Third Sklon – Dative

The Slovene grammar is divided into 6 grammatical cases known as skloni. Understanding when to use which will greatly help you improve your Slovene.

Last but not least – the third sklon. Although, before attacking it, I suggest that you be familiar with the First Sklon – Nominative, Fourth Sklon – Accusative, Second Sklon – Genitive, Fifth Sklon – Locative and Sixth Sklon – Instrumental.

The third sklon, also known as dajalnik or dativ in Slovene, is the “Dative” case.

Here’s the table for the Sklon 3, Dative (I give…)

SKLON 3	(m) PRIDEN_ PES_	(ž) SIVA MAČKA	(s) VELIKO LETALO
(E) Dam	novemu psu	sivi mački	velikemu letalu
(D) Dam	novima psoma	sivima mačkama	velikima letaloma
(M) Dam	novim psom	sivim mačkam	velikim letalom

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

As you can see, in Dative, many endings are the same or similar. Refer to the colors:

• the masculine form and neutral form are exactly the same,
• the dual masculine, feminine and neutral form all ends with an a,
• the plural masculine, feminine and neutral form all ends with m and
• the dual and plural feminine form differs from the masculine/neutral forms by an a.

❤ And here’s an simplified version of the endings, easier to remember :

SKLON 3	(m)	(ž)	(s)
(E)	–EMU –U	-I -I	–EMU –U
(D)	–IMA –OMA*	–IMA –AMA	–IMA –OMA*
(M)	–IM –OM*	–IM –AM	–IM –OM*

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

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When to use the third sklon

1. the noun is indirectly affected by the verb
   For example, I give (what?)⁴ a book (to who?)³ to a friend  →Dam (kaj?) knjigo⁴ (komu?) prijatelju³.
   
2. following specific preposition
   • k/h (to) – when there is movement or direction, which is similar to the fourth sklon, but the destination is a person. | i.e. I go to the doctor → Grem k zdravniku³.
     

     The preposition h is used if the following word starts with K or G. — The rest uses k.

   • proti (toward/against) | i.e. I go toward the sea → Grem proti morju³ / I am against smoking → Sem proti kajenju³.
   • kljub (despite) | Despite the rain, I go to school → Kljub dežju³ grem v šolo⁴.
3.  following specific verb
   • pomagati (to help), telefonirati (to phone), smejati se (to laugh), obljubiti (to promise), čestitati (to congratulate), zaupati (to trust)…
     

     Some verbs can be used with the fourth or/and the third sklon, it always depends on the context (direct or indirect).

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If you’ve made it this far, congratulations! 🙂 The third sklon is not any less important than the others skloni, but it is the last one on my list.

Remembering all the endings, understanding all the skloni and being able to easily apply them correct will take some time, but do keep up the good work and one day, you will be able to proudly say “Slovnico imam v malem prstu”! (If you’re not sure what it means, check out Slovenian Idioms.)

Update – here is my Cheat sheet “Table of Skloni “. More can be found under Learning Materials.

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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.

General Question Words in Slovene

Whether you’re learning Slovene seriously or just for fun, knowing how to express questions, vprašanje, is essential. It also makes conversation a lot more interesting.

A or Ali

Using the short word Ali or A is an easy way to formulate a yes or no questions in Slovene | i.e.  Can you repeat, please→ A lahko ponovite, prosim?  / Do you like to eat apple → A radi jeste jabolko?

Question Words in General

Same as in English, Slovene uses different general and basic question words at the beginning of the sentence

• kaj (what)| i.e. What are you doing here → Kaj delate tukaj?
• kdo (who) | i.e. Who is your friend → Kdo je tvoj prijatelj?
• kje (where)| i.e. Where do you live → Kje živite?
• kako (how)| i.e. How are you today→ Kako ste danes?
• kdaj (when)| i.e. When do you have your birthday → Kdaj imate rojstni dan?
  

  Kdaj is used to express dates and time. — How to Say Dates and Times in Slovene

• kateri (which) | i.e. Which bus is the right one → Kateri avtobus je pravilen?
• čigav (whose) | i.e. Whose car is silver → Čigav avto je siv?
• koliko (how much, how many) | i.e. How much time do you have → Koliko časa imate?
  

  Koliko is used to express amounts and quantities. — How to Express Quantities in Slovene – Second Sklon

• zakaj (why)| i.e. Why is the sky blue → Zakaj je nebo modro?

Of course, there are more ways to formulate questions, but being familiar with those will be a good start. 🙂

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As you learn the language, you will start to notice that some question words have the same translation in English, but are differently used in Slovene, such as

• kje and kam (where),
• kako and kakšen (how) and
• kateri and kakšen (which).

Slovene is a very precise language and some Slovene question words are used with specific situation. — Which Slovene Question Words to Use

While learning the Slovene grammar, you will realize that some question words will help you identify which of the six grammatical cases is used. Sometimes, you will notice that the questions words are written differently. I will cover that in a future post.

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Once you know which question words to use, formulating a question in Slovene shouldn’t be too complicated! At some point, it can even become fun as you will be able to express yourself easier! 🙂

If you have any questions or comments, don’t hesitate to ask me and I will try my best to give you an answer!

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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.

Sixth Sklon – Instrumental

Slovene has 6 grammatical cases, known as skloni – and to learn properly, it is good to know when to use which.

I suggest that you be familiar with the First Sklon – Nominative, Fourth Sklon – Accusative, Second Sklon – Genitive and Fifth Sklon – Locative before starting the sixth sklon.

The sixth sklon, also known as orodnik or instrumental in Slovene, is the “Instrumental” case. The orodnik sklon is always used with a preposition.

Here’s the table for the Sklon 6, Instrumental (I travel with…)

SKLON 6	(m) NOV_ AVTOBUS_	(ž) NOVA LADJA	(s) NOVO LETALO
(E) Potujem z	novim avtobusom	novo ladjo	novim letalom
(D) Potujem z	novima avtobusoma	novima ladjama	novima letaloma
(M) Potujem z	novimi avtobusi	novimi ladjami	novimi letali

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

As you can see, in Instrumental, many endings are the same or very similar. Refer to the colors:

• the masculine form and neutral form are exactly the same,
• the dual masculine, feminine and neutral form all ends with a,
• the plural masculine, feminine and neutral form all ends with i and
• the dual and plural feminine form differs from the masculine/neutral form by an a.

And here’s an simplified version of the endings, easier to remember :

SKLON 6	(m)	(ž)	(s)
(E)	–IM –OM*	-O -O	–IM –OM*
(D)	–IMA –OMA*	–IMA –AMA	–IMA –OMA*
(M)	–IMI –I	–IMI –AMI	–IMI –I

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

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When to use the sixth sklon

The sixth sklon is always used with a preposition.

1. the preposition s and z when it means with (if it means from, then it is the second sklon).
   For example, I am talking (with who/what?) with Anna → Pogovarjam se (s kom / s čim?) z Anno⁶. I go with bicycle → Grem s kolesom⁶.

   The preposition s is used before words starting with C, Č, F, H, K, P, S, Š, T and z is used for the rest.

2. following specific preposition
   • the “cubic directions” for location: pred (in front), za (behind), nad (above), pod (below) and med (in between) | i.e. The cat is under the table → Maček je pod mizo⁶.
     

     The prepositions med (in between, during) and pred (in front, before) can be used either for location or time frame.

The use of the sixth sklon is rather simple to understand. On the other hand, remembering the table ending is more problematic as they are longer.

❗ Be careful with the prepositions as some prepositions can be used with more than just one sklon!

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Prepositions are big indicators of skloni. One trick I like to use is to underline prepositions to pinpoint them – it helps me learn which sklon is being use, then I use ^exponential to mark the sklon of a noun. With time and practice, such analysis became an automate and I find t very useful. Hope that trick can help you too!

Prepositions can be confusing at some point – just remember in which situations they are used. If you have any questions, comments – don’t hesitate and leave me a message!

Update – here is my Cheat sheet “Table of Skloni “. More can be found under Learning Materials.

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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.

Fifth Sklon – Locative

The Slovene language has 6 grammatical cases – skloni. Each serves its own purpose, knowing how and when to use them is quite important when learning Slovene.

Before moving on to the fifth sklon, you should be familiar with the First Sklon – Nominative, Fourth Sklon – Accusative and Second Sklon – Genitive. They are the most commonly used cases. By knowing them well, you should be able to get by quite nicely!

But, we are perseverant learners, so let’s learn the fifth sklon!

The fifth sklon is also known as mestnik or lokativ in Slovene and it is the “Locative” case. The mestnik sklon is always used with a preposition.

Here’s the table for the Sklon 5, Locative (I am next to…)

SKLON 5	(m) NOV_ PRIJATELJ_	(ž) NOVA PRIJATELJICA	(s) NOVO LETALO
(E) Sem pri	novem prijatelju	novi prijateljici	novem letalu
(D) Sem pri	novih prijateljih	novih prijateljicah	novih letalih
(M) Sem pri	novih prijateljih	novih prijateljicah	novih letalih

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

❤ And here’s an simplified version of the endings, easier to remember :

SKLON 5	(m)	(ž)	(s)
(E)	–EM –U	-I-I	–EM –U
(D)	–IH –IH	–IH –AH	–IH –IH
(M)	–IH –IH	–IH –AH	–IH –IH

As you can see, many of the endings in Locative is the same. Refer to the colors:

• the masculine form and neutral form are exactly the same,
• the dual masculine/neutral form is the same as its plural form and
• the feminine dual and plural forms are the same.

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When to use the fifth sklon

The fifth sklon is always used with a preposition.

1. the preposition v and na  when it dictates a location, without movement or direction (otherwise, it will be the Fourth sklon)
   For example, I am (where?) in school → Sem (kje?) v šoli⁵. I am at lunch → Sem na kosilu⁵.

   For more information: The prepositions v and na – Fourth Sklon. — With city and country that ends with -ska, -ška, the ending in feminine singular is –em instead of -i. For example: I’m in Croatia → Sem na Hrvaškem.

2. following specific preposition
   • pri (next to) | i.e. I am next to (what? who?) the house / Anna → Sem pri (kom? čem?) hiši⁵ / Anni⁵(Yes, skloni apply to names as well!),
   • ob (at / by) | i.e. I have an appointment (when?) at one o’clock / every Monday → Imam sestanek⁴ (kdaj?) ob enih⁵* / ponedeljkih^5(M). I am sitting by the sea → Sedim ob morju⁵.
     

     *For more information: How to Say Dates and Times in Slovene.

   • po (around / after) | i.e. I travel around the World → Potujem po svetu⁵. Let’s go for coffee after class →  Gremo na kavo⁴ po pouku⁵.
   • o (about) | i.e. We’re talking about the Slovenia→ Pogovarjamo se o Sloveniji⁵.

Luckily with the fifth sklon, this is pretty much all you need to know about it! 🙂

Although, as you noticed, in Slovene, prepositions are important indicators (and hints) of which sklon to use, but BE CAREFUL:

Some prepositions can be used with more than just one sklon!

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Learning Slovene (or any language) can seem like a very big chunk at first, but the trick is to practise it as often as you can and to go step by step!

Questioning and looking for answers are also part of the learning process. So, if you have any questions, comments: don’t hesitate and contact me!

Update – here is my Cheat sheet “Table of Skloni “. More can be found under Learning Materials.

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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.

When to Use the Second Sklon – Genitive

The rodilnik sklon is one of the most commonly used sklon along with the First Sklon – Nominative and the Fourth Sklon – Accusative.  As mentioned in Second Sklon – Genitive, it is used for:

• noun that is directly affected by a negation verb,
• following specific preposition and
• double nouns (samostalnik^X + samostalnik²).

The Second sklon is also used in other situations.

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Here’s other uses of the second sklon

1. following specific verb
   
   • bati se (to fear, to be afraid of) | i.e. I’m afraid of spiders → Bojim se pajkov^2(M).
     

     If the fear is in general, like spiders, the noun is in its plural form.

   • dotakniti se (to touch) | i.e. I wish to touch a rainbow → Želim se dotakniti mavrice^2(E).
   • veseliti se (to be glad, to look forward) | i.e. I look forward to the holidays → Veselim se počitnic^2(M).
   • najesti se (to appease one’s hunger) and napiti se (to appease one’s thirst)
     
2. for dates
   For example, today we are April 9^th → Danes smo devetega aprila².
   

   In Slovene, there are different ways to express dates and times. — How to Say Dates and Times in Slovene – Part 1 How to Say Dates and Time in Slovene – Part 2

3. the noun is quantified – količina
   • Koliko [samostanik]²…? (How many, how much…?)
     i.e. How much time do you have ? → Koliko časa^2(E) imaš?
   • following quantifying adverbs and nouns
     Such as veliko (a lot), malo (a little), liter, škatla (box)…
     i.e. Imam veliko časa^2(E) / Pijem liter^4(E) vode^2(E).
   •  5 and more
     As you already know, 1 is ednina, 2 is dvojina, 3 and 4 is množina and when the number is 5+, the noun is second sklon, plural form.
     i.e. To sta dve litra^1(D) vina^2(E) / To je pet litrov^2(M) vina^2(E)

     With the second sklon, some categories of nouns are only used in ednina or in množina and more rules apply. — How to Express Quantities in Slovene – Second Sklon

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The second sklon can seem very complex at first, and it is a completely normal impression, but DON’T PANIC – take one small bit at the time! 🙂 Learning a new language is a long process, and it takes time and practice!

If you have any questions, feedback or need for help, don’t be shy and contact me!

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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.

Second Sklon – Genitive

As you already know, there are 6 grammatical cases – skloni in Slovene. Knowing how and when to apply them is primordial.

Before getting to the second sklon, you should already know the First Sklon – Nominative and the Fourth Sklon – Accusative.

If you’ve read my previous posts, you will know by now that Slovene word is masculine, feminine or neutral and it has a singular, dual and plural form. Each form can be used with all the 6 grammatical cases – so, in Slovene, every noun has 18 versions.

The second sklon is also known as rodilnik or genitiv in Slovene and it is the “Genitive” case. The rodilnik sklon is one of the most used form of the nouns along with imenovalnik and tožilnik.

Here’s the table for the Sklon 2, Genitive (I don’t have…)

SKLON 2	(m) STAR_ TELEFON_	(ž) NOVA TORBA	(s) VELIKO LETALO
(E) Nimam	starega telefona starega psa	nove torbe	velikega letala vročega morja
(D) Nimam	starih telefonov	novih torb_	velikih letal_
(M) Nimam	starih telefonov	novih torb_	velikih letal_

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

As you can see, in the Genitive case, a lot of endings are the same. Refer to the colors:

• the masculine singular is the same as the neutral singular,
• the masculine dual and plural is the same and
• the feminine dual and plural forms have the exact same ending as the neutral dual and plural forms.

❤ And here’s an simplified version of the endings, easier to remember :

SKLON 2	(m)	(ž)	(s)
(E)	–EGA –A	-E-E	–EGA –A
(D)	–IH –OV*	–IH –_	–IH –_
(M)	–IH –OV*	–IH –_	–IH –_

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

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When to use the second sklon

1. the noun is directly affected by a negation verb
   For example, I don’t have (what? who?) a telephone  → Nimam (česa? koga?) telefona^2(E)/ I don’t drink coffee → Ne pijem kave^2(E).
2. following specific preposition
   • iz or s/z(from) – to answer the question Od kod ste? (Where are you from?) | i.e. I’m from Canada → Sem iz Kanade² / She is from China → Ona je s Kitajske².
     

     The prepositions v and na – Fourth Sklon — When we use the preposition v in the fourth sklon, we use the preposition iz in the second sklon. — When we use the preposition na for the fourth sklon, we use the preposition s/z. (s is used if the following word starts with C, Č, F, H, K, P, S, Š and T).

   • brez(without), od… do (from… to), blizu* (near), zraven/poleg (next to, beside), nasproti (facing), mimo* (passing by), preko (across), sredi (in the middle), okoli* (around) and izmed (among all).
     

     * Please note that those are considered as “fake preposition” as they categorized as adverbs.

3. the double nouns (samostalnik^X + samostalnik²)
   The Slovene noun + noun is like two nouns connected with the preposition “of” in English.
   For example, let’s use school of Slovene (šola^X + slovenščina²) with different skloni:
   • Sklon 1: To je šola¹ slovenščine² /To ni šola¹ slovenščine²
   • Sklon 4: Grem v šolo⁴ slovenščine² /  Ne grem v šolo⁴ slovenščine²  / Imam šolo⁴ slovenščine² danes.
   • Sklon 2: Nimam šole² slovenščine² danes.
     

     Notice how the first noun is used with the corresponding sklon and how the second noun is always in its second sklon form.

The second sklon is used at other occasions as well, but if you can remember and learn those written here, you’re already doing a great job! I know it’s a lot of information at once, but

Vaja dela mojstra – Practice makes perfect.

If you are up to learn more uses of the second sklon, you can check When to use the Second Sklon – Genitive.

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I remember how confused while learning the first, fourth and second sklon. Therefore, if you are currently feeling confused, overwhelmed and/or completely lost – don’t worry, it is absolutely normal and part of the learning (and trust me, it will get better!).

If you have any questions, because you might have: don’t be shy and contact me for help! If you have any other learning tricks, please do share with me – we are all learners!

Knowing the first, fourth and second sklon  (which are the most commonly used ones) – you already know half (50%!) of the 6 Slovene grammatical cases! Woohoo! 😀

Update – here is my Cheat sheet “Table of Skloni “. More can be found under Learning Materials.

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

Don’t give up, let’s learn,
Anna.

Fourth Sklon – Accusative

Slovene is a very specific language, its grammar is categorized into 6 grammatical cases – skloni. Knowing when and how to use the skloni is very important when learning Slovene.

Before learning the fourth sklon, you should be very familiar with the First Sklon – Nominative.

As you already known from my previous post, Slovene word is masculine, feminine or neutral and it has a singular, dual and plural form – each form can be used with 6 grammatical cases, giving a total of 18 versions of one simple word 🙂 but don’t panic, one step at the time.

The fourth sklon is also known as tožilnik or akuzativ in Slovene and it is the “Accusative” case. The tožilnik sklon is one of the most commonly used form of the nouns.

If you known the table for the Sklon 1, learning the Sklon 4 will be very easy. Pay attention to the text in blue.

Here’s the table for the Sklon 1, Nominative (this is/ these are…)

SKLON 1	(m) STAR_ TELEFON_	(ž) NOVA TORBA	(s) VELIKO LETALO
(E) To je	star_ telefon_ star_ pes	nova torba	veliko letalo vroče morje
(D) To sta	stara telefona	novi torbi	veliki letali
(M) To so	stari telefoni	nove torbe	velika letala

And here’s the table for Sklon 4, Accusative (I have…)

SKLON 4	(m) STAR_ TELEFON_	(ž) NOVA TORBA	(s) VELIKO LETALO
(E) Imam	star_ telefon_ starega psa	novo torbo	veliko letalo vroče morje
(D) Imam	stara telefona	novi torbi	veliki letali
(M) Imam	stare telefone	nove torbe	velika letala

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

As you can see, most of the endings in the Accusative case are the same as the Nominative case – only three endings are different.

❤ A simplified version of the ending:

SKLON 1	(m)	(ž)	(s)
(E)	-Ø -Ø –Ø –Ø ♥	–A –A	-O/E* -O/E
(D)	-A -A	-I -I	-I -I
(M)	–I –I	-E -E	-A -A

and

SKLON 4	(m)	(ž)	(s)
(E)	-Ø -Ø –EGA –A ♥	–O –O	-O/E* -O/E
(D)	-A -A	-I -I	-I -I
(M)	–E –E	-E -E	-A -A

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

If we compare the endings in the two cases:

• the singular masculine form for thing such as telefon (a telephone) remains the same BUT when we refer to a singular masculine form that is alive (with a heart ❤ ) such as pes (a dog), the ending is –ega and –a,
  

  ∴ singular masculine that has a beating ❤ :  –Ø –Ø → –EGA –A

• the plural masculine form: –I –I → –E –E and
• the singular feminine form: –A –A → –O –O.

∴ To je kava¹(this is coffee) → Pijem kavo⁴(I drink coffee).

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When to use the fourth sklon

1. the noun is directly affected by the verb
   For example, I have (what? who?) a telephone/ dog → Imam (kaj? koga?) telefon⁴ / psa⁴.

   ∴ nouns in fourth sklon is used with most of verbs such as jesti (to eat), imeti (to have), kupiti (to buy), kuhati (to cook), brati (to read)…

2. the double verbs phrase imeti + rad_ […]⁴ → I would like to have […]
   For example, I would like to have a coffee → Rad_ imam kavo⁴.
3. there is movement or direction with the preposition: v  and na.
   For example, I go (where?) to school → Grem (kam?) v šolo⁴. I go (where?) on a trip → Grem (kam?) na izlet⁴.
   

   For more information: The prepositions v and na – Fourth Sklon.

   ∴ verbs that have a direction to a place such as hoditi (to walk), voziti (to drive), iti (to go), priti (to come), teči (to run)…

4. following specific preposition
   • za (for) | i.e. I have a (what?) gift for (who?) Anna → Imam (kaj?) darilo⁴ za (koga?) Anno⁴. (Yes, skloni apply to names as well!),
   • skozi(through), čez (across) and
   • the “cubic directions” for direction: pred (in front), za (behind), nad (above), pod (below) and med (in between).

There are more, but if you know how and when to use the Nominative and Accusative cases, even in a basic way, you are off for a great start!

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During my Slovene classes, one of my favorite and personal trick was to put the number of the corresponding sklon in  ^superscript  next to every noun – doing so helped me identify and pinpoint which sklon was used and why. After awhile, it became an “automate” respond from my brain, which made learning Slovene much easier! If you decide to use my trick, I hope it helps you as much as it helped me!

The Accusative case can be very difficult at first, so if you have any questions, don’t hesitate and contact me – I’m here to help you.

Update – here is my Cheat sheet “Table of Skloni “. More can be found under Learning Materials.

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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.

First Sklon – Nominative

Slovene grammar is  divided into 6 grammatical cases – called  skloni. Depending on the situation, you will use a specific sklon. Each sklon has its own ending for the masculine, feminine and neutral form (if you’re not sure what’s that about, check How to Determine the Gender of a Noun in Slovene) as well as the singular, dual and plural form. So, with some calculations, one noun can be written in 18 different ways.

DON’T PANIC!

It may seems a lot at first, but once you understand how it works, it’s not that difficult!

The first sklon is also known as imenovalnik in Slovene and it is the “Nominative” case. The imenovalnik sklon is the “original” form of the noun, meaning, the form you will find in the dictionary.

In Slovene, everything has to match: the adjective, the noun (subject) as well as the conjugation of the verb.

Here’s an table with an example of an adjective with its noun:

SKLON 1	(m) STAR_ TELEFON_	(ž) NOVA TORBA	(s) VELIKO LETALO
(E) To je	star_ telefon_	nova torba	veliko letalo vroče morje
(D) To sta	stara telefona	novi torbi	veliki letali
(M) To so	stari telefoni	nove torbe	velika letala

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

❤ A simplified version of the ending that you need to remember:

SKLON 1	(m)	(ž)	(s)
(E)	-Ø -Ø	-A -A	-O/E* -O/E
(D)	-A -A	-I -I	-I -I
(M)	-I -I	-E -E	-A -A

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

As you can see,

• the ending of the dual masculine form (marked in blue) is the same as the plural neutral form and
• the ending of the plural masculine form (marked in orange) is the same as the dual neutral form.

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Once you’ve learn the ending of the first sklon, all you need to know is when to apply it.

When to use the first sklon

1. the noun is the subject.
   For example, the telephone is blue → telefon je moder.
2. the noun is used with specific “pre-made” phrases:
   • všeč mi je […] → I like […] | i.e. všeč mi je čokolada (I like chocolate),
   • boli me […] → […] hurts me and
   • zanima me […] → […] interest me.
3.  the noun is used with specific verbs:
   • biti (to be) with its positive and negative form | i.e. to je/ni torba (this is/is not a bag),
   • postati (to become), ostati (to remain) and imenovati (to name).

There are more, but knowing those above is already a great start!

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Learning a new language is sometimes challenging but it should be fun at the same time  🙂 – we all have to start somewhere and memorizing the first sklon is not only a good start but also a needed step to properly learn Slovene!

If you have any questions or more tricks you would like to share, please leave me a comment and I will get back at you – we are all here to refine our Slovene!

Update – here is my Cheat sheet “Table of Skloni “. More can be found under Learning Materials.

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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.

How to Determine the Gender of a Noun in Slovene

Knowing the gender of a noun is very important in Slovene, especially if you want to use the correct declension. Slovene nouns are categorized in 3 genders: masculine, feminine and neuter.

Slovene is also very precise, but it can be very tricky at the same time.

Masculine nouns in Slovene generally end with a consonant (i.e. stol – chair; telefon – telephone; računalnik – computer…).

However, there’s some exceptions:

• international words that doesn’t end with the usual consonant(i.e. avto, radio, taksi, hobi, kanu, nivo, metro, abonma, kino, kuli, bife…) and
• masculine names (i.e. Tone, Jože, Žiga, Miha, Luka…) and also oče – father.

Feminine nouns in Slovene usually end with an “a” (i.e. miza – table, torbica – handbag, omara – cabinet…).

However, there’s some exceptions as well:

• words ending with -EV, -OST (i.e. cerkev – church; breskev – peach; lastnost – property; starost – age…),
• some words ending with -EN, -EM, -EL (i.e. ljubezen – love; pesem – song; misel – thought…) and
• some short nouns (i.e. miš – mouse; luč – light; kri – blood; stvar – thing…).

The list of Feminine nouns exceptions is pretty long and you just have to know it by ❤ , but we will learn about it in another post.

Neuter nouns in Slovene are easier to recognized as they end with “e” or “o” (i.e. sonce – sun; morje – sea; letalo – airplane, kolo – bike; drevo – tree…). Although, be careful that they aren’t an exceptions in the masculine category.

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Remember, this are guidelines how to determine the gender of nouns in their first form (the one you will find in the dictionary), which is the singular form in the Slovene First Sklon – Nominative.

The Slovene language has a lot of exceptions, and one tool I like to use, especially when I’m not sure of the gender, is Amebis Besana. You type in the word as it is and it will show you the noun in singular, dual, plural as well as in all its possible forms.

If you have any questions or other tools that you use and would like to share with me, don’t be shy and drop me a comment below!

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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.