kde / kam / kedy / ako / prečo

Where, When, How and Why

Level 1

Put the question word first: Kde bývaš? (Where do you live?) Kam ideš? (Where are you going?) Prečo nie? (Why not?)

How It Works

kde: the place where someone is. Kde bývaš? – V Bratislave. The answer often uses v or na with the locative (see v / vo, na + lokál).

kam: the place someone is going to. Kam ideš? – Do mesta. / Domov. Use it with verbs of movement like ísť (go) and cestovať (travel). The answer often uses do (see do + genitív). In everyday speech you will also hear kde with movement, as in Kde sa ponáhľaš? (Where are you hurrying to?), and dictionaries record this use. Kam is the clearer choice, so use it when you ask about a destination.

Where from: Ask Odkiaľ? and answer with z: Odkiaľ si? – Zo Slovenska.

kedy: time. Kedy začína film? – O ôsmej. (When does the film start? – At eight.)

ako: manner or state. Ako sa máš? (How are you?) Ako sa voláš? (What is your name?)

prečo: reason. Prečo si smutný? – Lebo prší. (Why are you sad? – Because it's raining.)

Word order: The question word comes first and the small words like sa and si come right after it: Ako sa voláš? Kde si bol? (Where were you?)

Examples (6)

  1. Kde bývaš? – V Bratislave.

    Where do you live? – In Bratislava.

    Word by Word: Where live-you? – In Bratislava.

  2. Kam ideš? – Domov.

    Where are you going? – Home.

    Word by Word: Where-to go-you? – Home.

  3. Kedy začína film?

    When does the film start?

    Word by Word: When starts film?

  4. Ako sa voláš?

    What's your name?

    Word by Word: How yourself call-you?

  5. Prečo si smutná?

    Why are you sad?

    Word by Word: Why are-you sad?

    Said to a woman; to a man: Prečo si smutný?

  6. Prečo nie?

    Why not?

    Word by Word: Why not?

Common Mistakes

  • Using kam for a fixed location.

    Kam bývaš?
    Kde bývaš?

    Kam only asks about a destination. Bývať (to live) describes where you are, so use kde.

  • Putting sa after the verb in a question.

    Ako voláš sa?
    Ako sa voláš?

    Sa comes right after the first word or phrase of the sentence, which here is the question word ako.

How It Connects

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kde / kam / kedy / ako / prečoLevel 1Where, When, How and Why

Learn This First

Before Where, When, How and Why, learn Who and What. kde, kam, kedy, ako and prečo form questions the same way as kto and čo.

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Patterns that build on this one.

Words in This Pattern

kamkedyprečo