Expressing dates and times is quite an art in Slovene as it can be used with the First Sklon – Nominative, Fourth Sklon – Accusative, Second Sklon – Genitive, Fifth Sklon – Locative and the Sixth Sklon – Instrumental. We just have to know when to use which…
Dates in Slovene can be written in different ways, but it follows this order:
DAY – MONTH – YEAR
- 21._4._2016
- 21._april 2016 or 21._aprila 2016
| Please take note of the space (colored in pink) between the elements of the date. |
Here are some common situations were dates and times are used with different skloni.
Koliko (How much, how many, how long)
Koliko je ura1 (What time is it / What is the time)?
- The time is 8:00 → Ura je osem1.
- The time is 8:30 → Ura je pol* devetih2.
*Be careful: the adverb pol is associated with the second sklon.
Kateri (Which)
Kateri dan1 je danes (Which day of the week is today)?
- Today is Monday → Danes je ponedeljek1.
Days of the week: ponedeljek (Monday), torek (Tuesday), sreda (Wednesday), četrtek (Thursday), petek (Friday), sobota (Saturday) and nedelja (Sunday).
Kateri je danes (Which date is today)?
- Today is April 21rst → Danes je enaindvajseti april1.
* Note that the number in date ends with –i.
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For more information: Numbers in General – Številke
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Months: januar, februar, marec, april, maj, junij, julij, avgust, september, oktober, november and december.
Katerega2 smo danes (Which day are we today)?
- We’re April 21rst → Smo enaindvajsetega aprila2.
Kdaj (When)
Kdaj imate sestanek (When do you have an appointment)?
- Imam sestanek4 v torek4/ v sredo4 (once in Tuesday / Wednesday).
- Imam sestanek4 čez eno uro4 (in one hour).
- Imam sestanek4 ob ponedeljekih5(M) (every Monday) / ob devetih5 (at 9:00).
❤ Time follows different rules, remember: ob enih, ob dveh*, ob treh*, ob štirih, ob petih…
For more situations where dates and times are needed: How to Say Dates and Times in Slovene – Part 2.
Dates and times might seem like a complex concept, but knowing how to express them properly will be gratifying at the end. It is also very useful on a daily base or for more special occasion, such as appointment or birthdays.
If you have questions or comments, you are more than welcome to contact me and I will be more than happy to reply you!
Discover more Slovene “lessons” that might interest you: Slovene Numbers & Numerals, Slovene Nouns & Pronouns, Slovene Verbs, Slovene Adjectives, Slovene Syntax, Slovenian Idioms, Slovene Adverbs.
Let’s learn,
Anna.
Anna in Slovenia 