Ask Anna about Slovene #006

July 2, 2021December 2, 2022 / AnnaInSlovenia / 1 Comment

There are many ways to learn Slovene and one that can help you improve is by asking questions (and of course, looking for the question). In my opinion, questioning doesn’t mean that you don’t know, but it means that you are “stepping out” of the books and improving your understanding of Slovene!

Question by Jasmine

The answer to the question “Od kod gre vlak za Maribor?” is “s šestega tira“. I wonder why it is not “od šestega tira” instead.

Anna’s Answer

The preposition “s/z” (from) is used in second sklon when the preposition “na” (on) is used in fourth sklon.

For example,

Sklon 4 : Vlak gre na tir⁴ (The train goes on the rail).
Sklon 2 : Vlak gre s šestega tira² (The train goes from the sixth rail).

The preposition “iz” (from) is used in second sklon when the preposition “v” (to, into) is used in fourth sklon.

For example,

Sklon 4 : Grem v Slovenijo⁴ (I go to Slovenia).
Sklon 2 : Grem iz Slovenije⁵ (I go from Slovenia).

The preposition “od” (from) seems to be used in second sklon when the preposition “k/h” (to) in third sklon or the preposition “pri” (at, beside) is used in fifth sklon.

For example,

Sklon 3 : Grem na obisk⁴ k babici³ (I go on visit to grandmother).
Sklon 5 : Sem pri babici⁵ (I’m at grandmother).
Sklon 2 : Grem od babice². (I go from grandmother).

Personally, I didn’t know the answer to this question, and I had to ask around – and I’m glad that I’ve learnt something 🙂 So, if you have any other questions, please do ask me and let’s all learn together!

Discover more Slovene “lessons” that might interest you: Slovene Numbers & Numerals, Slovene Nouns & Pronouns, Slovene Verbs, Slovene Adjectives, Slovene Syntax, Slovenian Idioms, Slovene Adverbs.

Ask Anna about Slovene #005

May 10, 2021December 2, 2022 / AnnaInSlovenia / Leave a comment

The best way to learn and improve your understanding of Slovene is by asking questions and finding the answers! I’m a strong believer that there are no question too silly to ask, but on the contrary, that all questions are good ones.

Question by Jasmine

How do you say “What’s your/his/her name” and “What is your mom’s/dad’s name?” and how is it related to the third sklon?

Anna’s Answer

One of the first conversation questions that we learn is ” Kako ti³/vam³ je ime? ” (What is your name?). The personal pronoun used is indeed in third sklon, but why?

The best explanation that I can find is by looking at the reflexive pronouns se⁴ and si³, because the indication for third sklon is the same: indirect object, which answers the question komu (whom).

For example,

umiti se⁴ (to wash myself) – the direct object of the verb is directly the subject (myself) ∴ the reflexive pronoun is in fourth sklon.
umiti si³ lase⁴ (to wash my hair) – the direct object of the verb is not directly the subject but part of the subject (my hair) ∴ the reflexive pronoun is in third sklon.

If we transpose it,

Kako ti³ je ime¹? (What is your name?) – the direct object of the verb is not directly the subject but part of the subject (your name) ∴ the reflexive pronoun is in third sklon.

The personal pronouns in third sklon are as follow:

	E	D	M
1	mi / *mene* (my)	*nama* (our two)	*nam* (our)
2	ti /*tebi* (your)	*vama* (your two)	*vam* (your)
3	mu /*njemu (his) ji/njej* (her)	*jima* / *njima* (their two)	*jim* / *njim* (their)

Reminder: 1, 2, 3 is for first, second and third person and (E) ednina/singular, (D) dvojina/dual, (M) množina/plural.
——–
And the short version is used.

Therefore, to say ” What’s your/his/her name” is Slovene is Kako ti/mu/ji je ime“.

As for how to say ” What is your mom’s/dad’s name”, it is really simple: “Kako je ime¹ tvoji mami³/ tvojemu očetu³“. You just declined the corresponding possessive determiner (moj, tvoj) and the noun in third sklon.

That was a very stimulating question and I just love it! If you have any questions about Slovene, don’t hesitate and let me know! I would to look for the answer and improving our understanding of Slovene, all together!

Ask Anna about Slovene #004

April 15, 2021December 2, 2022 / AnnaInSlovenia / Leave a comment

A great way to improve your Slovene is by asking questions and finding answers. I believe that it actually means that you are starting to understand the language and developing “your own path of learning path”, which is awesome! And remember, there are no “too stupid” question to ask, ever.

Question by perarin2015

In the expression “za dobro narave“, the preposition za is for fourth sklon, but why is it “dobro narave“. “Dobro” is neuter but “narava” is feminine and plural.

Anna’s Answer

First off, the word “dobro” is very versatile and it can fill different roles:

as adverb (which modifies a verb, adjective or another adverb and is never declined) – Dobro delate (You work well).
as an adjective (which describes a noun and is declined same as the noun, dober^m / dobra^ž / dobro^s) – To je dobro delo^1s (This is good work). Jem dobro torto^4ž (I eat a good cake).
as a noun (which is declined accordingly to the sklon) – Dobro¹ in zlo sta nasprotji (Good and evil are opposite).

Reminder: (m) moški/masculine, (ž) ženski/feminine, (s) srednji/neuter.

In this case, dobro (good) is used as a noun, it is neuter and singular. Narava (nature) is also a noun, but feminine and singular.

“Dobro narave” means “good of nature”. As we know, when it is double nouns, the first noun is declined according to the sklon, but the second noun is always in second sklon (noun^x + noun²). And the preposition za (for) is indeed used with the fourth sklon. Therefore, za dobro^4s narave^4ž.

Trick: The “double nouns” in Slovene can be translated in English as two nouns connected with the preposition “of”.

You are more than welcomed to ask me any questions about Slovene, I will be more than happy to find the answer, because it helps my understanding of Slovene and I hope that it will help yours as well. And remember, there are no “too stupid” question to ask, ever. So, don’t be shy and ask away!

Ask Anna about Slovene #003

March 17, 2021December 2, 2022 / AnnaInSlovenia / Leave a comment

A good way to improve your Slovene (or anything else) is to ask question and find answer. I believe that it will stimulate your “problem-solving” ability. Because a language is very flexible, the answer will not always be in a textbook – therefore searching for it is the way to go.

Question by Daniele

In the sentence “Vse poletje čakam, da pride jesen.”, čakati is imperfect, because this action happens regularly, but why is priti is perfect?

Anna’s answer

A better version of this sentence would be “Celo poletje čakam, da pride jesen.” (The whole summer I wait that autumn comes/arrives.)

A little review, Slovene verbs are imperfect, perfect or both. For more details, you can check Grammatical Aspect: Perfect vs Imperfect Verbs in Slovene.

The definition of an imperfect verb (nedovršni glagol) is:

a verb that is ongoing in time
a verb that is a repetitive action, done many time
a verb that describe a long action

The definition of a perfect verb (dovršni glagol) is:

a verb that gives a result at the end, like an achievement
a verb that define an action that is done once
a verb that express the beginning of an ongoing action

The verb čakati (to wait) is imperfect because it is a long action (in this case, the whole summer). While the verb pridi (to come, to arrive) is perfect because it gives an result at the end (the arrival of autumn).

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate and let me know! I would love to help you find the answer! Plus, it’s a great way for everyone to learn together!

Ask Anna about Slovene #002

February 20, 2021December 2, 2022 / AnnaInSlovenia / 2 Comments

As I’ve said before, a good way to stimulate your learning is being observant and curious. Ask questions and seek answers – there are no bad questions, by the way. So here’s I’m going to share with you another question that I’ve been asked and of course, my explanation!

Question by Jacob

In the sentence “A lahko dobim vašo telefonsko številko?“, why is it written vašo and not vaše. As o doesn’t go with š.

Anna’s Answer

There is indeed a rule that states that “if the letter before is part of the famous bracket (c, č, š, ž, j) then o becomes e“. I have mentioned it many times through my blog. In declension tables, an * is marked where this rule applies. And if you take a closer look, it is only applied to masculine and neuter nouns.

In the question A lahko dobim vašo telefonsko številko? (Can I have your phone number?), vašo telefonsko številko is singular and in fourth sklon. Its “original” form (first sklon) is vaša telefonska številka, which is feminine as the endings are -a.

Sklon 1 : A je to vaša telefonska številka? (Is this your phone number?)
Sklon 4 : A lahko dobim vašo telefonsko številko. (Can I have your phone number?)

Therefore, because the noun is feminine, then the rule doesn’t apply.

For a basic understanding of genders, you can check How to Determine the Gender of a Noun in Slovene?

Bonus – A context where vaše would be used with a feminine noun would be if the noun is plural, such as vaše številke.

I love questions and I think that sharing the answers can only be beneficial for everyone, peers to peers. So if you have any questions, do let me know!

Ask Anna about Slovene #001

February 6, 2021December 2, 2022 / AnnaInSlovenia / 2 Comments

Personally, I believe that the best way to improve your Slovene is by asking questions and… looking for answers (of course!). You might be shy or confused, but actually, there are no silly question. So I’ve decided to share questions that others have ask me (with their consent). I might not have the best explanation, but I will try my best!

Question by Batuhan

In fourth sklon, the preposition v or na is used for direction. But why is there a preposition in “Grem v službo” but none in “Grem domov“?

Anna’s Answer

As we know, the preposition v and na are used in both fourth and fifth sklon.

Sklon 4 : Grem v službo⁴. (I go to work.) and Grem domov⁴. (I go home.)
Sklon 5 : Sem v službi⁵. (I am at work.) and Sem doma⁵. (I am home.)

In the sentences “Grem domov.” and “Sem doma” (I am home.), domov and doma are not nouns but adverbs of place. Dom (home) as a noun would be

Sklon 1 : To je dom¹. (This is home.)
Sklon 2 : Sem brez doma². (I am without home.)
Sklon 4 : Imam dom⁴. (I have a home.)
Sklon 5 : Pogovarjamo se o domu⁵. (We are talking about home.)

So you can see, the concept of sklon is the same, but the “declension” is different.

I love questions and I think that sharing the answers can only be beneficial for everyone, peers to peers. So if you have any questions, do let me know, so we can all learn from it!