báť sa / týkať sa / držať sa + Genitive

Verbs with the Genitive

Level 3

Some verbs, mostly with sa, take their object in the genitive: Bojím sa psa (I'm afraid of the dog), Drž sa zábradlia (Hold on to the railing), To sa ťa netýka (That doesn't concern you).

How It Works

The verbs.

  • báť sa (be afraid of): Bojím sa tmy.
  • zľaknúť sa (get a fright from): Mačka sa zľakla auta.
  • týkať sa (concern, be about): Táto zmena sa týka všetkých študentov.
  • držať sa (hold on to): Drž sa zábradlia.
  • chytiť sa (grab hold of): Chyť sa lana.

Why it matters. For masculine people and animals, the genitive and accusative look the same (psa, brata). The difference shows with other nouns: Bojím sa tmy, not tmu; Drž sa zábradlia, not zábradlie.

Pronouns. The short genitive pronouns look like the accusative ones: Bojíš sa ma? To sa ťa netýka.

With and without sa. Without sa, držať is an ordinary verb with the accusative: Drž tašku. (Hold the bag.) With sa it means hold on to, and it takes the genitive: Drž sa zábradlia.

Related uses. To worry about someone, use báť sa o with the accusative: Bojím sa o teba. (I'm worried about you.) Báť sa can also take an infinitive: Bojím sa ísť sama. The fixed phrase čo sa týka means "as for" (see čo sa týka).

For more verbs of this kind, see zbaviť sa and dotknúť sa.

Examples (6)

  1. Náš syn sa bojí tmy.

    Our son is afraid of the dark.

    Word by Word: Our son himself fears dark.

    Tma becomes tmy in the genitive.

  2. Bojím sa pavúkov.

    I'm scared of spiders.

    Word by Word: I-fear myself spiders.

    The genitive plural of pavúk is pavúkov.

  3. Drž sa zábradlia.

    Hold on to the railing.

    Word by Word: Hold yourself railing.

    Zábradlie becomes zábradlia in the genitive.

  4. To sa ťa netýka.

    That doesn't concern you.

    Word by Word: That itself you not-concerns.

  5. Táto zmena sa týka všetkých študentov.

    This change concerns all students.

    Word by Word: This change itself concerns all students.

  6. Mačka sa zľakla auta.

    The cat got a fright from the car.

    Word by Word: Cat herself frightened car.

    Auto becomes auta in the genitive.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the accusative after báť sa.

    Bojím sa tmu.
    Bojím sa tmy.

    Báť sa takes the genitive. Tmu is the accusative; the genitive is tmy.

  • Leaving the object in the nominative after držať sa.

    Drž sa zábradlie.
    Drž sa zábradlia.

    Držať sa means hold on to and takes the genitive zábradlia.

  • Using the accusative after týkať sa.

    Táto správa sa týka tvoju prácu.
    Táto správa sa týka tvojej práce.

    Týkať sa takes the genitive, so both words change: tvojej práce.

How It Connects

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

báť sa / týkať sa / držať sa + GenitiveLevel 3Verbs with the Genitive

Learn This First

Before Verbs With the Genitive, learn Genitive Singular Endings and Reflexive Verbs With sa. These verbs take a genitive object. Most of them are reflexive with sa.

Words in This Pattern

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