Nouns – Neuter Exceptions | Anna in Slovenia

Neuter Slovene nouns end with “-e” or “-o” and follow the six grammatical cases known as skloni. Neuter exceptions have the same endings, but with some extra “add-ups”, which we will cover now.

Ending with -O

Most nouns ending in “-o” are neuter ( if it’s not masculine exceptions). You will probably recognize some of them.

When declined, “-es” is added.

kolo (bicycle) → Grem z kolesom^6E (I go with bicycle).
drevo (tree) → Imamo veliko dreves^2M (We have lots of trees).
telo (body), slovo (farewell)

	(E) *ednina*	(D) *dvojina*	(M) *množina*
*Sklon 1*	telo	telesi	telesa
*Sklon 2*	telesa	teles	teles
*Sklon 3*	telesu	telesoma	telesom
*Sklon 4*	telo	telesi	telesa
*Sklon 5*	telesu	telesih	telesih
*Sklon 6*	telesom	telesoma	telesi

When declined, it takes a different forms and “-es” is added.

oko (eye) → Tim je imel poškodbe očesa^4M (Tim had eyes injuries).
uho (ear) → Ušesa^1Mme bolijo (My ears hurt me).

	(E) *ednina*	(D) *dvojina*	(M) *množina*
*Sklon 1*	uho	ušesi	ušesa
*Sklon 2*	ušesa	ušes	ušes
*Sklon 3*	ušesu	ušesoma	ušesom
*Sklon 4*	uho	ušesi	ušesa
*Sklon 5*	ušesu	ušesih	ušesih
*Sklon 6*	ušesom	ušesoma	ušesi

Ending with -E

Another ending for neuter is “-e” (again, if it’s not a masculine exceptions).

When declined, “-t” is added, usually for youths.

tele (calf, baby cow) → Letos imamo tri teleta^4M (This year we have three calves).
dekle (little girl) → V skupini so tri dekleta^1M(In the group are three little girls).

	(E) *ednina*	(D) *dvojina*	(M) *množina*
*Sklon 1*	dekle	dekleti	dekleta
*Sklon 2*	dekleta	deklet	deklet
*Sklon 3*	dekletu	dekletoma	dekletom
*Sklon 4*	dekle dekleta	dekleti	dekleta
*Sklon 5*	dekletu	dekletih	dekletih
*Sklon 6*	dekletom	dekletoma	dekleti

When declined, “-n” is added.

ime (name) → Pes je brez imena^2E (The dog is without a name).
vreme (weather) → Danes nimamo lepega vremena^2E (Today we don’t have good weather).
pleme (tribe), breme (load), rama^ž / rame^s (shoulder)

	(E) *ednina*	(D) *dvojina*	(M) *množina*
*Sklon 1*	ime	imeni	imena
*Sklon 2*	imena	imen	imen
*Sklon 3*	imenu	imenoma	imenom
*Sklon 4*	ime	imeni	imena
*Sklon 5*	imenu	imenih	imenih
*Sklon 6*	imenom	imenoma	imeni

If compared with feminine and masculine exceptions, neuters are probably less complicated. Although, as a foreigner, learning “exceptions” can sometimes be difficult. From my point of view, the importance is not to always remember the exceptions, but to know that they exist. If you have any questions, let me know!

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.