Conjunctions of Time in Slovene

April 15, 2024April 13, 2024 / AnnaInSlovenia / 5 Comments

Conjunctions, known as vezniki, are words that are used to connect two clauses together, in a way that the sentence will make sense. Conjunctions are not affected by genders, numbers or declensions.

Conjunctions are divided into priredni (coordinating) and podredni (subordinating). Conjunctions of time, časovni vezniki are at the start of a subordinating clause. Meaning that they cannot be used alone.

Read more about Conjunctions in Slovene.

Kadar – when

Kadar is used when an independent clause happen every time the condition of the dependent clause is fulfilled.

Kadar mačke ni doma, miši plešejo (When the cat is not home, the mice dance), means that every time that the cat is not home, the mice will dance.
Pridete na obisk, kadar hočete (Come visit, when you want to).

Kadar can be replaced with kadarkoli (whenever) , vsakič ko (every time).

Ko – when

Ko is used when a dependent clause is happening at the same time as a independent clause.

Ko prideš domov, me pokliči (When you get home, call me) means that the moment you arrive home, you would call me.
Ko sem se zbudila, je že šel v službo (When I woke up, he already went to work).

Ko can be replaced with potem ko (when).

Preden – before

Preden is used when the dependent clause happens after the independent one.

Preden je šel spat, je ugasnil luč (Before going to sleep, he turned off the light) means that he turned off the light before he went to sleep.
Dolgo je razmišljal, preden ji je povedal novico (He thought a long time before telling her the news).

Dokler – as long as

Dokler is used when a independent clause will last as long as the dependent clause is going on.

Dokler smo zdravi, lahko delamo (As long as we are healthy, we can work) means that the moment we get sick, we wouldn’t be able to work anymore.
Dokler imam službo, bom imela plačo (As long as I have a job, I will have a paycheck).

Medtem ko – meanwhile

Medtem ko is used when a dependent clause is happening at the same time as a independent clause, but with two long action verbs (Imperfect verbs – Nedovršni Glagoli).

Medtem ko študiram slovenščino, otroci delajo domače naloge (Meanwhile I am studying Slovene, the children are doing homework).
Liam pere avto, medtem ko Pavla dela na vrtu (Liam is washing the car, meanwhile Pavla is working in the garden).

Conjunctions are very useful for formulating sentences, but sometimes, which one to use can get confusing. As long as you read, listen and practice, it will become a lot easier! If you have any questions, comments – do 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.

Impersonal Pronouns in Slovene

January 22, 2024January 21, 2024 / AnnaInSlovenia / Leave a comment

Pronouns are used to replace a noun that has been mentioned before. In Slovene, when the pronoun doesn’t refer to a person or an object in particular, they are called impersonal pronouns – neosebni zaimki.

They are divided into seven sub-groups.

Because impersonal pronouns are not specific,
kdo (who) is masculine and kaj (what) is neuter.

**Interrogative pronouns (vprašalni zaimki)**

The interrogative pronouns (who, what) is at the beginning of a question and it is used to ask about an unspecific or unknown person or thing. You should already be familiar with them: question words related to skloni.

	KDO	KAJ
1	kdo	kaj
2	koga	česa
3	komu	čemu
4	koga	kaj
5	o kom	o čem
6	s kom	s čim

For example,

O čem⁵ govorite (What are you talking about)?
Koga⁴ ste srečali na sejmu (Who did you meet at the fair)?
S kom⁶ste hodili v šolo (With who did you go to school)?

**Indefinite pronouns (nedoločni zaimki)**

The indefinite pronouns (someone, something) are used when the noun is unknown or when you don’t want named it.

	KDO	KAJ
1	nekdo	nekaj
2	nekoga	nečesa
3	nekomu	nečemu
4	nekoga	nekaj
5	o nekom	o nečem
6	z nekom	z nečim

For example,

Nekdo¹ te je včeraj poklical (Someone called you yesterday).
Pri prijatelju bi nekaj⁴ jedel (He will eat something at his friend’s house).
Otrok se boji nečesa² (The child is scared of something).

**Relative pronouns (oziralni zaimki)**

The relative pronouns (who, which) are used to introduce a dependent clause, which clarifies or adds information to an independent clause.

	KDO	KAJ
1	kdor	kar
2	kogar	česar
3	komur	čemur
4	kogar	kar
5	o komer	o čemer
6	s komer	s čimer

For example,

Kdor¹ se zadnji smeje, se najslajše smeje (He, who laught last, laughs best).
Kar⁴ sem slišal, mi ni bilo všeč (I didn’t like what I heard).
Pri komur³ se počutim dobro (With whom I feel good).

(This one is a little more complex, so it will be discussed in a separate post.)

**Negative pronouns (nikalni zaimki)**

The negative pronouns (no one, nothing) are used when the person or thing doesn’t exist.

	KDO	KAJ
1	nihče	nič
2	nikogar	ničesar
3	nikomur	ničemur
4	nikogar	nič
5	o nikomer	o ničemer
6	z nikomer	z ničimer

For example,

Nihče¹ si ne upa govoriti z njim, ko je besen (No one dares to talk with him when he is furious).
Nič⁴ ni rekel (He said nothing).
Nikogar² nisem poklicala za pomoč (I didn’t call anyone for help).

**Arbitrary pronouns (poljubnostni zaimki)**

The arbitrary pronouns (who, what) are written the same as the interrogative pronouns, but they are used to express an unspecified person or thing, and not as a question.

	KDO	KAJ
1	kdo	kaj
2	koga	česa
3	komu	čemu
4	koga	kaj
5	o kom	o čem
6	s kom	s čim

For example,

Hoče vedeti, s kom⁶ ste šli v kino včeraj (He wants to know with who you went to the movies yesterday) instead of S kom⁶ ste šli v kino včeraj (With who did you go to the movies yesterday)?
Ne vem o čem⁵ sta govorila (I don’t know what did you two talked about) instead of O čem sta govorila (What did you two talked about)?
Ne vem kdo¹ je bil (I don’t know who it was) instead of Kdo je (Who is it)?

**Plural pronouns (mnogostni zaimki)**

Plural pronouns (many people, many things) are used when there are many indefinite, arbitrary people or things.

	KDO	KAJ
1	marsikdo	marsikaj
2	marsikoga	marsičesa
3	marsikomu	marsičemu
4	marsikoga	marsikaj
5	o marsikom	o marsičem
6	s marsikom	s marsičem

For example,

Marsikdo¹ ne bo šel volit (Many people will not go voting).
Marsikomu³ je bil hvaležen (He was grateful to many people).
V Ameriki se je marsičesa² naučil (He learnt many things in America).

**Universal pronouns (celostni zaimki)**

Universal pronouns (everyone, everything) are used to point at each individual person or thing from a group.

	KDO	KAJ
1	vsakdo	vse
2	vsakogar	vsega
3	vsakomur	vsemu
4	vsakogar	vse
5	o vsakomer	o vsem
6	z vsakomer	z vsemi

For example,

Za vsakogar⁴ se nekaj najde (There is something for everyone).
Vsakdo¹ po svojemu okusu (Everyone has their own taste).
Dati vse⁴ od sebe (“Give everything from yourself” is a proverb that means to do your best).

It looks like there is a lot of impersonal pronouns to remember, but you can see that there is a “pattern” for most of them: the prefix, which is a set of letter placed before the “root”.

Interrogative pronouns and Arbitrary pronouns are the same (kdo, kaj).
For Indefinite pronouns, you add the prefix -ne (nekdo, nekaj).
For most Relative pronouns, you add -(e)r at the end (kdor, kar)
For Negative pronouns, it is a bit special in the first and fourth declension, but for the rest, you add the prefix -ni (nihče, nič).
For Plural pronouns, you add the prefix -marsi (marsikdo, marsikaj).
For Universal pronouns, the prefix -vsa is used when referring to a person (vsakdo), but for thing, it has its own (vse).

If you have any questions or learning tricks for impersonal pronouns, don’t hesitate and let me know!

Alternative Words for “Very” in Slovene

November 13, 2023November 12, 2023 / AnnaInSlovenia / 5 Comments

Beside practicing everyday, there are different ways to improve your Slovene. You can watch TV (or movies), read newspapers (or books), listen to radio (or music). Through those exercises, you can develop and diversify your vocabulary. This way, you can avoid repeating and overusing the same basic words, like “very”.

Here’s a list of alternative words to use instead of zelo (very).

Zelo lep (very pretty, very nice) – krasen (beautiful), čudovit (wonderful)

Obleka je zelo lepa (The dress is very pretty) becomes Obleka je krasna (The dress is beautiful).
Imeli smo zelo lep večer (We had a very nice evening) becomes Imeli smo čudovit večer (We had a wonderful evening).

Zelo slab (very bad), zelo grd (very ugly) – grozen (dreadful, terrible, awful)

Ta človek je zelo slab (This person is very bad) becomes Ta človek je grozen (This person is terrible).
Ta brazgotina izgleda zelo grdo (This scar looks very ugly) becomes Ta brazgotina izgleda grozno (This scar looks awful).

Zelo velik (very big) – ogromen (huge, gigantic, immense, vast)

Dinozavri so bili zelo velike živali (Dinosaurs were very big animals) becomes Dinozavri so bili ogromne živali (Dinosaurs were gigantic animals).
Ta hiša je zelo velika (This house is very big) becomes Ta hiša je ogromna (This house is huge).

Zelo majhen (very small), zelo kratka (very short) – mini (mini)

Stanovanje je zelo majhno (The apartment is very small) becomes Stanovanje je mini (The apartment is mini).
Larina obleka je zelo kratka (Lara’s dress is very short) becomes Larina obleka je mini (Lara’s dress is mini).

Zelo mrzel (very cold) – leden (icy, freezing)

Tilen ima zelo mrzle roke (Tilen has very cold hands) becomes Tilen ima ledene roke (Tilen has icy hands).
Voda v jezeru je zelo mrzla (The water in the lake is very cold) becomes Voda v jezeru je ledena (The water in the lake is freezing).

Zelo jezen (very angry) – besen (furious, enraged, mad)

Bil je zelo jezen, ko je izvedel novico (He was very angry when he found out the news) becomes Bil je besen, ko je izvedel novico (He was furious when he found out the news).
Besen kot ris (Enraged like a lynx) is an idiom that means to be very angry.

Zelo dober (very good) – odličen (excellent)

Torta je bila zelo dobra (The cake was very good) becomes Torta je bila odlična (The cake was excellent).
Karl je zelo dober kuhar (Karl is a very good cook) becomes Karl je odličen kuhar (Karl is an excellent cook).

Zelo pečen (very baked, very roasted) – zažgan (burnt)

Meso je zelo pečen (The meat is very roasted) becomes Meso je zažgano (The meat is burnt).
Saša ima rada piškote, ki so zelo pečeni (Saša likes cookies that are very baked) becomes Saša ima rada piškote, ki so zažgani (Saša likes cookies that are burnt).

Sometimes, the alternative word for zelo is simply the suffix -pre.

zelo srečen (very happy) – presrečen (overjoyed)
zelo bogat (very rich) – prebogat (wealthy)
zelo prijeten (very nice, very pleasant) – preprijeten (kind)

Of course, the suffix -pre can also mean preveč (too much).

preveč močen (too strong) – premočen
preveč glasen (too loud) – preglasen
preveč daleč (too far) – predaleč

I’m sure that there are more alternative words that can be used instead of zelo, but finding and pairing them is not always obvious. If you can think of any others, please do let me know, because we all want to improve our Slovene!

Abbreviation in Slovene

September 11, 2023September 10, 2023 / AnnaInSlovenia / Leave a comment

As we know, abbreviation – okrajšava, is the shortened version of a word or a phrase. Just like English, Slovenian abbreviations are only used in their written form. I think that it is quite important and meaningful to know what they stand for – here’s why.

A little anecdote: have you ever come across an abbreviation in a text and not knowing exactly what it stands for? Well, it did happened to me… and it was a little awkward because I was reading the text out loud Mind you, after that, I told myself to quickly get familiar with the Slovenian abbreviations.

There are also “sub-categories” of abbreviations. Here are a few examples:

Abbreviations of titles:

g. means gospod (Mr)
ga. means gospa (Mrs)
gdč. means gospodična (Miss)
prof. means profesor (professor)
dr. means doktor (doctor)
dipl. (inž.) means diplomirani (inženir) (graduate (engineer))

Abbreviations of names:

BiH means Bosna in Hercegovina (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Gor. means Gorenji/Gorenjska/Gornji while gor. means gorenjski
Dol. means Dolenji/Dolenjski/Dolnji while dol. means dolenjski
Vel. means Veliki while vel. means velikost

Abbreviations of parts of text:

itd. means in tako dalje (and so on)
itn. means in tako naprej (and so on)
ipd. means in podobno (etc)
tj. means to je (that is)
npr. means na primer (for example)
oz. means oziroma (respectively)
t. i. means (tako imenovani ((the so-called)
ž. means ženski spol (feminine)
b. p. means brez posebnosti (without particularity)
gl. means glej (see)
t. l. means tega leta (this year) and t. m. means tega meseca (this month)
pog. means pogovorno (colloquial)

Of course, there are a lot more abbreviations. My best advice is to mark them down when you see them, because you never know when you will need them 🙂 To verify what they stand for, you can use one of my favorite (free) resource: Fran. If you have any questions or abbreviations that you would like me to add to the list, let me know!

Homonyms Verbs in Slovene

July 17, 2023July 17, 2023 / AnnaInSlovenia / Leave a comment

Have you ever notice how some verbs have the same infinitive form, but become different when conjugated? Well, that’s because they are “homonyms verbs” – same spelling or pronunciation but completely different meaning!

It can be quite confusing at first, when conjugating in Present Tense and the Participle in Past and Future Tense in Slovene, but fun to learn about.

Stati
1. to stand | i.e. Janez stoji pri vratih (Janez is standing at the door).
2. to cost | i.e. Koliko stane ta torta (How much does this cake cost)?

Kopati
1. to bathe | i.e. Mami kopa/koplje dojenčka s toplo vodo (The mother bathes the baby with warm water).
2. to dig | i.e. Liam kopa/koplje luknjo z bagrom (Liam is digging a hole with the excavator).

Biti
1. to be | i.e. On je Miha (He is Miha).
2. to strike | Opolnoči ura bije dvanajstkrat (At mignight the clock strikes twelve times).

Izvesti
1. to carry out | i.e. Peter izvede načrt (Peter carries out the plan).
2. to embroider | i.e. Vesna izveze prt (Vesna embroiders a tablecloth).

Kositi
1. to mow | i.e. Marko kosi travo (Marko mows the grass).
2. to lunch | i.e. Karl kosi v restavraciji vsak dan (Karl lunches at the restaurant everyday).

Pasti
1. to fall | i.e. Dež pada (Rain is falling).
2. to pasture, to graze | i.e. Miha pase krave na planini (Miha grazes the cows in the mountain).

Stopiti
1. to step | i.e. Natalija stopi na travo (Natalija is stepping on the grass).
2. to melt | i.e. Sneg se stopi spomladi (Snow melts during springtime).
The conjugated form is written the same, despite being two different verbs.

Zapeti
1. to sing | i.e. Tanja zapoje od veselja (Tanja sings with happiness).
2. to button, to fasten | Zapnem čevlje (I fasten my shoes).

Slovene verbs are so interesting, just like these examples of “homonyms verbs”. Can you think of any others? If so, do share with me in the comments, and I will add them to the list!

The infinitive forms were focused in this blog, but sometimes, the conjugated forms or even the participle are also homonyms. Sometimes, the same verb, but a simple “se/si” (reflexive pronouns) will give a different meaning!

Demonstrative Pronouns in Slovene – This and That

March 20, 2023November 13, 2023 / AnnaInSlovenia / Leave a comment

Demonstrative pronouns, also known as kazalni zaimki, are pronouns that show or point at something. In general, there are “three levels” of demonstrative pronouns in Slovene – which are sorted depending on the distance, both in time and space, between the object that is pointed at and the speaker.

“This” (ta^m) and “that” (tisti^m and oni^m) are the same as in English, but instead of having just a singular and plural form, the Slovene form is “fully” declined. This means:

six skloni (nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, locative and instrumental),
three genders (masculine, feminine and neuter) and
three grammatical numbers (singular, dual and plural).

It might seems like a lot, but please do not panic. Keep reading.

Ta – This

The demonstrative pronouns “ta” is used to points at objects that is directly in the vicinity of the speaker or something that is close to the speaker. It can also be used to refer to something that has just been mentioned.

For example,

Ta teden ima dopust (This week I have holidays).
Vidite, ta punca, ki se sedi pred vami, je Petrova hčerka (You see, this girl sitting in front of you, is Peter’s daughter).
Fiona rada ima to mavrično torto (Fiona likes this rainbow cake).

Tisti – That

The demonstrative pronoun “tisti” is used to indicate something that is relatively distant from the speaker. It can also be used with something that had been previously mentioned.

For example,

Tisti tam je naš nov sosed (That one there is our new neighbor).
Lani sem rodila hčerko, tistega dne ne bom nikoli pozabila (Last year I gave birth to my daughter, that day I will never forget).
Hodil je v tisto šolo na drugi strani parka (He went to that school on the other side of park).

Oni – That

The demonstrative pronoun “oni” is used to indicate something that is very distant from the speaker. It is also use to point at something that is unknown, unnamed or unspecific.

For example,

Ta skupina otrok se igra v igralnici, oni pa bere pod drevesom (This group of kids plays in the playground, that one reads under the tree).
Ona stran gozda je porasla z grmovjem (That side of the forest has grown with bushes).
V parku vedno srečaš tega ali onega znanca (You always meet this or that acquaintance in the park).

Table for “Ta“

	E m – ž – s	D m – ž – s	M *m – ž – s*
1	ta – ta – to	ta – ti – ti	ti – te – ta
2	tega – te – tega	teh	teh
3	temu – tej – temu	tema	tem
4	ta/tega – to – to	ta – ti – ti	te – te -ta
5	pri tem – pri tej – pri tem	pri teh	pri teh
6	s tem – s to – s tem	s tema	s temi

**Table for “Tisti“**

	E m – ž – s	D m – ž – s	M *m – ž – s*
1	tisti – tista – tisto	tista – tisti – tisti	tisti – tiste – tista
2	tistega – tiste – tistega	tistih	tistih
3	tistemu – tisti – tistemu	tistima	tistim
4	tisti/tistega – tisto – tisto	tista – tisti – tisti	tiste – tiste –tista
5	pri tistem – pri tisti – pri tistem	pri tistih	pri tistih
6	s tistim – s tisto – s tistim	*s tistima*	*s tistimi*

**Table for “Oni“**

	E m – ž – s	D m – ž – s	M *m – ž – s*
1	oni – ona – ono	ona – oni – oni	oni – one – ona
2	onega –one – onega	onih	onih
3	onemu – oni – onemu	onima	onim
4	oni/onega – ono – ono	ona – oni – oni	one – one –ona
5	pri onem – pri oni – pri onem	pri onih	pri onih
6	s onim – s ono – s onim	s onima	s onimi

Reminder: (E) ednina/singular, (D) dvojina/dual, (M) množina/plural and (m) moški/masculine, (ž) ženski/feminine, (s) srednji/neutral.

As you can see, there are a lot of similarities through all three demonstratives pronouns:

marked in blue are -e instead of the usual -i,
marked in bold are the same for all three genders,
marked in red are the same in dual and plural forms and
tisti and oni, they are basically the same thing: just replace “tist-” with “on-“.

So, the demonstrative pronouns in Slovene go from nearest to farthest: ta – tisti – oni. For example,

To knjigo, ki jo imam v roki, berem zdaj (This book, that I have in my hand, I am reading now).
Tiste, ki so na polici, bom brala otrokom zvečer. (Those, that are on the shelf, I will read to my kids in the evening).
Ne vem, kdaj bom dobila one, ki sem jih naročila v knjižnici (I don’t know when I will get those, that I ordered from the library).

Demonstrative pronouns in Slovene have a lot more “forms” that in English, but don’t worry – it’s all about endings that you probably already know, and if not, just take it slow. Practice makes perfect! If you have any questions or comments, don’t hesitate and ask me!

Slovene Nouns to Adjectives – Vrstni Pridevnik

January 4, 2023February 8, 2023 / AnnaInSlovenia / 2 Comments

As we know, adjectives are used to describe or modify how a noun is. There are also different types of adjectives in Slovene, but they can’t be directly translated into English:

lastnostni (kakovostni) pridevnik (characteristic or qualitative adjective),
svojilni pridevnik (possessive adjective) and
vrstni pridevnik (“kind” adjective).

Lastnostni pridevniki or kakovostni pridevniki are descriptive adjectives. They are used to describe specific characteristic that are proper to the noun (color, size, age, shape) and answer the question kakšen (how is). For example,

Vozim hiter avto⁴. (I drive a fast car).
To je velika hiša¹ (This is a big house).
Kopali smo se v toplem morju⁵ (We swam in the warm sea).

As you can see, the adjective always follows the declension of the noun.

To learn more about declension of adjective, read Slovene Adjectives in General.

Svojilni pridevniki are possessive adjectives used to describe the ownership of the noun. They answer the question čigav (whose). For example,

Tim vozi Markov traktor⁴ (Tim is driving Mark’s tractor).
Mira je Janina sestra¹ (Mira is Jana’s sister).
Ne maram sosedovega psa²(I don’t like the neighbor’s dog).

As you can see, -ov + the corresponding ending is added to masculine nouns, while -in + the corresponding ending is added to feminine nouns.

Please note that possessive adjectives are different from possessive pronouns. Learn more here.

Vrstni pridevniki are adjectives “made from nouns”. They are also used to describe a noun, but specifically the “type”, “kind” or ”category”, which answer the question “kateri” (which). The adjective’s endings can be put into groups, but unfortunately without any patterns.

Adjectives ending with -ni

turist (tourist) – turistično mesto (touristic town)
jagoda (strawberry) – jagodna marmelada (strawberry jam)
mesto (town) – mestni avtobus (city bus)
čokolada (chocolate) – čokoladna torta (chocolate cake)

Adjectives ending with –ski or –ški

morje (sea) – morski sadeži (seafood)
Slovenija (Slovenia) – slovenska zastava (Slovenian flag)
nedelja (Sunday) – nedeljsko kosilo (Sunday lunch)
otrok (child) – otroško igrišče (children playground)

Adjectives ending with -ov

oreh (walnut) – orehova potica (walnut potica)
borovnica (blueberry) – borovničev sok (blueberry juice)
sir (cheese) – sirov zavitek (cheese strudel)
kokos (coconut) – kokosovo mleko (coconut milk)

Adjectives ending with -nji

jutro (morning) – jutranje vaje (morning exercises)
noter (interior) – notranji bazen (inside pool)
jutri (tomorrow) – jutrišnji dan (tomorrow day)
blizu (near) – bližnji vzhod (nearby exit)

Adjectives ending with -ji

pes (dog) – pasji frizer (dog groomer)
maček (cat) – mačja trava (catnip)
medved (bear) – medvedja šapa (bear paw)

The difference between lastnostni pridevnik and vrstni pridevnik is the question that they answer. Lastnostni pridevnik is used for description of shape, color, size and age, while vrstni pridevnik is used to describe the type or kind.
——-
Tim potuje po Sloveniji z novim modrim električnim avtom⁶ (Tim travels around Slovenia with a new blue electric car).
Dalia ne mara svežega kozjega mleka² (Dalia doesn’t like fresh goat milk).
Martin rad je slastno mehiško hrano⁴ (Martin likes to eat delicious Mexican food).

Knowing that some adjectives can be made from noun is a fun and useful way to learn Slovene. It’s like killing two birds with one stone! With adjectives, no matter which type, do remember that the declension is the same as the noun. If you have any questions, comments or adjectives that you would like to add, please let me know!

Possessive Pronouns in Slovene

May 2, 2021November 14, 2023 / AnnaInSlovenia / 3 Comments

Possessive pronouns in Slovene are also known as svojilni zaimek. Same as in English, they are a group of words that are used to indicate possession or ownership of something. It also answers the question word čigav, which means whose.

In Slovene, there are:

three persons: first person, second person and third person,
three genders: masculine, feminine and neuter and
three grammatical numbers: singular, dual and plural.

In this end, there is a lot of subjects, which are the personal pronouns in first sklon. But possessive pronouns are simpler, as the gender distinction is only in singular third person.

Personal Possessive Pronouns / Adjective

Here are the basic (first sklon) form of the personal possessive pronouns in Slovene for all three genders: masculine (m), feminine (ž) and neuter (s).

Singular Form – Ednina

	m	ž	s
Mine	moj*	moja	moje*
Your	tvoj*	tvoja	tvoje*
His Her Its	njegov njen njegov	njegova njena njegova	njegovo njeno njegovo

Dual Form – Dvojina

	m	ž	s
Our two	najin	najina	najino
Your two	vajin	vajina	vajino
Their two	njun	njuna	njuno

Plural Form – Množina

	m	ž	s
Our	naš*	naša	naše*
Your	vaš*	vaša	vaše*
Their	njihov	njihova	njihovo

Reminder: * is the famous bracket (c, č, š, ž, j) where the o changes into e.

These possessive pronouns in Slovene are actually possessive determiners AND possessive pronouns in English. But in Slovene, they acts similar to Slovene adjectives, which means that they are declined following the corresponding noun. Remember that the gender of the subject matters for the singular third person (he, she, it – his, her, its).

Here’s a few examples as possessive determiners, which needs to be used with a noun.

Moj pes¹ je bel (My dog is white).
Jan nima njegovega telefona² (Jan doesn’t have his phone).
Mina je njuno kosilo⁴ (Mina eats her lunch).
Peter je šel z našim učiteljem⁶ (Peter went with our teacher).

Bonus: Slovene is a precise language, therefore:

Filip je najin sin¹ (Filip is our son – both parents).

Here’s a few examples as possessive pronouns, which are used “alone”. But remember that the function of a pronouns is to replace a noun. Therefore, subject, gender and grammatical numbers all have to correspond.

Čigava je hiša? Moja. (Whose house it is? Mine.)
Čigav je pes? Njegov. (Whose dog it is? His.)
Čigavo je kolo? Njeno. (Whose bicycle it is? Hers)

Bonus: “Ta” is masculine and also feminine. “To” is neuter.

Ta je moj¹ (This is mine).
Ta je moja¹ (This is mine).
To je moje/naše/vaše¹ (This is mine/ours/yours).

Reflexive Possessive Pronouns

In Slovene, there is reflexive possessive pronouns, known as povratni svojilni zaimek. It is used to express the property of the subject.

There is just “one word” used to express it for all the different subjects: svoj (one’s own) BUT it is declined by gender, grammatical numbers and skloni following the general table of endings, according

Singular Form – Ednina

	m	ž	s
*SKLON 1*	svoj	svoja	svoje
*SKLON 2*	svojega	svoje	svojega
*SKLON 3*	svojemu	svoji	svojemu
*SKLON 4*	svojega ❤ svoj	svojo	svoje
*SKLON 5*	svojem	svoji	svojem
*SKLON 6*	svojim	svojo	svojim

Here’s a few examples of reflexive possessive pronouns.

Nina je svoje kosilo⁴ (Nina eats her own lunch).
Mark nima svojega avta² (Mark doesn’t have his own car).
Jan sedi pri svoji hiši⁵ (Jan sits by his own house).

Bonus: Look at the “slight” difference in meaning.

Teja mu³je prinesla njegov telefon⁴ (Teja brought him his phone).
Teja mu³ je prinesla svoj telefon⁴ (Teja brought him her phone).

Possessive Adjectives from Names

When a noun is the owner, the possessive adjective from names are used – svojilni pridevniki iz lastnih imen. In this case, you need to pay attention to the gender of the owner and the gender of the thing that is owned.

For masculine name, you add -ov + the corresponding ending in red.
For feminine name, you add -in and the corresponding ending in red.

*JAN* (Jan’s)		*JANA* (Jana’s)
Janov_*	brat (brother)	Janin_
Janova*	*sestra* (sister)	Janina
Janovo*	*kolo* (bicycle)	Janino

Reminder: * is the famous bracket (c, č, š, ž, j) where the o changes into e.

For example,

Peter je Nikov dedek (Peter is Nik’s grandfather).
Mirina hiša je najlepša (Mira’s house is the prettiest).
Domnovo kolo je modro (Domen’s bicycle is blue).

Bonus: here are some exceptions:

Peter – Petrov (Peter’s)
Babica – Babičin (Grandmother’s)
Oče – Očetov (Father’s)
Stric – Stričev (Uncle’s)

Expressing possession or ownership might seem confusing at first, mainly because there are “many of them”. My suggestion is to keep it simple. First, remember the “basic forms” then the rest will come naturally because they are declined as nouns and follows the general table of endings. Do keep in mind that all elements have to match (subject, gender, grammatical numbers)! If you have any questions, don’t hesitate and let me know!

Anna’s tricks about Skloni

April 7, 2021April 7, 2021 / AnnaInSlovenia / 6 Comments

As we know, Slovene is a very precise language and its grammar can seem very complex and complicated. But if you are able to find a way of thinking that can help you detangle it, then everything will be much easier. I know that everyone’s way of logic is different, so this might work for you… or not.

In this post, I’m just going to attempt to show you what’s going in my mind when I see a sentence in Slovene – my personal algorithm to determine which sklon is being used. (This post is not about endings, as I’ve already mentioned tricks by comparison in my posts about each sklon).

Keep in mind that all elements of a sentence can be an important clue of some sort but to decide which sklon to use, I focus on two: verbs and prepositions.

Clue – Verbs

The first element that I like to look for is the verb, which are the action words used to describe what the subject is doing, because it is present in most sentence.

Is the verb used biti (to be)?

If the answer is yes, then it is in first sklon.
For example, Jaz sem Anna¹ (I am Anna).
Bonus: If the verb biti is used in negative, it is also in first sklon.
For example, Nisem Anja¹ (I am not Anja).

SKLON 1

Verbs postati (to become), ostati (to stay), imenovati se (to be named) are in first sklon.

If the answer is no, then go to the next question.

Is the verb negative (-) or affirmative (+)?

If the answer is negative, then it is in second sklon.
For example, Nimam psa² (I don’t have a dog).

SKLON 2

Verbs bati se (to be afraid of), dotakniti se (to touch), lotiti se (to start working), najesti se (to appease one’s hunger), napiti se (to appease one’s thirst), spomniti se (to remember), veseliti se (to be glad) are specific to the second sklon.

If the answer is affirmative, then it is in third or fourth sklon.

Is the object of the verb direct or indirect?

If the object is direct, it usually comes right after the verb, then it is in fourth sklon.
For example, Imam knjigo⁴ (I have a book)
If the object is indirect, which indicates to whom something is done, then it is in third sklon.
For example, Knjigo⁴dam prijatelju³ (I give a book to my friend).

SKLON 3

Verbs čestitati (to congratulate), čuditi se (to wonder), lagati se (to lie), obljubiti (to promise), odpovedati (to cancel), opravičiti se (to excuse), pomagati (to help), pridružiti se (to join), telefonirati (to phone), smejati se (to laugh), zaupati (to trust) are specific to the third sklon.

Clue – Prepositions

Another relevant indicator that you can easily point out are prepositions, because most of them are specific to one sklon. Although, some prepositions can be used with different skloni, which I will to clarify.

If the preposition is specific to one sklon, then it is quite straightforward, you just need to remember them.

SKLON 2	Prepositions *blizu* (near), *brez* (without), iz (from), *izmed* (among), *izven* (out of), *izza* (from behind), *mimo* (passing by), (*nasprosti* (opposite of), *od-do* (from-until), *okoli* (around), *okrog* (around), *poleg* (beside), *preko* (across), *sredi* (in the middle of), *zaradi* (because of), *zraven* (beside) are specific to the second sklon.
SKLON 3	Prepositions *k/h* (to), *kljub* (despite), *proti* (against, toward) are specific to the third sklon.
SKLON 4	Prepositions *skozi* (through), *čez* (across) are specific to the fourth sklon.
SKLON 5	Prepositions o (about), ob (at), pri (beside) are specific to the fifth sklon.

Some prepositions are associated with more than one sklon, in that case, you will need to paid attention to the verb used as well as the context.

The preposition v (into, to, in, at) and na (on, at, in) can be fourth or fifth sklon.

If the preposition is used with a movement verbs and the context is a destination, then it is in fourth sklon.
For example, Grem v šolo⁴ (I go to school).

Movement verbs can be hoditi (to walk), iti (to go), priti (to come), teči (to run), voziti (to drive)…

If the preposition is used with a verb without movement and the context is a position or location, then it is in fifth sklon.
For example, Sem v šoli⁵ (I am in school).

Verbs without movement can be biti (to be), čakati (to wait), ostati (to stay)…

The preposition pred (before), pod (under), za (behind), nad (above), med (in between) can be fourth or sixth sklon.

If the context is a destination, then it is in fourth sklon.
For example, Letalo se je dvignilo nad oblake⁴ (The plane has raised above the clouds).
If the context is a position or location, then it is in sixth sklon.
For example, Irma se rani nad kolenom⁶ (Irma wounds herself above the knee).
Bonus: If za means “for”, then it is the fourth sklon.
For example, Marko ima darilo⁴ za Anno⁴ (Marko has a gift for Anna).

Beside the context, the meaning can also help you decide which sklon to use.

The preposition po can be fourth or fifth sklon.

If po means “for”, then it is in fourth sklon.
For example, Grem v pekarno⁴ po kruh⁴ (I go to the bakery for bread).
If po means “around”, then it is in fifth sklon.
For example, Nik potuje po svetu⁵ (Nik travels around the world).

The preposition s/z can be in second or sixth sklon.

If s/z means “from”, then it is in second sklon.
For example, Nina je s Ptuja² (Nina is from Ptuj).
If s/z means “with”, then it is in sixth sklon.
For example, Grem v šolo⁴ z avtobusom⁶ (I go to school with bus).

This is just the method that I use to analyze which sklon to use or to know which sklon is being used. And I hope that it help clarify the Slovene skloni, even a little bit.

What about you? What’s going on in your mind when you see a sentence in Slovene? Is your algorithm similar to mine or completely different? Or maybe other elements that can be added? I am quite curious, so please share it with me! And if you have any questions or comments, do let me know!

How to write a formal letter in Slovene

March 3, 2021December 2, 2022 / AnnaInSlovenia / 2 Comments

Nowadays, a lot of formal communication is made through emails or letters, either for job application or any official request. Knowing how to properly write a formal letter is thus very important.

Standard Format of Formal Letter

Above is a template of the elements in a formal letter. I will explain them one by one. Keep in mind that the red dot represents a space line.

1. Your full name is written as follow name (ime) and surname (priimek).

Irma Novak

2. Your address (naslov) is written in two lines, the first line is street address while the second line is the postal code and the city. (Under your address, you can also add your phone number and email.)

Slovenčeva ulica 1
1000 Ljubljana

3. Place (kraj) and date (datum) refer where and when the letter was written. Be aware that dates have a specific format. (Check How to Say Dates and Times in Slovene – Part 1 for more details.)

Ljubljana, 28. 2. 2021

4. Recipient’s name (prejemnikov naziv) can be a person or place name, depending on the nature of your letter.

Janez Mklavž or
Rolli Shop D.O.O. or
Upravna Enota Kranj

5. Recipient’s address (prejemnikov naslov) is written in two lines as well.

Celovška cesta 18
1000 Ljubljana

6. Zadeva is where you state the subject of your letter.

Zadeva: Prijava na razpis za delovno mesto učiteljice (Subject: Application for a job vacancy as teacher)
Zadeva: Prošnja za reklamacijo (Subject: Request of complaint)

7. Spoštovani is the conventional greeting for letters (it means “dear”) and it is followed by a comma (,) or an exclamation (!). Don’t forget to start with capitals if your greeting ends with an exclamation. You can also add in the recipient name (with title) if you know it.

Spoštovani gospod Janez Miklavž,
Spoštovana gospa Marta Miklavž,

8. Content (vsebina) is where you write paragraph(s). The content will depend on the nature of your letter, but usually introduce yourself or explain why you are writing. If it is for a job application, aim for 140-150 words, not too long.

9. S spoštovanjem with a comma (,) is a standard way for the final greeting (it means “with respect”). Other final greetings that you can use are:

Lep pozdrav (without comma (,))
Lepo Vas pozdravljam. (with an period (.))

10. Signature (podpis) is your handwritten signature, if it is an actually printed letter.

11. Your full name again.

12. Priloge is where you list the attachments that are included.

Priloge:
– življenjepis (resume)
– priporočilo (recommendation letter)
– fotokopija diplome (copy of diploma)

Personally, I am not a big fan of formal letters, as I’m never sure how to get it started and what to write… (Yes, I blog, but it’s a lot more friendly). So I hope that this post was able to demystify the “how to write a formal letter in Slovene” or at least, a standard template, because what to write as content… that’s a different and unique story.