Standard počas Instead of behom
Počas leta (during the summer), v priebehu týždňa (during the week), cez víkend (over the weekend), za hodinu (within an hour). Avoid behom leta.
How It Works
The standard words for during.
- počas + genitive: during: počas leta, počas prestávky. See prepositions with the genitive.
- v priebehu + genitive: in the course of, sometime during: v priebehu týždňa. It works like the other multi-word prepositions.
- cez + accusative: over, during: cez víkend, cez prázdniny.
Within a time limit. When English during means within, Slovak uses za + accusative or do + genitive: Urobil to za hodinu (He did it within an hour), do roka (within a year).
Why not behom. Czech says během léta, and behom leta is a common calque in Slovak speech. The Short Dictionary of Slovak (KSSJ) marks the preposition behom as incorrect and gives za, cez, v, počas as the correct choices: za rok, do roka instead of behom roka, and za leto, počas leta instead of behom leta.
The adverb behom is fine. As an adverb, behom means at a run or quickly: Pustil sa behom za autobusom (He set off running after the bus). Only the preposition meaning during is non-standard.
Examples (6)
- Počas leta pracujem v kaviarni.
During the summer I work in a café.
Word by Word: During summer I-work in café.
- V priebehu týždňa vám zavoláme.
We'll call you during the week.
Word by Word: In course of-week to-you we-will-call.
- Cez víkend sme boli na chate.
We were at the cottage over the weekend.
Word by Word: Over weekend we-were at cottage.
- Úlohu som urobil za hodinu.
I finished the task within an hour.
Word by Word: Task I did within hour.
- Počas prestávky si dám kávu.
I'll have a coffee during the break.
Word by Word: During break myself I-will-give coffee.
- Pustil sa behom za autobusom.
He set off running after the bus.
Word by Word: He-set-off himself at-a-run after bus.
Here behom is the standard adverb meaning at a run, not a preposition.
Common Mistakes
Using behom as a preposition for during.
Behom leta sme boli pri mori.Počas leta sme boli pri mori.Behom leta copies Czech během léta. Standard Slovak uses počas leta or cez leto.
Using behom for within a time limit.
Vybavím to behom hodiny.Vybavím to za hodinu.When you mean within an hour, standard Slovak uses za + accusative.
Putting the nominative after počas.
Počas leto sme boli pri mori.Počas leta sme boli pri mori.Počas takes the genitive, so leto becomes leta.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Before Standard počas Instead of behom, learn Common Prepositions With the Genitive. počas takes the genitive.
Related Patterns
- na základe / v rámci / z hľadiska + GenitiveFormal Prepositions with the Genitive
V priebehu is a multi-word preposition with the genitive, like these.
Level 5 - cez + AccusativeThrough and Over: Cez
Cez víkend and cez leto are another standard way to say during.
Level 3 - How Long and How Often
How long something lasts is shown with the accusative: celý deň.
Level 3 - Colloquial Versus Standard Forms
Behom is one of many spoken forms that careful Slovak replaces.
Level 6
Words in This Pattern
Practice Standard počas Instead of behom in Bubblegum
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