Same as in English, conjunctions – known as vezniki, are used in Slovene to connect clauses or sentences in a way that they would make senses together. These words do not change form, and are not affected by gender, numbers or cases.
Conjunctions in Slovene are divided into two groups : priredni (coordinating) and podredni (subordinating). Depending on the context, they can be put at the beginning or in the middle.
Coordinating – Priredni Vezniki
Coordinating conjunctions are used to connect two clauses that are grammatically equal, like two nouns, two verbs or two independent clauses…
- In (and) , ter (then)
Moram kupiti kruh in mleko ter sir – I have to buy bread and milk then cheese. - Samo / le (only)
Vsi jejo torto, samo Tina ne – All eat cake, only Tina doesn’t. - Ampak / toda / vendar (but, however)
Miha nima brata, ampak ima sestro – Miha doesn’t have a brother but has a sister. - Kot (like)
Zame si kot sestra – You are like a sister to me. - Ali (or)
Gremo na desno ali na levo – We go right or left? - Torej / zato (therefore)
Mira je noseča, torej ne pije alkohola – Mira is pregnant, therefore she doesn’t drink alcohol.
Subordinating – Podredni Vezniki
Subordinating conjunctions are used to connect a subordinating clause – a clause that cannot stand alone.
- Ko (when/as)
Jedli bodo, ko bodo lačni – They will eat when they will be hungry. - Ker (because)
Rada jem temno čokolado, ker je grenka – I like to eat dark chocolate because it’s bitter. - Kar (since)Kako dolgo je bilo, kar si šel v šolo – How long has it been since you went to school?
- Da (that)
Recimo, da imaš prav – Let’s say that you are right. - Če (if, in case)
Če imaš preveč časa, lahko študiraš slovenščino – If you have too much time, you can study Slovene. - Čeprav (Although, though)
Prišel je, čeprav pozno – He came, although late.
Multi-Words Conjunctions
Sometimes, a combination of conjunctions are treated as a whole – without a comma between them.
- Namesto da (instead of)
Namesto da bi ostal zunaj, lahko prideš noter – Instead of staying outside, you can come inside. - Zato ker (because)
Zato ker nisem pričakovala, sem bila res presenečna – Because I was not expecting, I got really surprised. - Kljub temu / kljub temu da (despite that / despite the fact that)
Kljub temu da je bilo veliko snega, sem šla v službo – Despite the fact there was a lot of snow, I went to work. - Medtem ko (while)
Medtem ko otroci spijo, kuham kosilo – While the children are sleeping, I’m cooking lunch. - Potem ko (after)
Potem ko je Tilen naredil domače naloge, je šel domov – After Tilen did his homework, he went home.
It might seems a lot a first, but there are actually more… 😛 Do not panic, just take it one at the time. Conjunctions are actually kind of fun to use as it helps connecting clauses together. It is actually a very good practice for your Slovene! If you have any questions, or others conjunctions that you would like me to add, just 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 Slovene,
Anna.
Anna in Slovenia 