made explicit.
Examples (5)
- Nalej mi vody, prosím.
Pour me some water, please.
Word by Word: Pour me of-water, please.
Vody is genitive, so it means some water, not a particular glass of it.
- Pridaj do polievky ešte soli.
Add some more salt to the soup.
Word by Word: Add into soup still of-salt.
- Napil sa vody a pokračoval v práci.
He had a drink of water and went on working.
Word by Word: He-drank self of-water and continued in work.
- Nakrájam chleba aj pre hostí.
I will slice some bread for the guests too.
Word by Word: I-will-slice of-bread also for guests.
Chlieb has the genitive chleba.
- Nabrala si ešte polievky.
She helped herself to some more soup.
Word by Word: She-took herself still of-soup.
Common Mistakes
Using the accusative after napiť sa.
Napil som sa vodu.Napil som sa vody.Napiť sa always takes the genitive of what you drink: voda → vody.
Forgetting the genitive after trochu.
Pridaj trochu soľ.Pridaj trochu soli.Trochu (a little) is an amount word and requires the genitive: soľ → soli.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Before Some of Something: Partitive Genitive, learn Genitive After Amounts. The partitive genitive builds on genitive after amounts.
Related Patterns
- Genitive Singular Endings
The genitive singular endings used here: vody, soli, cukru, chleba.
Level 2 - na- / vy- + saDoing Something Enough
Napiť sa and najesť sa combine the idea of "enough" with a genitive object.
Level 5 - The Accusative Case for Objects
The accusative is the normal object case; the genitive replaces it when only some is meant.
Level 1 - Genitive After Negation
Another older use of the genitive in place of the accusative.
Level 6
Practice Some of Something: Partitive Genitive in Bubblegum
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