SLOVENIAN GRAMMAR
1- SLOVENIAN ALPHABET
2- WORD ORDER
1 Basic S + V Jaz spim. I sleep.
2 Direct object S + V + DO Jaz berem knjigo. I read the book.
3 Indirect object S + V + IO + DO Jaz mu dam knjigo. I give him the book.
4 Beneficiary S + V + DO + za + Beneficiary Kupim knjigo zanj. I buy a book for him.
5 IO pronoun S + IO + V + DO Jaz mu dam knjigo. I give him the book.
6 Adjective S + biti + Adj Knjiga je velika. The book is big.
7 Adverb S + V + Adv On hitro bere. He reads quickly.
8 Direct object + adverb S + V + DO + Adv Jaz hitro berem knjigo. I read the book quickly.
9 Time adverb S + V + Time Danes delam. I work today.
10 Place adverb S + V + Place On živi tam. He lives there.
11 Location phrase S + biti + Location Knjiga je na mizi. The book is on the table.
12 DO + location S + V + DO + Location Knjigo sem položil na mizo. I put the book on the table.
13 Determiner + noun Dem + N Ta knjiga je nova. This book is new.
14 Determiner + adjective + noun Dem + Adj + N Ta velika knjiga je nova. This big book is new.
15 Numeral + noun Num + N Dve knjigi sta novi. Two books are new.
16 Conjunction Clause + Conj + Clause Jaz berem in on piše. I read and he writes.
17 Conjunction + objects S + V + DO + Conj + S + V + DO Jaz berem knjigo in on piše pismo. I read the book and he writes a letter.
18 Present passive S + biti + passive participle Knjiga je prebrana. The book is read / has been read.
19 Passive + agent S + biti + passive participle + od + Agent Knjiga je prebrana od njega. The book is read by him.
20 Passive + IO S + IO + biti + passive participle Knjiga mu je dana. The book is given to him.
21 Passive + IO + agent S + IO + biti + passive participle + od + Agent Knjiga mu je dana od učitelja. The book is given to him by the teacher.
22 Passive + adverb S + biti + passive participle + Time Knjiga je prebrana danes. The book is read today.
23 Passive + location S + biti + passive participle + Location Knjiga je položena na mizo. The book is put on the table.
24 Passive + agent + adverb S + biti + passive participle + Time + od + Agent Knjiga je danes prebrana od njega. The book is read by him today.
25 Passive + agent + IO + adverb S + IO + biti + Time + passive participle + od + Agent Knjiga mu je danes dana od učitelja. The book is given to him by the teacher today.
26 Perfect passive S + biti (past) + participle Knjiga je bila prebrana. The book has been read / was read.
27 Perfect passive + agent S + biti (past) + participle + od + Agent Knjiga je bila prebrana od njega. The book was read by him.
28 Future passive S + biti (future) + passive participle Knjiga bo prebrana. The book will be read.
29 Future passive + agent S + biti (future) + passive participle + od + Agent Knjiga bo prebrana od njega. The book will be read by him.
30 Modal passive S + modal + passive construction Knjigo je treba prebrati. The book must be read.
31 Negative S + ne + V + DO Jaz ne berem knjige. I do not read the book.
32 Negative passive S + ne + biti + passive participle + agent Knjiga ni prebrana od njega. The book is not read by him.
33 Yes/no question V + S + DO? Bereš knjigo? Do you read the book?
34 Passive question S + biti + passive participle? Ali je knjiga prebrana? Is the book read?
35 Agent question Kdo + V + DO? Kdo bere knjigo? Who is reading the book?
36 IO question Komu + V + DO? Komu daš knjigo? To whom do you give the book?
37 Imperative Imperative + DO Preberi knjigo! Read the book!
38 Imperative + IO Imperative + IO + DO Daj mu knjigo! Give him the book!
39 Passive imperative naj + bo + passive participle Naj bo knjiga prebrana! Let the book be read!
40 Verbal noun verb stem + -anje/-enje etc. Branje reading
41 Verbal noun + DO verbal noun + DO Branje knjige reading the book
42 Infinitive infinitive brati to read
43 Purpose S + V + da bi + past participle Jem, da bi se igral. I eat in order to play.
44 Relative clause N + ki/katerega + clause Knjiga, ki jo berem, je zanimiva. The book that I am reading is interesting.
45 Passive relative N + ki + passive clause Knjiga, ki jo je prebral, je zanimiva. The book that he read is interesting.
46 Conditional Če + clause, conditional + V Če bi imel čas, bi prebral knjigo. If I had time, I would read the book.
47 Conditional + passive Če + passive clause, conditional passive Če bi bila knjiga prebrana, bi razumel zgodbo. If the book were read, he would understand the story.
48 Reported speech S + V + da + clause On pravi, da bere knjigo. He says that he is reading a book.
49 Reported question S + V + ali + clause On vpraša, ali berem knjigo. He asks if I am reading the book.
50 Reported command/request S + V + person + naj + present Prosi me, naj preberem knjigo. He asks me to read the book.
for him zanj Slovenian uses za + accusative, not za + beneficiary in the Romanian pattern
to him mu / njemu Dative
by him od njega od + genitive
the book knjigo Slovenian normally has no definite article
this book ta knjiga ta agrees with the noun
two books dve knjigi Slovenian has a dual
who kdo nominative
to whom komu dative
that/who ki relative pronoun
if če conditional conjunction
reported that da da introduces reported statements
reported yes/no question ali ali introduces indirect yes/no questions
reported command naj + present e.g. Prosi me, naj pridem.
must be read Knjigo je treba prebrati. Very common impersonal passive-like
ADVERBS:
1 Manner Manner adverb + Verb / usually after the verb Knjigo berem hitro. I read the book quickly.
2 Place Place adverb + Verb/Clause Knjigo berem tukaj. I read the book here.
3 Time Time adverb + Clause / beginning, middle, or end Včeraj sem prebral knjigo. I read a book yesterday.
4 Frequency Frequency adverb + Verb / usually near the verb Jaz pogosto berem knjige. I often read books.
5 Frequency + be Subject + biti + Frequency adverb + Predicate On je vedno srečen. He is always happy.
6 Frequency + auxiliary Frequency adverb + Auxiliary + Past participle Nikoli ga nisem videl. I have never seen him.
7 Degree Degree adverb + Adjective/Adverb To je zelo dobro. This is very good.
8 Degree + verb Degree/intensity adverb + Verb To mi je zelo všeč. I really like it.
9 Sentence adverb Sentence adverb + Clause / usually beginning Na srečo, sem zmagal. Fortunately, I won.
10 Comment adverb Comment expression + Clause / usually beginning Iskreno povedano, ne vem. Honestly, I don't know.
11 Linking adverb Linking adverb + Clause Bil sem utrujen. Vendar sem nadaljeval z delom. I was tired; however, I continued working.
12 Direction Directional adverb + Verb Šel je ven. He went outside.
13 Definite frequency vsak + Time noun + Verb V šolo hodim vsak dan. I go to school every day.
14 Duration Time expression + Verb Učil sem se dve uri. I studied for two hours.
15 Purpose da + Present-tense verb / za + verbal noun Grem tja študirat. I am going there to study.
INDIRECT OBJECT:
1 Basic IO S + V + IO(Dat.) + DO Jaz dam učencu knjigo. I give the student a book.
2 IO pronoun S + IO pronoun + V + DO Jaz mu dam knjigo. I give him the book.
3 IO question Komu? + V + DO Komu daš knjigo? To whom do you give the book?
4 Masculine noun N → Dative Dam učitelju knjigo. I give the teacher a book.
5 Feminine noun N → Dative Dam mami knjigo. I give Mom a book.
6 Plural IO N(pl.) → Dative plural Dam učiteljem knjige. I give the teachers books.
7 IO + DO S + V + Dat. + Acc. Ona pošlje prijatelju pismo. She sends her friend a letter.
8 IO pronoun + DO S + Dat. pronoun + V + Acc. Ona mu pošlje pismo. She sends him a letter.
9 Dative "to me" meni / mi Da mi knjigo. He gives me the book.
10 Dative "to you" tebi / ti Da ti knjigo. He gives you the book.
11 Dative "to him" njemu / mu Da mu knjigo. He gives him the book.
12 Dative "to her" njej / ji Da ji knjigo. He gives her the book.
13 Dative "to us" nam Da nam knjigo. He gives us the book.
14 Dative "to you" plural vam Da vam knjigo. He gives you the book.
15 Dative "to them" njim / jim Da jim knjigo. He gives them the book.
16 Verb requiring dative V + Dat. Pomagam prijatelju. I help my friend.
17 Dative + passive Dat. + biti + participle Učencu je dana knjiga. A book is given to the student.
18 Negative IO S + ne + V + Dat. + DO Ne dam mu knjige. I don't give him the book.
19 IO vs. beneficiary Dat. vs. za + Acc. Dam mu knjigo. / Kupim knjigo zanj. I give him a book. / I buy a book for him.
GENITIVE:
Possession N + Gen. knjiga učitelja teacher's book
"of" N + Gen. ime mesta name of the city
Negation ne + V + Gen. Ne berem knjige. I don't read the book.
Quantity quantity + Gen. veliko knjig many books
Numbers 5+ number + Gen. pl. pet knjig five books
Without brez + Gen. brez vode without water
From/out of iz + Gen. iz hiše from/out of the house
From person od + Gen. od prijatelja from a friend
Up to/to do + Gen. do mesta to/up to the city
Because of zaradi + Gen. zaradi dežja because of the rain
Besides poleg + Gen. poleg hiše beside the house
Instead of namesto + Gen. namesto njega instead of him
Around okoli + Gen. okoli mesta around the city
Near blizu + Gen. blizu šole near the school
INDEPENDENT:
mine moj / moja / moje Ta knjiga je moja. This book is mine.
yours (sg.) tvoj / tvoja / tvoje Ta knjiga je tvoja. This book is yours.
his njegov / njegova / njegovo Ta knjiga je njegova. This book is his.
hers njen / njena / njeno Ta knjiga je njena. This book is hers.
ours naš / naša / naše Ta knjiga je naša. This book is ours.
yours (pl./formal) vaš / vaša / vaše Ta knjiga je vaša. This book is yours.
theirs njihov / njihova / njihovo Ta knjiga je njihova. This book is theirs.
one's own svoj / svoja / svoje Ta knjiga je moja / svoja. This book is mine / one's own.
Masculine singular moj avto avto je moj
Feminine singular moja knjiga knjiga je moja
Neuter singular moje mesto mesto je moje
Masculine plural moji prijatelji prijatelji so moji
Feminine plural moje knjige knjige so moje
Neuter plural moja mesta mesta so moja
WAS GOING TO:
was going to / intended to past hoteti + infinitive Hotel sem iti.
was planning to past načrtovati + infinitive Načrtoval sem iti.
intended to past nameravati + infinitive Nameraval sem iti.
was about to ravno + past hoteti + infinitive Ravno sem hotel iti.
wasn't going to ne + past hoteti + infinitive Nisem hotel iti.
was going to, but... past hoteti + infinitive + ampak Hotel sem iti, ampak...
jaz hotel sem iti I was going to go
ti hotel si iti you were going to go
on hotel je iti he was going to go
ona hotela je iti she was going to go
ono hotelo je iti it was going to go
midva hotela sva iti we two were going to go
vidva hotela sta iti you two were going to go
onadva hotela sta iti they two were going to go
mi hoteli smo iti we were going to go
ve hotele ste iti you were going to go
oni hoteli so iti they were going to go
one hotele so iti they were going to go
I wasn't going to go. Nisem hotel iti.
She wasn't going to go. Ni hotela iti.
We weren't going to go. Nismo hoteli iti.
They weren't going to go. Niso hoteli iti.
For a female speaker:
Nisem hotela iti.
= I wasn't going to go.
Hotel sem kupiti avto.
I was going to buy a car.
Hotel sem mu povedati.
I was going to tell him.
Hotel sem iti, ampak nisem imel časa.
I was going to go, but I didn't have time.
Ravno sem hotel iti domov.
I was just about to go home.
Načrtoval sem iti domov.
= I was planning to go home.
Načrtovala sem iti domov.
= I was planning to go home. (female)
2- NOUNS
Pattern 1 — Masculine Consonant
Example:
fant (boy)
Singular
Case Ending Form Translation
Nominative — fant boy
Genitive -a fanta of the boy
Dative -u fantu to the boy
Accusative -a* fanta the boy
Locative -u fantu about the boy
Instrumental -om fantom with the boy
*Masculine animate nouns take the genitive form in the accusative.
Dual
Case Form
Nominative fanta
Genitive fantov
Dative fantoma
Accusative fanta
Locative fantoma
Instrumental fantoma
Plural
Case Form
Nominative fantje
Genitive fantov
Dative fantom
Accusative fante
Locative fantih
Instrumental fanti
Pattern 2 — Masculine Ending in -a
Example:
kolega (colleague)
Singular
Case Form
Nominative kolega
Genitive kolega
Dative kolegu
Accusative kolega
Locative kolegu
Instrumental kolegom
Plural:
Case Form
Nominative kolegi
Genitive kolegov
Dative kolegom
Accusative kolege
Locative kolegih
Instrumental kolegi
Pattern 3 — Feminine -a
Example:
žena (woman)
Singular
Case Ending Form Translation
Nominative -a žena woman
Genitive -e žene of the woman
Dative -i ženi to the woman
Accusative -o ženo the woman
Locative -i ženi about the woman
Instrumental -o ženo with the woman
Dual
Case Form
Nominative ženi
Genitive žen
Dative ženama
Accusative ženi
Locative ženama
Instrumental ženama
Plural
Case Form
Nominative žene
Genitive žen
Dative ženam
Accusative žene
Locative ženah
Instrumental ženami
Pattern 4 — Feminine Consonant
Example:
noč (night)
Singular
Case Form
Nominative noč
Genitive noči
Dative noči
Accusative noč
Locative noči
Instrumental nočjo
Plural:
Case Form
Nominative noči
Genitive noči
Dative nočem
Accusative noči
Locative nočeh
Instrumental nočmi
Pattern 5 — Neuter in -o
Example:
okno (window)
Singular
Case Form
Nominative okno
Genitive okna
Dative oknu
Accusative okno
Locative oknu
Instrumental oknom
Dual
Case Form
Nominative okni
Genitive oken
Dative oknoma
Accusative okni
Locative oknoma
Instrumental oknoma
Plural
Case Form
Nominative okna
Genitive oken
Dative oknom
Accusative okna
Locative oknih
Instrumental okni
Pattern 6 — Neuter in -e
Example:
morje (sea)
Singular
Case Form
Nominative morje
Genitive morja
Dative morju
Accusative morje
Locative morju
Instrumental morjem
Plural:
Case Form
Nominative morja
Genitive morij
Dative morjem
Accusative morja
Locative morjih
Instrumental morji
Masculine Animate vs. Inanimate
This distinction affects the accusative singular.
Type Nominative Accusative Translation
Animate fant fanta boy
Animate pes psa dog
Inanimate stol stol chair
Inanimate avto avto car
Common Stem Changes
Some nouns change their stem during declension.
Dictionary Form Changed Stem Example
človek (person) ljud- (plural) ljudje
otrok (child) otroc- otroci
oko (eye) oč- oči
uho (ear) uš- ušesa
Pattern 7 — Masculine in -ec
Many masculine nouns ending in -ec lose -e- in oblique cases.
Example:
otec (father)
Singular
Case Form Translation
Nominative oče father
Genitive očeta of the father
Dative očetu to the father
Accusative očeta father
Locative očetu about the father
Instrumental očetom with the father
Plural
Case Form
Nominative očetje
Genitive očetov
Dative očetom
Accusative očete
Locative očetih
Instrumental očeti
Stem change
oče → očet-
Examples:
Oče bere.
The father is reading.
Vidim očeta.
I see the father.
Pattern 8 — Masculine ending in -r
Example:
zdravnik (doctor)
Singular
Case Form
Nominative zdravnik
Genitive zdravnika
Dative zdravniku
Accusative zdravnika
Locative zdravniku
Instrumental zdravnikom
Plural
Case Form
Nominative zdravniki
Genitive zdravnikov
Dative zdravnikom
Accusative zdravnike
Locative zdravnikih
Instrumental zdravniki
This follows the regular masculine pattern.
Pattern 9 — Masculine with Palatalization
Some nouns soften the final consonant before certain endings.
Example:
junak (hero)
Plural:
Case Form
Nominative junaki
Genitive junakov
Dative junakom
Accusative junake
Locative junakih
Instrumental junaki
Other examples:
vojak (soldier)
učenjak (scholar)
Pattern 10 — Masculine with Irregular Plural
Example:
človek (person)
Singular
Case Form
Nominative človek
Genitive človeka
Dative človeku
Accusative človeka
Locative človeku
Instrumental človekom
Plural
Case Form
Nominative ljudje
Genitive ljudi
Dative ljudem
Accusative ljudi
Locative ljudeh
Instrumental ljudmi
Stem change
človek → ljud-
Examples:
Ljudje prihajajo.
People are coming.
Govorim z ljudmi.
I am speaking with people.
Pattern 11 — Child Nouns
Example:
otrok (child)
Singular
Case Form
Nominative otrok
Genitive otroka
Dative otroku
Accusative otroka
Locative otroku
Instrumental otrokom
Plural
Case Form
Nominative otroci
Genitive otrok
Dative otrokom
Accusative otroke
Locative otrocih
Instrumental otroki
Stem change:
otrok → otroc-
Pattern 12 — Neuter with Irregular Plural
Example:
oko (eye)
Singular
Case Form
Nominative oko
Genitive očesa
Dative očesu
Accusative oko
Locative očesu
Instrumental očesom
Plural
Case Form
Nominative oči
Genitive oči
Dative očem
Accusative oči
Locative očeh
Instrumental očmi
Stem change:
oko → oč-
Pattern 13 — Neuter with Stem Change
Example:
uho (ear)
Singular
Case Form
Nominative uho
Genitive ušesa
Dative ušesu
Accusative uho
Locative ušesu
Instrumental ušesom
Plural
Case Form
Nominative ušesa
Genitive ušes
Dative ušesom
Accusative ušesa
Locative ušesih
Instrumental ušesi
Stem change:
uho → ušes-
Pattern 14 — Feminine in -ev
Example:
kri (blood)
Singular
Case Form
Nominative kri
Genitive krvi
Dative krvi
Accusative kri
Locative krvi
Instrumental krvjo
This belongs to the feminine consonant declension.
Pattern 15 — Feminine in -ost
Example:
mladost (youth)
Singular
Case Form
Nominative mladost
Genitive mladosti
Dative mladosti
Accusative mladost
Locative mladosti
Instrumental mladostjo
Plural:
Case Form
Nominative mladosti
Genitive mladosti
Dative mladostim
Accusative mladosti
Locative mladostih
Instrumental mladostmi
Pattern 16 — Feminine Abstract Nouns
Example:
ljubezen (love)
Singular
Case Form
Nominative ljubezen
Genitive ljubezni
Dative ljubezni
Accusative ljubezen
Locative ljubezni
Instrumental ljubeznijo
Pattern 17 — Foreign Masculine Nouns
Example:
hotel
These usually decline like regular masculine nouns.
Case Form
Nominative hotel
Genitive hotela
Dative hotelu
Accusative hotel
Locative hotelu
Instrumental hotelom
Pattern 18 — Indeclinable Foreign Nouns
Some recent loanwords remain unchanged.
Examples:
kaki (khaki)
kiwi (kiwi, in some usages)
taxi (taxi)
Case Form
Nominative taxi
Genitive taxi
Dative taxi
Accusative taxi
Locative taxi
Instrumental taxi
Common Stem Alternations
Dictionary Form Changed Stem Example
človek ljud- ljudje
otrok otroc- otroci
oko oč- oči
uho ušes- ušesa
oče očet- očeta
Pattern 19 — Masculine Nouns Ending in -elj
Example:
prijatelj (friend)
The -elj changes to -lj- before endings.
Singular
Case Form Translation
Nominative prijatelj friend
Genitive prijatelja of the friend
Dative prijatelju to the friend
Accusative prijatelja friend
Locative prijatelju about the friend
Instrumental prijateljem with the friend
Plural
Case Form
Nominative prijatelji
Genitive prijateljev
Dative prijateljem
Accusative prijatelje
Locative prijateljih
Instrumental prijatelji
Pattern 20 — Masculine Profession Nouns
Example:
učitelj (teacher)
These decline like prijatelj.
Case Singular
Nominative učitelj
Genitive učitelja
Dative učitelju
Accusative učitelja
Locative učitelju
Instrumental učiteljem
Plural:
učitelji
učiteljev
učiteljem
učitelje
učiteljih
učitelji
Pattern 21 — Masculine in -ar
Example:
gospodar (master)
Singular
Case Form
Nominative gospodar
Genitive gospodarja
Dative gospodarju
Accusative gospodarja
Locative gospodarju
Instrumental gospodarjem
Plural:
gospodarji
gospodarjev
gospodarjem
gospodarje
gospodarjih
gospodarji
Pattern 22 — Masculine Family Names
Example:
Novak
Declines like ordinary masculine nouns.
Case Form
Nominative Novak
Genitive Novaka
Dative Novaku
Accusative Novaka
Locative Novaku
Instrumental Novakom
Example:
Vidim Novaka.
I see Novak.
Pattern 23 — Feminine in -ev
Example:
cerkev (church)
This noun is irregular.
Singular
Case Form
Nominative cerkev
Genitive cerkve
Dative cerkvi
Accusative cerkev
Locative cerkvi
Instrumental cerkvijo
Plural:
Case Form
Nominative cerkve
Genitive cerkva
Dative cerkvam
Accusative cerkve
Locative cerkvah
Instrumental cerkvami
Pattern 24 — Feminine in -zen
Example:
bolezen (illness)
Singular
Case Form
Nominative bolezen
Genitive bolezni
Dative bolezni
Accusative bolezen
Locative bolezni
Instrumental boleznijo
Plural:
bolezni
bolezni
boleznim
bolezni
boleznih
boleznimi
Pattern 25 — Feminine Abstract Nouns in -ost
Example:
modrost (wisdom)
These follow the same pattern as mladost.
Case Singular
Nominative modrost
Genitive modrosti
Dative modrosti
Accusative modrost
Locative modrosti
Instrumental modrostjo
Pattern 26 — Neuter in -je
Example:
polje (field)
Singular
Case Form
Nominative polje
Genitive polja
Dative polju
Accusative polje
Locative polju
Instrumental poljem
Plural:
polja
polj
poljem
polja
poljih
polji
Pattern 27 — Neuter Collective Nouns
Example:
listje (foliage)
Usually treated as a singular collective noun.
Case Form
Nominative listje
Genitive listja
Dative listju
Accusative listje
Locative listju
Instrumental listjem
Pattern 28 — Singular-Only (Mass) Nouns
Examples:
mleko (milk)
maslo (butter)
zlato (gold)
Normally used only in the singular.
Example:
Case mleko
Nominative mleko
Genitive mleka
Dative mleku
Accusative mleko
Locative mleku
Instrumental mlekom
Pattern 29 — Plural-Only Nouns (Pluralia Tantum)
Some nouns exist only in the plural.
Examples:
vrata (door)
škarje (scissors)
hlače (trousers)
Example: vrata (door)
Case Form
Nominative vrata
Genitive vrat
Dative vratom
Accusative vrata
Locative vratih
Instrumental vrati
Example:
Vrata so odprta.
The door is open.
Pattern 30 — Irregular Human Nouns
Example:
gospa (lady, Mrs.)
Singular
Case Form
Nominative gospa
Genitive gospe
Dative gospe
Accusative gospo
Locative gospe
Instrumental gospo
Plural:
gospe
gospa
gospe
gospe
gospah
gospami
Pattern 31 — Masculine Nouns Ending in -an
Example:
meščan (townsman)
Singular
Case Form Translation
Nominative meščan townsman
Genitive meščana of the townsman
Dative meščanu to the townsman
Accusative meščana the townsman
Locative meščanu about the townsman
Instrumental meščanom with the townsman
Plural
Case Form
Nominative meščani
Genitive meščanov
Dative meščanom
Accusative meščane
Locative meščanih
Instrumental meščani
Other examples:
Ljubljančan (person from Ljubljana)
vaščan (villager)
Pattern 32 — Masculine Nationalities
Example:
Slovenec (a Slovenian man)
The stem changes from Slovenec to Slovenc- in oblique cases.
Singular
Case Form
Nominative Slovenec
Genitive Slovenca
Dative Slovencu
Accusative Slovenca
Locative Slovencu
Instrumental Slovencem
Plural
Case Form
Nominative Slovenci
Genitive Slovencev
Dative Slovencem
Accusative Slovence
Locative Slovencih
Instrumental Slovenci
Other examples:
Nemec (German)
Italijan (Italian)
Francoz (Frenchman)
Pattern 33 — Masculine Animal Nouns
Animals are animate, so they use the genitive form in the accusative.
Example:
pes (dog)
Singular
Case Form
Nominative pes
Genitive psa
Dative psu
Accusative psa
Locative psu
Instrumental psom
Plural:
psi
psov
psom
pse
psih
psi
Pattern 34 — Masculine Inanimate Nouns
Example:
most (bridge)
The accusative is the same as the nominative.
Case Form
Nominative most
Genitive mostu
Dative mostu
Accusative most
Locative mostu
Instrumental mostom
Other examples:
zid (wall)
kamen (stone)
ključ (key)
Pattern 35 — Feminine Proper Names in -a
Example:
Marija
They follow the regular feminine -a declension.
Case Form
Nominative Marija
Genitive Marije
Dative Mariji
Accusative Marijo
Locative Mariji
Instrumental Marijo
Pattern 36 — Feminine Names Ending in a Consonant
Some borrowed names remain indeclinable or decline only slightly.
Examples:
Ines
Doris
Iris
Many speakers leave them unchanged, though formal Slovenian may decline some of them depending on pronunciation.
Pattern 37 — Neuter Diminutives in -ce
Example:
srce (heart)
Singular
Case Form
Nominative srce
Genitive srca
Dative srcu
Accusative srce
Locative srcu
Instrumental srcem
Plural:
srca
src
srcem
srca
srcih
srci
Pattern 38 — Foreign Words Ending in a Vowel
Some borrowed nouns ending in -i, -u, -o are only partly declined.
Examples:
radio
kino
menu
Example:
radio
Case Form
Nominative radio
Genitive radia
Dative radiu
Accusative radio
Locative radiu
Instrumental radiem
Pattern 39 — Acronyms
Acronyms may remain unchanged or take regular endings.
Example:
EU
EU
EU-ja
EU-ju
EU
EU-ju
EU-jem
Pattern 40 — Indeclinable Abbreviations
Many abbreviations do not change.
Examples:
TV
CD
DVD
The case is often shown by surrounding words rather than changing the abbreviation itself.
Pattern 41 — Units of Measure
Examples:
kilogram
meter
liter
These usually decline like regular masculine nouns.
Example: meter
Case Form
Nominative meter
Genitive metra
Dative metru
Accusative meter
Locative metru
Instrumental metrom
Pattern 42 — Time Words
Examples:
dan (day)
mesec (month)
teden (week)
leto (year)
These are common but have irregularities.
leto (year)
Case Singular
Nominative leto
Genitive leta
Dative letu
Accusative leto
Locative letu
Instrumental letom
Plural:
leta
let
letom
leta
letih
leti
Pattern 43 — Kinship Terms
Examples:
brat (brother)
sestra (sister)
stric (uncle)
teta (aunt)
Most follow regular declensions but have frequent irregular plural forms.
brat
Plural:
bratje
bratov
bratom
brate
bratih
brati
Pattern 44 — Double Plural Forms
Some nouns have two accepted plural forms with slightly different meanings or stylistic preferences.
Example:
las (hair)
lasje (hair on the head collectively)
lási (individual hairs, literary)
Pattern 45 — Defective Nouns
Some nouns are used only in one number.
Examples:
Singular only
vreme (weather)
mladina (youth)
pohištvo (furniture)
Plural only
vrata (door)
hlače (trousers)
škarje (scissors)
sani (sled)
Pattern 46 — dan (day)
The plural stem changes.
Singular
Case Form Translation
Nominative dan day
Genitive dneva of the day
Dative dnevu to the day
Accusative dan day
Locative dnevu about/on the day
Instrumental dnevom with the day
Dual
Case Form
Nominative dneva
Genitive dni
Dative dnevoma
Accusative dneva
Locative dnevoma
Instrumental dnevoma
Plural
Case Form
Nominative dnevi
Genitive dni
Dative dnevom
Accusative dneve
Locative dnevih
Instrumental dnevi
Stem change
dan → dnev-
Pattern 47 — mati (mother)
One of the oldest irregular feminine nouns.
Singular
Case Form
Nominative mati
Genitive matere
Dative materi
Accusative mater
Locative materi
Instrumental materjo
Plural
Case Form
Nominative matere
Genitive mater
Dative materam
Accusative matere
Locative materah
Instrumental materami
Pattern 48 — hči (daughter)
Highly irregular.
Singular
Case Form
Nominative hči
Genitive hčere
Dative hčeri
Accusative hčer
Locative hčeri
Instrumental hčerjo
Plural
Case Form
Nominative hčere
Genitive hčera
Dative hčeram
Accusative hčere
Locative hčerah
Instrumental hčerami
Pattern 49 — sin (son)
Irregular plural.
Singular
Case Form
Nominative sin
Genitive sina
Dative sinu
Accusative sina
Locative sinu
Instrumental sinom
Plural
Case Form
Nominative sinovi
Genitive sinov
Dative sinovom
Accusative sinove
Locative sinovih
Instrumental sinovi
Pattern 50 — brat (brother)
Irregular human plural.
Singular
Case Form
Nominative brat
Genitive brata
Dative bratu
Accusative brata
Locative bratu
Instrumental bratom
Plural
Case Form
Nominative bratje
Genitive bratov
Dative bratom
Accusative brate
Locative bratih
Instrumental brati
Pattern 51 — drevo (tree)
A common neuter noun with a regular declension.
Singular
Case Form
Nominative drevo
Genitive drevesa
Dative drevesu
Accusative drevo
Locative drevesu
Instrumental drevesom
Plural
Case Form
Nominative drevesa
Genitive dreves
Dative drevesom
Accusative drevesa
Locative drevesih
Instrumental drevesi
Stem change
drevo → dreves-
Pattern 52 — ime (name)
Neuter noun with an extended stem.
Singular
Case Form
Nominative ime
Genitive imena
Dative imenu
Accusative ime
Locative imenu
Instrumental imenom
Plural
Case Form
Nominative imena
Genitive imen
Dative imenom
Accusative imena
Locative imenih
Instrumental imeni
Pattern 53 — seme (seed)
Follows the same pattern as ime.
Case Singular
Nominative seme
Genitive semena
Dative semenu
Accusative seme
Locative semenu
Instrumental semenom
Plural:
semena
semen
semenom
semena
semenih
semeni
Pattern 54 — tele (calf)
Neuter young-animal noun.
Singular
Case Form
Nominative tele
Genitive teleta
Dative teletu
Accusative tele
Locative teletu
Instrumental teletom
Plural:
teleta
telet
teletom
teleta
teletih
teleti
Pattern 55 — Nouns with the suffix -stvo
Example:
kraljestvo (kingdom)
Singular
Case Form
Nominative kraljestvo
Genitive kraljestva
Dative kraljestvu
Accusative kraljestvo
Locative kraljestvu
Instrumental kraljestvom
Plural:
kraljestva
kraljestev
kraljestvom
kraljestva
kraljestvih
kraljestvi
Pattern 56 — Nouns with the suffix -išče
Example:
letališče (airport)
Singular
Case Form
Nominative letališče
Genitive letališča
Dative letališču
Accusative letališče
Locative letališču
Instrumental letališčem
Plural:
letališča
letališč
letališčem
letališča
letališčih
letališči
Pattern 57 — Collective Human Nouns
Example:
mladina (youth)
Usually used only in the singular.
Case Form
Nominative mladina
Genitive mladine
Dative mladini
Accusative mladino
Locative mladini
Instrumental mladino
INDIRECT OBJECT: Subject + Verb + Direct Object + Indirect Object (Dative) OR: or Subject + Verb + Indirect Object + Direct Object (Both are possible, but placing the indirect object before the direct object is very common.)
Example 1
Dam fantu knjigo.
Word Function Translation
dam verb I give
fantu indirect object (dative) to the boy
knjigo direct object (accusative) a book
Translation: I give the boy a book.
Example 2
Pošljem prijatelju pismo.
Word Function Translation
pošljem verb I send
prijatelju indirect object to the friend
pismo direct object a letter
Translation: I send my friend a letter.
Example 3
Kupim materi rože.
Word Function Translation
kupim verb I buy
materi indirect object for my mother
rože direct object flowers
GENITIVE: Possessor (Genitive) + possessed noun
knjiga učitelja book + of the teacher the teacher's book
avto očeta car + of the father the father's car
hiša sestre house + of the sister the sister's house
3- ADJECTIVES:
Attributive adjective + noun lep avto beautiful car
Predicate noun + biti + adjective Avto je lep. The car is beautiful.
Masculine -Ø / -i -a -i lep, lepa fanta, lepi fantje
Feminine -a -i -e lepa žena, lepi ženi, lepe žene
Neuter -o / -e -i -a lepo mesto, lepi mesti, lepa mesta
Declension Pattern 1 — Hard Adjectives (Most Common)
Example:
lep (beautiful)
This is the pattern used by the overwhelming majority of adjectives.
Masculine Singular
Case Ending Form Translation
Nominative -∅ lep beautiful
Genitive -ega lepega of the beautiful
Dative -emu lepemu to the beautiful
Accusative (animate) -ega lepega beautiful (person/animal)
Accusative (inanimate) -∅ lep beautiful (thing)
Locative -em lepem about the beautiful
Instrumental -im lepim with the beautiful
Example:
Slovenian Translation
lep fant beautiful boy
lepega fanta of the beautiful boy
lepemu fantu to the beautiful boy
Feminine Singular
Case Ending Form Translation
Nominative -a lepa beautiful
Genitive -e lepe of the beautiful
Dative -i lepi to the beautiful
Accusative -o lepo beautiful
Locative -i lepi about the beautiful
Instrumental -o lepo with the beautiful
Example:
lepa žena
beautiful woman
Neuter Singular
Case Ending Form Translation
Nominative -o lepo beautiful
Genitive -ega lepega of the beautiful
Dative -emu lepemu to the beautiful
Accusative -o lepo beautiful
Locative -em lepem about the beautiful
Instrumental -im lepim with the beautiful
Example:
lepo mesto
beautiful town
Masculine Dual
Case Ending Form
Nominative -a lepa
Genitive -ih lepih
Dative -ima lepima
Accusative -a lepa (animate) / lepa (inanimate)
Locative -ih lepih
Instrumental -ima lepima
Example:
lepa fanta
two beautiful boys
Feminine Dual
Case Ending Form
Nominative -i lepi
Genitive -ih lepih
Dative -ima lepima
Accusative -i lepi
Locative -ih lepih
Instrumental -ima lepima
Example:
lepi ženi
two beautiful women
Neuter Dual
Case Ending Form
Nominative -i lepi
Genitive -ih lepih
Dative -ima lepima
Accusative -i lepi
Locative -ih lepih
Instrumental -ima lepima
Example:
lepi okni
two beautiful windows
Masculine Plural
Case Ending Form
Nominative -i lepi
Genitive -ih lepih
Dative -im lepim
Accusative (animate) -e lepe
Accusative (inanimate) -i lepi
Locative -ih lepih
Instrumental -imi lepimi
Example:
lepi fantje
beautiful boys
Feminine Plural
Case Ending Form
Nominative -e lepe
Genitive -ih lepih
Dative -im lepim
Accusative -e lepe
Locative -ih lepih
Instrumental -imi lepimi
Example:
lepe žene
beautiful women
Neuter Plural
Case Ending Form
Nominative -a lepa
Genitive -ih lepih
Dative -im lepim
Accusative -a lepa
Locative -ih lepih
Instrumental -imi lepimi
Example:
lepa mesta
beautiful towns
Pattern 2 — Soft Adjectives (-ji)
Some adjectives ending in -ji have a slightly different nominative form, but otherwise decline almost like regular adjectives.
Examples:
božji (divine)
pasji (dog's/canine)
vražji (devilish)
Example: božji (divine)
Masculine Singular
Case Form
Nominative božji
Genitive božjega
Dative božjemu
Accusative božjega / božji
Locative božjem
Instrumental božjim
The feminine, neuter, dual, and plural forms follow the same endings as regular adjectives.
Pattern 3 — Possessive Adjectives in -ov / -ev
Examples:
očetov (father's)
bratov (brother's)
kraljev (king's)
Example:
očetov avto
father's car
Masculine Singular
Case Form
Nominative očetov
Genitive očetovega
Dative očetovemu
Accusative očetovega / očetov
Locative očetovem
Instrumental očetovim
The remaining genders and numbers use the regular adjective endings attached to the stem očetov-.
Pattern 4 — Possessive Adjectives in -in
Examples:
mamin (mother's)
sestrin (sister's)
babičin (grandmother's)
Example:
mamina knjiga
mother's book
Masculine Singular
Case Form
Nominative mamin
Genitive maminega
Dative maminemu
Accusative maminega / mamin
Locative maminem
Instrumental maminim
All other forms follow the standard adjective endings.
Pattern 5 — Nationality Adjectives (-ski, -ški, -čki)
Examples:
slovenski (Slovenian)
angleški (English)
nemški (German)
francoski (French)
These decline exactly like regular adjectives.
Example:
slovenski jezik
Slovenian language
Case Masculine Singular
Nominative slovenski
Genitive slovenskega
Dative slovenskemu
Accusative slovenskega / slovenski
Locative slovenskem
Instrumental slovenskim
Declension Pattern 6 — Adjectives Ending in -en
Many adjectives ending in -en lose the -e- before some endings.
Example:
zelen (green)
Masculine Singular
Case Form Translation
Nominative zelen green
Genitive zelenega of the green
Dative zelenemu to the green
Accusative zelenega (animate) / zelen (inanimate) green
Locative zelenem about the green
Instrumental zelenim with the green
Feminine Singular
Case Form
Nominative zelena
Genitive zelene
Dative zeleni
Accusative zeleno
Locative zeleni
Instrumental zeleno
Examples:
zelen travnik — green meadow
zelena trava — green grass
Declension Pattern 7 — Adjectives Ending in -ek
Some adjectives lose -e- in derived forms.
Example:
lahek (light in weight)
Masculine Singular
Case Form
Nominative lahek
Genitive lahkega
Dative lahkemu
Accusative lahkega / lahek
Locative lahkem
Instrumental lahkim
Stem change:
lahek → lahk-
Examples:
lahek kovček — light suitcase
lahka torba — light bag
Other examples:
mehek (soft) → mehk-
težek (heavy) → težk-
Declension Pattern 8 — Adjectives Ending in -ok
Example:
visok (tall/high)
Masculine Singular
Case Form
Nominative visok
Genitive visokega
Dative visokemu
Accusative visokega / visok
Locative visokem
Instrumental visokim
These are otherwise completely regular.
Declension Pattern 9 — Adjectives Ending in -el
Some adjectives have stem alternations.
Example:
debel (thick, fat)
Case Form
Nominative debel
Genitive debelega
Dative debelemu
Accusative debelega / debel
Locative debelem
Instrumental debelim
Other examples:
vesel (happy)
kisel (sour)
Declension Pattern 10 — Color Adjectives
Color adjectives decline regularly but are extremely common.
Example:
rdeč (red)
Masculine Singular
Case Form
Nominative rdeč
Genitive rdečega
Dative rdečemu
Accusative rdečega / rdeč
Locative rdečem
Instrumental rdečim
Other colors:
moder (blue)
bel (white)
črn (black)
rumen (yellow)
siv (gray)
Declension Pattern 11 — Participial Adjectives
These are formed from verbs and decline like adjectives.
Example:
napisan (written)
Masculine Singular
Case Form
Nominative napisan
Genitive napisanega
Dative napisanemu
Accusative napisanega / napisan
Locative napisanem
Instrumental napisanim
Examples:
napisano pismo — written letter
odprta vrata — opened door
zaprt trgovina → zaprta trgovina — closed shop
Declension Pattern 12 — Comparative Adjectives
Comparative adjectives decline exactly like regular adjectives.
Example:
lepši (more beautiful)
Masculine Singular
Case Form
Nominative lepši
Genitive lepšega
Dative lepšemu
Accusative lepšega / lepši
Locative lepšem
Instrumental lepšim
Examples:
lepši avto — a more beautiful car
lepša hiša — a more beautiful house
Declension Pattern 13 — Superlative Adjectives
The superlative also declines regularly.
Example:
najlepši (most beautiful)
Case Form
Nominative najlepši
Genitive najlepšega
Dative najlepšemu
Accusative najlepšega / najlepši
Locative najlepšem
Instrumental najlepšim
Declension Pattern 14 — Compound Adjectives
Examples:
jugovzhodni (southeastern)
svetlomoder (light blue)
temnozelen (dark green)
Only the final adjective element takes the case endings.
Example:
temnozelen (dark green)
Case Form
Nominative temnozelen
Genitive temnozelenega
Dative temnozelenemu
Accusative temnozelenega / temnozelen
Locative temnozelenem
Instrumental temnozelenim
Declension Pattern 15 — Indeclinable Adjectives (Rare)
A small number of recent foreign borrowings may remain unchanged in informal usage.
Examples:
kaki (khaki)
lila (lilac, in some uses)
bordo (burgundy, in some uses)
Example:
kaki hlače — khaki trousers
bordo vino — burgundy wine
In standard Slovenian, many of these are increasingly treated as indeclinable color terms rather than fully inflected adjectives.
Declension Pattern 16 — Adjectives in -av
These describe a tendency or characteristic.
Examples:
krvav (bloody)
dlakav (hairy)
pikast (spotted)
Example: krvav
Masculine Singular
Case Form Translation
Nominative krvav bloody
Genitive krvavega of the bloody
Dative krvavemu to the bloody
Accusative krvavega / krvav bloody
Locative krvavem about the bloody
Instrumental krvavim with the bloody
These use the regular adjective endings.
Declension Pattern 17 — Adjectives in -ast
Usually indicate "having the quality of" or "somewhat".
Examples:
zlatast (golden)
rdečkast (reddish)
rumenkast (yellowish)
Example:
rdečkast list
reddish leaf
Declension:
Case Form
Nominative rdečkast
Genitive rdečkastega
Dative rdečkastemu
Accusative rdečkastega / rdečkast
Locative rdečkastem
Instrumental rdečkastim
Declension Pattern 18 — Adjectives in -nat
Examples:
peščen (sandy)
kamnit (stony)
lesen (wooden)
Example:
kamnit most
stone bridge
These decline regularly.
Declension Pattern 19 — Material Adjectives
Formed from nouns.
Examples:
Adjective Translation
lesen wooden
kovinski metal
steklen glass
papirnat paper
volnen woolen
Example:
lesena miza
wooden table
All decline regularly.
Declension Pattern 20 — Participles Used as Adjectives
These come directly from verbs.
Examples:
Adjective Verb Translation
odprt odpreti open
zaprt zapreti closed
izgubljen izgubiti lost
utrujen utruditi tired
rojen roditi born
Example:
odprta vrata
open door
All follow the standard adjective endings.
Declension Pattern 21 — Ordinal Numeral Adjectives
Ordinal numbers behave like adjectives.
Examples:
prvi (first)
drugi (second)
tretji (third)
četrti (fourth)
peti (fifth)
Example:
prvi dan
first day
Masculine Singular
Case Form
Nominative prvi
Genitive prvega
Dative prvemu
Accusative prvega / prvi
Locative prvem
Instrumental prvim
Declension Pattern 22 — Demonstrative Adjectives
Examples:
ta (this)
tisti (that)
oni (that over there)
These are traditionally classified as determiners/pronouns but agree with nouns exactly like adjectives.
Example:
ta knjiga
this book
Declension Pattern 23 — Interrogative Adjectives
Examples:
kateri (which)
kakšen (what kind of)
čigav (whose)
These also decline according to adjective endings.
Example:
Kateri avto?
Which car?
Declension Pattern 24 — Indefinite Adjectives
Examples:
nek (some)
vsak (every)
noben (no)
marsikateri (many a)
Example:
nek človek
some man
Declension Pattern 25 — Proper-Adjective Forms
Derived from place names.
Examples:
Adjective Translation
ljubljanski from Ljubljana
mariborski from Maribor
evropski European
azijski Asian
These decline exactly like slovenski.
TO BE VERB:
Infinitive
Slovenian Translation
biti to be
Present Tense
Pronoun Slovenian Translation
jaz sem I am
ti si you are
on je he is
ona je she is
ono je it is
midva/midve sva we are (two)
vidva/vidve sta you are (two)
onadva/onidve sta they are (two)
mi/me smo we are
vi ste you are
oni/one/ona so they are
Examples
Slovenian Translation
Jaz sem učitelj. I am a teacher.
Ti si srečen. You are happy.
Ona je zdravnica. She is a doctor.
Midva sva doma. We two are at home.
Oni so pripravljeni. They are ready.
Past Tense
The past tense is formed with the present tense of biti + the active l-participle.
Example verb: biti
Pronoun Masculine Feminine Translation
jaz sem bil sem bila I was
ti si bil si bila you were
on je bil — he was
ona — je bila she was
ono je bilo — it was
midva sva bila — we two were
midve — sva bili we two were
mi smo bili — we were
me — smo bile we were
oni so bili — they were
one — so bile they were
ona (neuter) so bila — they were
Future Tense
Future uses the future forms of biti.
Pronoun Slovenian Translation
jaz bom I will be
ti boš you will be
on bo he will be
ona bo she will be
ono bo it will be
midva/midve bova we two will be
vidva/vidve bosta you two will be
onadva/onidve bosta they two will be
mi/me bomo we will be
vi boste you will be
oni/one/ona bodo they will be
Examples
Slovenian Translation
Jaz bom doma. I will be at home.
Ti boš utrujen. You will be tired.
Oni bodo pripravljeni. They will be ready.
Future Perfect
Formed with future of biti + l-participle.
Pronoun Masculine Feminine Translation
jaz bom bil bom bila I will have been
ti boš bil boš bila you will have been
on bo bil — he will have been
ona — bo bila she will have been
mi bomo bili — we will have been
oni bodo bili — they will have been
Example:
Do jutri bom bil doma.
By tomorrow I will have been at home.
Conditional
Pronoun Slovenian Translation
jaz bi bil / bi bila I would be
ti bi bil / bi bila you would be
on bi bil he would be
ona bi bila she would be
ono bi bilo it would be
midva bi bila we two would be
midve bi bili we two would be (feminine)
mi bi bili we would be
me bi bile we would be (feminine)
oni bi bili they would be
one bi bile they would be (feminine)
Example:
Bil bi vesel. — I would be happy.
Bila bi doma. — She would be at home.
Imperative
Person Slovenian Translation
ti bodi! be!
midva/midve bodiva! let's both be!
mi/me bodimo! let's be!
vi bodite! be! (plural/formal)
Examples:
Bodi miren! — Be calm!
Bodite previdni! — Be careful!
Negative Forms
Present
Positive Negative Translation
sem nisem I am not
si nisi you are not
je ni he/she/it is not
sva nisva we two are not
sta nista you two/they two are not
smo nismo we are not
ste niste you are not
so niso they are not
Examples:
Nisem utrujen. — I am not tired.
Ni doma. — He/She is not at home.
Past
Positive Negative
sem bil nisem bil
si bil nisi bil
je bil ni bil
smo bili nismo bili
so bili niso bili
Example:
Nisem bil doma. — I was not at home.
Future
Positive Negative
bom ne bom
boš ne boš
bo ne bo
bomo ne bomo
bodo ne bodo
Example:
Ne bom doma. — I will not be at home.
Conditional
Positive Negative
bi bil ne bi bil
bi bila ne bi bila
bi bili ne bi bili
Example:
Ne bi bil tukaj. — I would not be here.
"To Be" as an Auxiliary Verb
The verb biti forms many compound tenses and voices.
Perfect
Sem delal.
I have worked / I worked.
Future
Bom delal.
I will work.
Conditional
Bi delal.
I would work.
Passive
Hiša je zgrajena.
The house is built.
Expressions with biti
Slovenian Translation
biti doma to be at home
biti lačen to be hungry
biti žejen to be thirsty
biti vesel to be happy
biti žalosten to be sad
biti pripravljen to be ready
biti utrujen to be tired
biti zaposlen to be busy
biti poročen to be married
biti samski to be single
4- PRONOUNS:
jaz = I
Case Singular English
Nominative jaz I
Genitive mene / me of me
Dative meni / mi to me
Accusative mene / me me
Locative meni about me
Instrumental menoj / mano with me
Dual — midva / midve = we two
Case Form
Nominative midva / midve
Genitive naju
Dative nama
Accusative naju
Locative nama
Instrumental nama
Plural — mi = we
Case Form
Nominative mi
Genitive nas
Dative nam
Accusative nas
Locative nas
Instrumental nami
2. Second Person
ti = you (singular)
Case Form English
Nominative ti you
Genitive tebe / te of you
Dative tebi / ti to you
Accusative tebe / te you
Locative tebi about you
Instrumental teboj / tabo with you
Dual — vidva / vidve
Case Form
Nominative vidva / vidve
Genitive vaju
Dative vama
Accusative vaju
Locative vama
Instrumental vama
Plural — vi
Case Form
Nominative vi
Genitive vas
Dative vam
Accusative vas
Locative vas
Instrumental vami
3. Third Person Personal Pronouns
on = he
Case Form
Nominative on
Genitive njega / ga
Dative njemu / mu
Accusative njega / ga
Locative njem
Instrumental njim
ona = she
Case Form
Nominative ona
Genitive nje / je
Dative njej / ji
Accusative njo / jo
Locative njej
Instrumental njo
ono = it
Case Form
Nominative ono
Genitive njega / ga
Dative njemu / mu
Accusative njega / ga
Locative njem
Instrumental njim
4. Third Person Dual
Slovenian has special dual pronouns.
Case Masculine Feminine
Nominative onadva onidve
Genitive njiju njiju
Dative njima njima
Accusative njiju njiju
Locative njiju njiju
Instrumental njima njima
5. Third Person Plural
Case Masculine Feminine
Nominative oni one
Genitive njih / jih njih / jih
Dative njim / jim njim / jim
Accusative njih / jih njih / jih
Locative njih njih
Instrumental njimi njimi
6. Demonstrative Pronouns
The main Slovenian demonstratives are:
ta = this
tisti = that
oni = that one over there
They agree with the noun in gender, number, and case.
7. ta — "this"
Masculine Singular
Case Form
Nominative ta
Genitive tega
Dative temu
Accusative tega (animate) / ta (inanimate)
Locative tem
Instrumental tem
ta moški — this man
tega moškega — this man's / this man (acc.)
Feminine Singular
Case Form
Nominative ta
Genitive te
Dative tej
Accusative to
Locative tej
Instrumental to
ta žena — this woman
Neuter Singular
Case Form
Nominative to
Genitive tega
Dative temu
Accusative to
Locative tem
Instrumental tem
to mesto — this city
8. ta — Dual and Plural
Case Masculine Dual Fem./Neut. Dual
Nominative ta ti
Genitive teh teh
Dative tema tema
Accusative ta ti
Locative teh teh
Instrumental tema tema
Plural
Case Masculine Feminine Neuter
Nominative ti te ta
Genitive teh teh teh
Dative tem tem tem
Accusative te (animate) / ti te ta
Locative teh teh teh
Instrumental temi temi temi
9. tisti — "that"
Masculine Singular
Case Form
Nominative tisti
Genitive tistega
Dative tistemu
Accusative tistega / tisti
Locative tistem
Instrumental tistim
Feminine Singular
Case Form
Nominative tista
Genitive tiste
Dative tisti
Accusative tisto
Locative tisti
Instrumental tisto
Neuter Singular
Case Form
Nominative tisto
Genitive tistega
Dative tistemu
Accusative tisto
Locative tistem
Instrumental tistim
The dual and plural follow the normal adjective/determiner pattern.
10. oni — "that one over there"
This is used for something more distant and declines similarly to tisti.
Gender/Number Nominative
Masculine singular oni
Feminine singular ona
Neuter singular ono
Masculine dual onadva
Feminine dual onidve
Masculine plural oni
Feminine plural one
Neuter plural ona
11. Reflexive Pronoun — sebe / se
Slovenian has one main reflexive pronoun:
sebe = oneself
It does not change according to person or gender.
Case Full Form Short Form English
Nominative — — —
Genitive sebe se of oneself
Dative sebi si to oneself
Accusative sebe se oneself
Locative sebi — about oneself
Instrumental seboj — with oneself
There is no nominative form because the reflexive pronoun refers back to the subject.
12. Reflexive Examples
Accusative
Vidim se.
I see myself.
On se vidi.
He sees himself.
Dative
Kupil sem si knjigo.
I bought myself a book.
Genitive
Bojim se.
I am afraid.
Here:
se = reflexive pronoun, genitive
Locative
Razmišljam o sebi.
I am thinking about myself.
Instrumental
S sabo nosim knjigo.
I carry a book with me.
13. Reflexive vs Personal Pronoun
This distinction is very important.
English Slovenian
I see him Vidim njega/ga.
I see myself Vidim sebe/se.
He sees me On vidi mene/me.
He sees himself On vidi sebe/se.
The reflexive always refers back to the subject.
14. Possessive Reflexive — svoj
Slovenian also has a special reflexive possessive adjective:
svoj = one's own
It agrees with the noun.
Gender Nominative
Masculine svoj
Feminine svoja
Neuter svoje
Masculine plural svoji
Feminine plural svoje
Neuter plural svoja
Example:
On ljubi svojo ženo.
He loves his own wife.
Compare:
On ljubi svojo ženo.
He loves his own wife.
On ljubi njegovo ženo.
He loves his (another man's) wife.
This distinction is extremely important in Slovenian.
To je knjiga. This is a book.
5- VERB TENSES:
jaz pišem I write / I am writing
ti pišeš you write / you are writing
on piše he writes / he is writing
ona piše she writes / she is writing
ono piše it writes / it is writing
midva piševa we two write
vidva pišeta you two write
onadva pišeta they two write
mi pišemo we write
vi pišete you write
oni pišejo they write
one pišejo they write
Pronoun Masculine speaker/form Feminine speaker/form English
jaz pisal sem pisala sem I wrote / I have written
ti pisal si pisala si you wrote
on pisal je — he wrote
ona — pisala je she wrote
ono pisalo je — it wrote
midva pisala sva pisali sva we two wrote
vidva pisala sta pisali sta you two wrote
onadva pisala sta pisali sta they two wrote
mi pisali smo pisale smo we wrote
vi pisali ste pisale ste you wrote
oni pisali so — they wrote
one — pisale so they wrote
jaz pisal bom / pisala bom I will write
ti pisal boš / pisala boš you will write
on pisal bo he will write
ona pisala bo she will write
ono pisalo bo it will write
midva pisala bova we two will write
vidva pisala bosta you two will write
onadva pisala bosta they two will write
mi pisali bomo we will write
vi pisali boste you will write
oni pisali bodo they will write
one pisale bodo they will write
Example:
Jutri bom pisal pismo.
= Tomorrow I will write a letter.
jaz bil sem pisal / bila sem pisala I had written
ti bil si pisal / bila si pisala you had written
on bil je pisal he had written
ona bila je pisala she had written
ono bilo je pisalo it had written
midva bila sva pisala we two had written
vidva bila sta pisala you two had written
onadva bila sta pisala they two had written
mi bili smo pisali we had written
vi bili ste pisali you had written
oni bili so pisali they had written
one bile so pisale they had written
The pluperfect is relatively uncommon in everyday modern Slovenian; the ordinary past tense is often preferred when the sequence is already clear.
jaz pisal bi / pisala bi I would write
ti pisal bi / pisala bi you would write
on pisal bi he would write
ona pisala bi she would write
ono pisalo bi it would write
midva pisala bi we two would write
vidva pisala bi you two would write
onadva pisala bi they two would write
mi pisali bi we would write
vi pisali bi you would write
oni pisali bi they would write
one pisale bi they would write
Example:
Pisala bi pismo.
= I would write a letter. (female speaker)
jaz hotel sem pisati / hotela sem pisati I was going to write
ti hotel si pisati / hotela si pisati you were going to write
on hotel je pisati he was going to write
ona hotela je pisati she was going to write
midva hotela sva pisati we two were going to write
mi hoteli smo pisati we were going to write
vi hoteli ste pisati you were going to write
oni hoteli so pisati they were going to write
6- PASSIVE TENSES:
jaz sem napisan I am written
ti si napisan You are written
on je napisan He is written
midva sva napisana We two are written
vidva sta napisana You two are written
onadva sta napisana They two are written
mi smo napisani We are written
vi ste napisani You are written
oni so napisani They are written
jaz sem napisana I am written
ti si napisana You are written
ona je napisana She is written
midve sva napisani We two are written
vidve sta napisani You two are written
onidve sta napisani They two are written
me smo napisane We are written
ve ste napisane You are written
one so napisane They are written
ono je napisano It is written
ona (neuter plural) so napisana They are written
jaz sem bil napisan I was written
ti si bil napisan You were written
on je bil napisan He was written
midva sva bila napisana We two were written
vidva sta bila napisana You two were written
onadva sta bila napisana They two were written
mi smo bili napisani We were written
vi ste bili napisani You were written
oni so bili napisani They were written
jaz sem bila napisana I was written
ti si bila napisana You were written
ona je bila napisana She was written
midve sva bili napisani We two were written
vidve sta bili napisani You two were written
onidve sta bili napisani They two were written
me smo bile napisane We were written
ve ste bile napisane You were written
one so bile napisane They were written
ono je bilo napisano It was written
ona (neuter plural) so bila napisana They were written
jaz bom napisan I will be written
ti boš napisan You will be written
on bo napisan He will be written
midva bova napisana We two will be written
vidva bosta napisana You two will be written
onadva bosta napisana They two will be written
mi bomo napisani We will be written
vi boste napisani You will be written
oni bodo napisani They will be written
jaz bom napisana I will be written
ti boš napisana You will be written
ona bo napisana She will be written
midve bova napisani We two will be written
vidve bosta napisani You two will be written
onidve bosta napisani They two will be written
me bomo napisane We will be written
ve boste napisane You will be written
one bodo napisane They will be written
ono bo napisano It will be written
ona (neuter plural) bodo napisana They will be written
ti bodi napisan / bodi napisana Be written!
vidva/vidve bodita napisana / napisani You two, be written!
vi bodite napisani / napisane Be written! (plural/formal)
7- NEGATION:
delam -> ne delam I do not work / I am not working
govori -> ne govori He/She does not speak
pišemo -> ne pišemo We do not write
bodo prišli -> ne bodo prišli They will not come
sem -> nisem I am not
si -> nisi you are not
je -> ni he/she/it is not
sva -> nisva we two are not
sta -> nista you two / they two are not
smo -> nismo we are not
ste -> niste you are not
so -> niso they are not
sem delal -> nisem delal I did not eat
si delal -> nisi delal You did not eat
je delal -> ni delal He/she/it did not eat
smo delali -> nismo delali we did not eat
8- QUESTIONS:
YES/NO QUESTIONS:
Ali + sentence
Statement:
Ti delaš. You work.
Question:
Ali delaš? Do you work? / Are you working?
However, in every day speech, ali is removed and we just add a question mark
QUESTION WRORDS:
zakaj why
Zakaj jokaš? Why are you crying?
kako how
Kako si danes? How are you today?
koliko how much/how many
Koliko denarja imaš? How much money do you have?
kolikokrat how many times
Kolikokrat na teden telovadiš? How many times a week do you exercise?
kako pogosto how often
Kako pogosto bereš knjige? How often do you read books?
kako hitro how fast
Kako hitro lahko tečeš? How fast can you run?
kateri which
Kateri avto je tvoj? Which car is yours?
katera which (feminine)
Katera knjiga ti je všeč? Which book do you like?
katero which (neuter)
Katero mesto obiskuješ? Which city are you visiting?
kakšen what kind of
Kakšen film gledaš? What kind of movie are you watching?
kakšna what kind of (feminine)
Kakšna glasba ti je všeč? What kind of music do you like?
kakšno what kind of (neuter)
Kakšno hrano imaš rad? What kind of food do you like?
čigav whose
Čigav telefon je to? Whose phone is this?
čigava whose (feminine)
Čigava torba je na mizi? Whose bag is on the table?
čigavo whose (neuter)
Čigavo kolo je zunaj? Whose bicycle is outside?
9- ADVERBS:
Slovenian Transliteration English
zdaj zdaj now
sedaj sedaj now
danes danes today
včeraj vceraj yesterday
jutri jutri tomorrow
nocoj nocoj tonight
sinoči sinoci last night
zjutraj zjutraj in the morning
dopoldne dopoldne in the morning / before noon
opoldne opoldne at noon
popoldne popoldne in the afternoon
zvečer zvecer in the evening
ponoči ponoci at night
takoj takoj immediately
kmalu kmalu soon
pozneje pozneje later
kasneje kasneje later
prej prej earlier / before
že ze already
še se still / yet
doslej doslej so far
dotlej dotlej until then
odtlej odtlej since then
nekoč nekoc once / sometime
nekdaj nekdaj formerly / once
nekoč nekoc someday / once
vedno vedno always
vselej vselej always
nikoli nikoli never
kdaj kdaj when / sometime
tedaj tedaj then
takrat takrat then / at that time
medtem medtem meanwhile
vmes vmes in the meantime
hkrati hkrati simultaneously
obenem obenem at the same time
istočasno istocasno simultaneously
spet spet again
zopet zopet again
ponovno ponovno again
znova znova again
končno koncno finally
naposled naposled finally / eventually
nazadnje nazadnje lastly / finally
najprej najprej first / first of all
sprva sprva initially
najpre najpre first
medtem medtem meanwhile
doslej doslej until now
odslej odslej from now on
poslej poslej henceforth
nekoč nekoc once
zaenkrat zaenkrat for now
trenutno trenutno currently
pravkar pravkar just now
nedavno nedavno recently
pred kratkim pred kratkim recently
davno davno long ago
nekoč nekoc once / someday
2. Frequency adverbs
Slovenian Transliteration English
vedno vedno always
vselej vselej always
pogosto pogosto often
večkrat veckrat often / several times
navadno navadno usually
običajno obicajno usually
ponavadi ponavadi usually
praviloma praviloma as a rule / generally
redno redno regularly
neredno neredno irregularly
včasih vcasih sometimes
kdaj kdaj sometimes / ever
občasno obcasno occasionally
redkokdaj redkokdaj rarely
redko redko rarely
malokdaj malokdaj seldom
skoraj nikoli skoraj nikoli almost never
nikoli nikoli never
nikdar nikdar never
enkrat enkrat once
dvakrat dvakrat twice
trikrat trikrat three times
večkrat veckrat several times
vsak dan vsak dan every day
dnevno dnevno daily
tedensko tedensko weekly
mesečno mesecno monthly
letno letno annually
3. Place adverbs
Slovenian Transliteration English
tukaj tukaj here
tu tu here
tam tam there
tamle tamle over there
tod tod here / this way
tamkaj tamkaj there
zgoraj zgoraj above / upstairs
spodaj spodaj below / downstairs
spredaj spredaj in front
zadaj zadaj behind
zunaj zunaj outside
notri notri inside
noter noter inside / inward
zunaj zunaj outside
blizu blizu near
daleč dalec far
povsod povsod everywhere
nikjer nikjer nowhere
nekje nekje somewhere
drugje drugje elsewhere
tukaj tukaj here
tam tam there
okoli okoli around
naokoli naokoli around
na vrhu na vrhu at the top
spodaj spodaj below
zgoraj zgoraj above
vmes vmes between / in between
zraven zraven beside / next to
poleg poleg beside
nasproti nasproti opposite
skupaj skupaj together
narazen narazen apart
4. Directional adverbs
Slovenian Transliteration English
sem sem here / this way
tja tja there / that way
kam kam where / to where
od tod od tod from here
od tam od tam from there
odkod odkod from where
kamor kamor where/to where
navzgor navzgor upward
navzdol navzdol downward
naprej naprej forward
nazaj nazaj backward / back
noter noter inward
ven ven out
navznoter navznoter inward
navzven navzven outward
čez cez across / over
mimo mimo past / by
okoli okoli around
naokoli naokoli around
proč proc away
stran stran away / aside
bliže blize closer
bližje blizje closer
dlje dlje farther / longer
skupaj skupaj together
narazen narazen apart
5. Manner adverbs
Slovenian Transliteration English
dobro dobro well
slabo slabo badly
lepo lepo nicely
grdo grdo badly / uglily
hitro hitro quickly
počasi pocasi slowly
previdno previdno carefully
pazljivo pazljivo carefully
glasno glasno loudly
tiho tiho quietly
jasno jasno clearly
natančno natancno precisely
pravilno pravilno correctly
napačno napacno incorrectly
resnično resnicno truly
popolnoma popolnoma completely
skupaj skupaj together
narazen narazen separately / apart
samostojno samostojno independently
neposredno neposredno directly
posredno posredno indirectly
osebno osebno personally
javno javno publicly
zasebno zasebno privately
posebej posebej specially / separately
enako enako equally
drugače drugace differently
podobno podobno similarly
drugače drugace otherwise
tako tako so / thus / in this way
tako tako thus
kakor kakor how / as
kako kako how
6. Degree adverbs
Slovenian Transliteration English
zelo zelo very
zelo zelo zelo zelo very, very
precej precej quite / considerably
dokaj dokaj fairly / rather
kar kar quite / rather
precej precej considerably
preveč prevec too much / too
premalo premalo too little
dovolj dovolj enough
skoraj skoraj almost
komaj komaj barely
povsem povsem completely
popolnoma popolnoma completely
čisto cisto completely
docela docela completely
nadvse nadvse extremely
izredno izredno extremely
izjemno izjemno exceptionally
posebno posebno especially
posebej posebej especially
silno silno extremely
nadvse nadvse exceedingly
toliko toliko so much / that much
tako tako so / that
dovolj dovolj sufficiently
skorajda skorajda almost
komajda komajda barely
vsaj vsaj at least
največ najvec at most
najmanj najmanj at least / minimum
7. Quantity adverbs
Slovenian Transliteration English
veliko veliko much / a lot
malo malo little / not much
več vec more
manj manj less
dovolj dovolj enough
preveč prevec too much
premalo premalo too little
toliko toliko that much
tako veliko tako veliko so much
tako malo tako malo so little
precej precej quite a lot
veliko bolj veliko bolj much more
veliko manj veliko manj much less
nekoliko nekoliko somewhat / a little
malo malo a little
malce malce a little
krepko krepko considerably
vsaj vsaj at least
največ najvec at most
8. Comparative adverbs
Slovenian Transliteration English
bolj bolj more
manj manj less
največ najvec most
najmanj najmanj least
bolje bolje better
slabše slabse worse
hitreje hitreje faster
počasneje pocasneje more slowly
prej prej sooner / earlier
pozneje pozneje later
dlje dlje longer / farther
bliže blize closer
močneje mocneje more strongly
šibkeje sibkeje more weakly
Main pattern
bolj + adverb = more ...
manj + adverb = less ...
najbolj + adverb = most ...
najmanj + adverb = least ...
Example:
Govori bolj počasi.
Govori bolj pocasi.
“He speaks more slowly.”
9. Superlative adverbs
Slovenian Transliteration English
najbolj najbolj most
najmanj najmanj least
najbolje najbolje best
najslabše najslabse worst
najhitreje najhitreje fastest
najpočasneje najpocasneje slowest
najprej najprej first / earliest
najpozneje najpozneje latest
najdlje najdlje longest / farthest
najbliže najblize closest
10. Affirmative adverbs
Slovenian Transliteration English
da da yes
res res really / indeed
zares zares really
resnično resnicno truly
vsekakor vsekakor certainly / in any case
zagotovo zagotovo definitely
gotovo gotovo certainly
prav gotovo prav gotovo certainly
seveda seveda of course
nedvomno nedvomno undoubtedly
gotovo gotovo surely
zagotovo zagotovo certainly
absolutno absolutno absolutely
natanko natanko exactly
11. Negative adverbs
Slovenian Transliteration English
ne ne not
nikoli nikoli never
nikdar nikdar never
nikjer nikjer nowhere
nikamor nikamor nowhere / to nowhere
nikakor nikakor in no way
nič nic nothing / not at all
niti niti neither / not even
nikoli več nikoli vec never again
nič več nic vec no longer / nothing more
še ne se ne not yet
ne več ne vec no longer
nikakor ne nikakor ne absolutely not
sploh ne sploh ne not at all
Nikoli ne grem tja.
Nikoli ne grem tja.
“I never go there.”
12. Focus and emphasis adverbs
Slovenian Transliteration English
predvsem predvsem above all / primarily
zlasti zlasti especially
posebno posebno especially
posebej posebej especially
predvsem predvsem mainly
samo samo only
le le only
zgolj zgolj merely / only
celo celo even
tudi tudi also / too
še se also / still / even
prav prav exactly / precisely
ravno ravno exactly / just
natanko natanko exactly
že ze already
šele sele only then / not until
spet spet again
zopet zopet again
13. Restrictive adverbs
These restrict the meaning of a statement.
Slovenian Transliteration English
samo samo only
le le only
zgolj zgolj merely / only
edinole edinole only
samo še samo se only still / only remaining
šele sele only / not until
vsaj vsaj at least
največ najvec at most
najmanj najmanj at least / minimum
komaj komaj barely
komajda komajda barely
14. Addition
Slovenian Transliteration English
tudi tudi also
prav tako prav tako likewise / also
prav tako tudi prav tako tudi likewise
poleg tega poleg tega besides / in addition
obenem obenem at the same time
hkrati hkrati simultaneously
še se also / additionally
dodatno dodatno additionally
nadalje nadalje furthermore
poleg poleg additionally / besides
15. Contrast / concession adverbs
Slovenian Transliteration English
vendar vendar however
vendarle vendarle nevertheless
vseeno vseeno nevertheless / anyway
kljub temu kljub temu nevertheless
vseeno vseeno still / anyway
nasprotno nasprotno on the contrary
drugače drugace otherwise
sicer sicer otherwise / indeed / generally
pač pac simply / after all
kljub vsemu kljub vsemu nevertheless
ravno nasprotno ravno nasprotno quite the opposite
Note: vendar, vendarle, sicer, pač are often treated as particles or conjunction-related words rather than pure adverbs depending on the grammar.
16. Cause / consequence / conclusion adverbs
Slovenian Transliteration English
zato zato therefore / because of that
zatorej zatorej therefore
torej torej therefore / so
tako tako thus
posledično posledicno consequently
posledično posledicno consequently
zaradi tega zaradi tega because of that
zato pa zato pa therefore / for that reason
odtod odtod hence / from this
s tem s tem thereby
potemtakem potemtakem therefore / consequently
17. Modal / epistemic adverbs
These are especially important for grammar.
Slovenian Transliteration English
morda morda perhaps / maybe
mogoče mogoce perhaps / possibly
morda pa morda pa perhaps
mogoče mogoce possibly
verjetno verjetno probably
najbrž najbrz probably
gotovo gotovo certainly
zagotovo zagotovo definitely
zagotovo zagotovo surely
gotovo gotovo surely
nedvomno nedvomno undoubtedly
vsekakor vsekakor certainly / definitely
seveda seveda of course
očitno ocitno obviously
očividno ocividno evidently
domnevno domnevno supposedly / allegedly
menda menda supposedly / apparently
baje baje supposedly / reportedly
menda menda apparently
morda morda perhaps
morda ne morda ne perhaps not
verjetno ne verjetno ne probably not
zagotovo ne zagotovo ne definitely not
Examples
Morda pride.
Morda pride.
“Maybe he will come.”
Verjetno bo prišel.
Verjetno bo prisel.
“He will probably come.”
Zagotovo bo prišel.
Zagotovo bo prisel.
“He will definitely come.”
Menda je doma.
Menda je doma.
“He is supposedly at home.”
18. Interrogative adverbs
Slovenian Transliteration English
kako kako how
kje kje where
kam kam where/to where
od kod od kod from where
odkod odkod from where
kdaj kdaj when
zakaj zakaj why
čemu cemu why / for what purpose
koliko koliko how much/many
kako dolgo kako dolgo how long
kako pogosto kako pogosto how often
kako hitro kako hitro how quickly
kako daleč kako dalec how far
kako zelo kako zelo how much/how very
do kdaj do kdaj until when
od kdaj od kdaj since when
kamor kamor where/to where
Examples
Kje živiš?
Kje zivis?
“Where do you live?”
Kdaj prideš?
Kdaj prides?
“When are you coming?”
Zakaj odhajaš?
Zakaj odhajas?
“Why are you leaving?”
Kako pogosto bereš?
Kako pogosto beres?
“How often do you read?”
19. Relative adverbs
Slovenian Transliteration English
kjer kjer where
kamor kamor where/to which
koder koder where/along which
od koder od koder from where
odkod odkod from where
kadar kadar whenever/when
ko ko when
kakor kakor as/how
kot kot as
kolikor kolikor as much as
kjerkoli kjerkoli wherever
kamorkoli kamorkoli wherever/to wherever
kadarkoli kadarkoli whenever
kakorkoli kakorkoli however
kolikorkoli kolikorkoli however much
20. Indefinite adverbs
Slovenian Transliteration English
nekje nekje somewhere
nekam nekam somewhere/to somewhere
nekdaj nekdaj sometime/formerly
nekoč nekoc once/sometime
nekako nekako somehow
nekje nekje somewhere
nekako nekako somehow
kdorkoli kdorkoli whoever
karkoli karkoli whatever
kjerkoli kjerkoli wherever
kamorkoli kamorkoli wherever
kadarkoli kadarkoli whenever
kakorkoli kakorkoli however
kolikor kolikor as much as
kolikorkoli kolikorkoli however much
21. Negative indefinite adverbs
Slovenian Transliteration English
nikjer nikjer nowhere
nikamor nikamor nowhere/to nowhere
nikoli nikoli never
nikakor nikakor in no way
nič nic nothing
nikdar nikdar never
nikoli več nikoli vec never again
nikakor ne nikakor ne by no means
nikjer drugje nikjer drugje nowhere else
nikamor drugam nikamor drugam nowhere else/to nowhere else
22. “-ever” adverbs
Slovenian commonly forms these with -koli.
Slovenian Transliteration English
kjerkoli kjerkoli wherever
kamorkoli kamorkoli wherever/to wherever
kadarkoli kadarkoli whenever
kakorkoli kakorkoli however
kolikorkoli kolikorkoli however much
kdorkoli kdorkoli whoever
karkoli karkoli whatever
23. Time relationship
Slovenian Transliteration English
prej prej before / earlier
potem potem afterward / then
nato nato then / afterward
zatem zatem afterward
predtem predtem beforehand
prej prej previously
kasneje kasneje later
pozneje pozneje later
medtem medtem meanwhile
doslej doslej until now
odslej odslej from now on
poslej poslej henceforth
dotlej dotlej until then
odtlej odtlej since then
takrat takrat then
tedaj tedaj then
hkrati hkrati simultaneously
obenem obenem simultaneously
24. Sequence / ordering adverbs
Slovenian Transliteration English
najprej najprej first
najpre najpre first
nato nato then
potem potem then
zatem zatem afterward
kasneje kasneje later
pozneje pozneje later
končno koncno finally
nazadnje nazadnje finally / lastly
naposled naposled eventually
medtem medtem meanwhile
najprej najprej firstly
drugič drugic secondly
tretjič tretjic thirdly
končno koncno finally
25. Sentence-level / discourse adverbs
Slovenian Transliteration English
torej torej therefore / so
vendar vendar however
vendarle vendarle nevertheless
sicer sicer otherwise / indeed
namreč namrec namely / because
predvsem predvsem above all
pravzaprav pravzaprav actually
dejansko dejansko actually
resnično resnicno truly
očitno ocitno obviously
seveda seveda of course
zagotovo zagotovo certainly
vsekakor vsekakor certainly
morda morda perhaps
mogoče mogoce possibly
verjetno verjetno probably
končno koncno finally
skratka skratka in short
na kratko na kratko briefly
na splošno na splosno generally
prav tako prav tako likewise
poleg tega poleg tega besides
drugače drugace otherwise
nasprotno nasprotno conversely
posledično posledicno consequently
26. “Actually / really” adverbs
Slovenian Transliteration English
pravzaprav pravzaprav actually
dejansko dejansko actually / in fact
v resnici v resnici in reality
res res really / indeed
zares zares really
resnično resnicno truly
v bistvu v bistvu basically / essentially
prav prav exactly / indeed
27. “Especially / mainly”
Slovenian Transliteration English
predvsem predvsem mainly / above all
zlasti zlasti especially
posebno posebno especially
posebej posebej especially
najbolj najbolj most
predvsem predvsem primarily
pretežno pretezno predominantly
večinoma vecinoma mostly
v glavnem v glavnem mainly
zvečine zvecine mostly
28. “Only / even / also”
Slovenian Transliteration English
samo samo only
le le only
zgolj zgolj merely / only
tudi tudi also
še se still / also
celo celo even
prav prav exactly
ravno ravno exactly / just
šele sele only / not until
že ze already
Examples
Samo on ve.
Samo on ve.
“Only he knows.”
Tudi jaz vem.
Tudi jaz vem.
“I know too.”
Celo on je prišel.
Celo on je prisel.
“Even he came.”
29. “Still / already / yet”
Slovenian Transliteration English
še se still
že ze already
še vedno se vedno still
že zdaj ze zdaj already now
še vedno ne se vedno ne still not
še ne se ne not yet
že spet ze spet again already
še enkrat se enkrat once again
Še vedno dela.
Se vedno dela.
“He is still working.”
Že je prišel.
Ze je prisel.
“He has already arrived.”
Še ni prišel.
Se ni prisel.
“He hasn't arrived yet.”
30. “Just”
Slovenian Transliteration English
pravkar pravkar just now
ravno ravno just
ravnokar ravnokar just now
samo samo just/only
zgolj zgolj merely/just
natanko natanko exactly
Pravkar je odšel.
Pravkar je odsel.
“He has just left.”
31. “Almost / barely”
Slovenian Transliteration English
skoraj skoraj almost
skorajda skorajda almost
komaj komaj barely
komajda komajda barely
malodane malodane almost
domala domala almost / virtually
32. “At least / at most”
Slovenian Transliteration English
vsaj vsaj at least
najmanj najmanj at least / minimum
največ najvec at most / maximum
najmanj toliko najmanj toliko at least that much
največ toliko najvec toliko at most that much
33. Manner/comparison connectors
Slovenian Transliteration English
tako tako thus / so
tako kot tako kot just as / like
kakor kakor as
kot kot as / than
drugače drugace otherwise
podobno podobno similarly
enako enako equally
drugače kot drugace kot differently than
prav tako prav tako likewise
34. Adverbs expressing certainty vs possibility
Certainty Transliteration English
zagotovo zagotovo definitely
gotovo gotovo certainly
vsekakor vsekakor certainly
nedvomno nedvomno undoubtedly
zagotovo zagotovo surely
seveda seveda of course
Possibility Transliteration English
morda morda perhaps
mogoče mogoce possibly
najbrž najbrz probably
verjetno verjetno probably
menda menda supposedly
baje baje reportedly
domnevno domnevno allegedly
10- CONJUNCTIONS:
Slovenian Transliteration English
in in and
pa pa and / while / but
ter ter and
ali ali or
oziroma oziroma or rather / respectively
ampak ampak but
toda toda but
vendar vendar however / but
marveč marvec but rather
temveč temvec but rather
niti niti neither / nor
ne ne not / nor in correlative constructions
saj saj for / because / after all
kajti kajti for / because
Examples
Jaz berem in on piše.
Jaz berem in on pise.
“I read and he writes.”
Hočeš čaj ali kavo?
Hoces caj ali kavo?
“Do you want tea or coffee?”
Hotel sem iti, ampak nisem mogel.
Hotel sem iti, ampak nisem mogel.
“I wanted to go, but I couldn't.”
2. Additive conjunctions
Slovenian Transliteration English
in in and
pa pa and / also
ter ter and
poleg tega poleg tega besides / in addition
prav tako prav tako likewise / also
kakor tudi kakor tudi as well as
kot tudi kot tudi as well as
obenem obenem at the same time
hkrati hkrati at the same time
The last items are often better treated as conjunctional/discourse expressions, not simple conjunctions.
3. Adversative conjunctions — “but”
Slovenian Transliteration English
ampak ampak but
toda toda but
vendar vendar but / however
pa pa but / whereas
temveč temvec but rather
marveč marvec but rather
pač pa pac pa but rather
ampak tudi ampak tudi but also
ne pa ne pa but not
Important distinction
ampak / toda / vendar = ordinary contrast:
Hotel sem iti, ampak nisem mogel.
“I wanted to go, but I couldn't.”
temveč / marveč commonly follows a negation:
Ni majhen, temveč velik.
“It isn't small, but rather large.”
4. Disjunctive conjunctions — “or”
Slovenian Transliteration English
ali ali or
oziroma oziroma or rather / respectively
bodisi bodisi either
ali pa ali pa or else
oziroma pa oziroma pa or rather
če ne ce ne otherwise / if not
Examples
Čaj ali kava?
Čaj ali kava?
“Tea or coffee?”
Lahko prideš danes ali pa jutri.
Lahko prides danes ali pa jutri.
“You can come today or tomorrow.”
5. Correlative conjunctions
These work in pairs or repeated structures.
“both ... and”
Slovenian Transliteration English
tako ... kot tako ... kot both ... and / as ... as
tako ... kakor tako ... kakor both ... and
tako ... kot tudi tako ... kot tudi both ... and also
in ... in in ... in both ... and
Tako Ana kot Peter sta prišla.
Tako Ana kot Peter sta prisla.
“Both Ana and Peter came.”
“either ... or”
Slovenian Transliteration English
ali ... ali ali ... ali either ... or
bodisi ... bodisi bodisi ... bodisi either ... or
bodisi ... ali bodisi ... ali either ... or
Ali prideš ali ostaneš.
Ali prides ali ostanes.
“Either you come or you stay.”
“neither ... nor”
Slovenian Transliteration English
niti ... niti niti ... niti neither ... nor
ne ... ne ne ... ne neither ... nor
niti ... ne niti ... ne neither ... nor
Niti Janez niti Ana nista prišla.
Niti Janez niti Ana nista prisla.
“Neither Janez nor Ana came.”
“not only ... but also”
Slovenian Transliteration English
ne samo ... ampak tudi ne samo ... ampak tudi not only ... but also
ne le ... ampak tudi ne le ... ampak tudi not only ... but also
ne samo ... temveč tudi ne samo ... temvec tudi not only ... but also
ne le ... temveč tudi ne le ... temvec tudi not only ... but also
ne samo ... marveč tudi ne samo ... marvec tudi not only ... but also
Ne samo da bere, ampak tudi piše.
Ne samo da bere, ampak tudi pise.
“Not only does he read, but he also writes.”
6. Subordinating conjunctions
These introduce subordinate clauses.
Cause — “because / since”
Slovenian Transliteration English
ker ker because
kajti kajti because / for
saj saj because / since
zato ker zato ker because
zaradi tega ker zaradi tega ker because of the fact that
glede na to, da glede na to da given that
Example
Ostal sem doma, ker sem bil bolan.
Ostal sem doma, ker sem bil bolan.
“I stayed home because I was sick.”
7. Conditional conjunctions — “if”
Slovenian Transliteration English
če ce if
če bi ce bi if ... would
čeprav ceprav although / even though
če že ce ze if indeed / if already
v kolikor v kolikor if / insofar as
kolikor kolikor insofar as / as far as
pod pogojem, da pod pogojem da provided that
pod pogojem, če pod pogojem ce on condition that
v primeru, da v primeru da in case / if
v primeru če v primeru ce in case if
Če prideš, bom ostal.
Ce prides, bom ostal.
“If you come, I will stay.”
8. Negative conditional — “unless”
Slovenian Transliteration English
če ne ce ne unless / if not
razen če razen ce unless / except if
razen če ne razen ce ne unless
če ... ne ce ... ne if ... not
dokler ne dokler ne until / unless depending context
Ne bom šel, če ne prideš.
Ne bom sel, ce ne prides.
“I won't go unless you come.”
9. Concessive conjunctions — “although / even though”
Slovenian Transliteration English
čeprav ceprav although / even though
četudi cetudi even if / even though
čeravno ceravno although
dasiravno dasiravno although
čeprav tudi ceprav tudi although also
kljub temu da kljub temu da despite the fact that
navkljub temu da navkljub temu da despite the fact that
pa čeprav pa ceprav even though
če že ce ze even if / if indeed
Čeprav je utrujen, dela.
Ceprav je utrujen, dela.
“Although he is tired, he works.”
10. “Even if”
Slovenian Transliteration English
tudi če tudi ce even if
četudi cetudi even if
pa če pa ce even if
čeprav ceprav even though
pa čeprav pa ceprav even though
naj ... naj ... however / even if, in certain constructions
Tudi če dežuje, bomo šli.
Tudi ce dežuje, bomo sli.
“Even if it rains, we will go.”
11. Purpose — “so that / in order that”
Slovenian Transliteration English
da da so that
da bi da bi in order to / so that
zato da zato da so that
zato, da bi zato da bi so that / in order to
da ne da ne so that ... not
da ne bi da ne bi so that ... would not
z namenom, da z namenom da with the aim that
z namenom, da bi z namenom da bi in order to
Učim se, da bi opravil izpit.
Ucim se, da bi opravil izpit.
“I am studying so that I can pass the exam.”
12. Result / consequence — “so that”
Slovenian Transliteration English
tako da tako da so that / so
tako ... da tako ... da so ... that
toliko ... da toliko ... da so much ... that
tako zelo ... da tako zelo ... da so very ... that
tako veliko ... da tako veliko ... da so much/many ... that
tako malo ... da tako malo ... da so little/few ... that
do te mere, da do te mere da to such an extent that
Bil je utrujen, tako da je šel spat.
Bil je utrujen, tako da je sel spat.
“He was tired, so he went to bed.”
13. Temporal conjunctions — “when”
Slovenian Transliteration English
ko ko when
kadar kadar whenever / when
ko koli ko koli whenever
kadarkoli kadarkoli whenever
takoj ko takoj ko as soon as
brž ko brz ko as soon as
čim cim as soon as
komaj ko komaj ko hardly when / as soon as
potem ko potem ko after
preden preden before
preden ko preden ko before
dokler dokler while / until / as long as
dokler ne dokler ne until
medtem ko medtem ko while
odkar odkar since
odkar koli odkar koli since whenever
odkar odkar ever since
vse dokler vse dokler as long as / until
vse dokler ne vse dokler ne until
kadar koli kadar koli whenever
preden preden before
zatem ko zatem ko after
Examples
Ko pridem domov, bom poklical.
Ko pridem domov, bom poklical.
“When I get home, I will call.”
Poklical te bom, ko pridem.
Poklical te bom, ko pridem.
“I will call you when I arrive.”
14. “Before”
Slovenian Transliteration English
preden preden before
preden ko preden ko before
preden da preden da before
preden bi preden bi before ... would
Umij si roke, preden ješ.
Umij si roke, preden jes.
“Wash your hands before you eat.”
15. “After”
Slovenian Transliteration English
ko ko after/when
potem ko potem ko after
zatem ko zatem ko after
odkar odkar since
ko je ko je after/when
Potem ko je prišel, smo jedli.
Potem ko je prisel, smo jedli.
“After he arrived, we ate.”
16. “Until / as long as”
Slovenian Transliteration English
dokler dokler until / as long as
dokler ne dokler ne until
vse dokler vse dokler as long as / until
vse dokler ne vse dokler ne until
do takrat, ko do takrat ko until the time when
dokler koli dokler koli as long as
17. Comparison conjunctions
Slovenian Transliteration English
kot kot than / as
kakor kakor as / than
kakor da kakor da as if
kot da kot da as if
tako kot tako kot just as
tako kakor tako kakor just as
kakor ... tako kakor ... tako as ... so
kot ... tako kot ... tako as ... so
bolj ... kot bolj ... kot more ... than
manj ... kot manj ... kot less ... than
toliko ... kot toliko ... kot as much/many ... as
tako ... kot tako ... kot as ... as
Je višji kot jaz.
Je visji kot jaz.
“He is taller than me.”
18. “As if”
Slovenian Transliteration English
kot da kot da as if
kakor da kakor da as if
tako kot da tako kot da as though
kakor če kakor ce as if
Govoril je, kot da vse ve.
Govoril je, kot da vse ve.
“He spoke as if he knew everything.”
19. Explanatory / complement conjunctions
Slovenian Transliteration English
da da that
kako kako how
ali ali whether / if
če ce whether / if
zakaj zakaj why
kdo kdo who
kar kar what/which
Examples
Vem, da pride.
Vem, da pride.
“I know that he is coming.”
Ne vem, ali pride.
Ne vem, ali pride.
“I don't know whether he is coming.”
20. “Whether ... or”
Slovenian Transliteration English
ali ... ali ali ... ali whether ... or
bodisi ... bodisi bodisi ... bodisi whether ... or
naj ... ali naj ... ali whether ... or
naj bo ... ali naj bo ... ali whether it is ... or
Ne vem, ali pride ali ne.
Ne vem, ali pride ali ne.
“I don't know whether he is coming or not.”
21. Declarative / complement “that”
The main conjunction is:
Slovenian Transliteration English
da da that
zato da zato da so that
tako da tako da so that / so
brez da brez da without ...ing / without that
ne da ne da without / not that
Mislim, da ima prav.
Mislim, da ima prav.
“I think that he is right.”
22. “Without”
Slovenian normally uses brez da in some constructions, but this is not a simple conjunction in the same way as ker or če.
Slovenian Transliteration English
brez da brez da without
ne da bi ne da bi without
ne da ne da without / not that
Odšel je, ne da bi kaj rekel.
Odsel je, ne da bi kaj rekel.
“He left without saying anything.”
23. “Instead of / rather than”
Slovenian Transliteration English
namesto da namesto da instead of
namesto da bi namesto da bi instead of
raje kot raje kot rather than
prej kot prej kot rather than / sooner than
kot pa kot pa rather than
Namesto da bi delal, spi.
Namesto da bi delal, spi.
“Instead of working, he sleeps.”
24. Cause vs result
These are particularly important because English so has different functions.
Slovenian Transliteration English
ker ker because
kajti kajti because / for
saj saj because / after all
zato zato therefore
torej torej therefore / so
tako da tako da so / so that
zatorej zatorej therefore
posledično posledicno consequently
Ker je deževalo, smo ostali doma.
“Because it was raining, we stayed home.”
Deževalo je, zato smo ostali doma.
“It was raining, therefore we stayed home.”
25. “Therefore / so”
Strictly speaking, several of these are conjunctive adverbs or particles, rather than conjunctions.
Slovenian Transliteration English
zato zato therefore
torej torej therefore / so
zatorej zatorej therefore
tako tako thus
posledično posledicno consequently
potemtakem potemtakem consequently
zaradi tega zaradi tega because of that
26. Concessive-correlative constructions
Slovenian Transliteration English
če ... pa ce ... pa even if ...
tudi če tudi ce even if
četudi cetudi even if
čeprav ceprav although
pa čeprav pa ceprav even though
naj ... naj ... no matter how/whether
naj bo ... naj bo ... whether it be ...
27. “No matter how / whatever”
Slovenian Transliteration English
kakorkoli kakorkoli however
kjerkoli kjerkoli wherever
kamorkoli kamorkoli wherever/to wherever
kadarkoli kadarkoli whenever
karkoli karkoli whatever
kdorkoli kdorkoli whoever
ne glede na to, kako ne glede na to kako no matter how
ne glede na to, kaj ne glede na to kaj no matter what
ne glede na to, kdo ne glede na to kdo no matter who
ne glede na to, kje ne glede na to kje no matter where
28. Negative conjunctions
Slovenian Transliteration English
niti niti nor
ne ... ne ne ... ne neither ... nor
niti ... niti niti ... niti neither ... nor
niti ne niti ne not even / nor
ne da bi ne da bi without
da ne da ne so that ... not
da ne bi da ne bi so that ... would not
dokler ne dokler ne until
če ne ce ne if not / unless
29. “Even”
Slovenian Transliteration English
celo celo even
tudi tudi even / also
niti niti not even
celo če celo ce even if
tudi če tudi ce even if
četudi cetudi even if
čeprav ceprav even though
30. “As soon as”
Slovenian Transliteration English
takoj ko takoj ko as soon as
čim cim as soon as
brž ko brz ko as soon as
kakor hitro kakor hitro as soon as
takoj ko takoj ko as soon as
Takoj ko pridem, te pokličem.
Takoj ko pridem, te poklicem.
“As soon as I arrive, I will call you.”
31. “Since”
Slovenian Transliteration English
odkar odkar since
odkar je odkar je since
ker ker since/because
kajti kajti since/for
saj saj since/after all
32. “While / whereas”
Slovenian Transliteration English
medtem ko medtem ko while
ko ko while/when
medtem ko medtem ko whereas
pa pa while/whereas
medtem medtem meanwhile
Jaz delam, medtem ko on spi.
Jaz delam, medtem ko on spi.
“I work while he sleeps.”
11- PREPOSITIONS:
Slovenian Transliteration English Case
brez brez without Genitive
blizu blizu near Genitive
do do to / up to / until Genitive
iz iz from / out of Genitive
od od from / of Genitive
okoli okoli around Genitive
okrog okrog around Genitive
poleg poleg beside / besides Genitive
poleg poleg next to Genitive
preko preko across / over Genitive
čez cez across / over Accusative
zaradi zaradi because of Genitive
zoper zoper against Accusative
glede glede regarding Genitive
mimo mimo past / by Genitive
razen razen except Genitive
namesto namesto instead of Genitive
vrh vrh on top of Genitive
dno dno at the bottom of Genitive
vzdolž vzdolz along Genitive
zunaj zunaj outside Genitive
znotraj znotraj inside / within Genitive
onkraj onkraj beyond Genitive
sredi sredi in the middle of Genitive
spričo sprico in view of / because of Genitive
vsled vsled due to Genitive
Some items above, such as vrh, dno, sredi, are traditionally treated as nouns used prepositionally or as secondary prepositions, depending on the grammar.
2. Dative prepositions
Slovenian Transliteration English Case
k k to / toward Dative
h h to / toward Dative
proti proti toward / against Dative
naproti naproti opposite / toward Dative
nasproti nasproti opposite Dative
kljub kljub despite / in spite of Dative
navkljub navkljub despite Dative
zaradi zaradi because of Genitive
zahvaljujoč zahvaljujoc thanks to Dative
v prid v prid in favor of Dative
k / h
k is the normal form:
k prijatelju
k prijatelju
“to a friend”
h occurs before certain sounds, especially k, g, h:
h komu
h komu
“to whom”
3. Accusative prepositions
Slovenian Transliteration English Case
čez cez across / over / through Accusative
skozi skozi through Accusative
za za for / behind / to Accusative
na na onto / to Accusative
v v into / to Accusative
pod pod under / to under Accusative
nad nad over / to over Accusative
pred pred in front of / to in front of Accusative
med med among / between Accusative
ob ob against / onto / beside Accusative in certain uses
po po for / after / around Accusative in certain constructions
za za for Accusative
vzdolž vzdolz along Accusative in some uses
zoper zoper against Accusative
The most important ones are:
v + Accusative = movement into
v hišo
v hiso
“into the house”
na + Accusative = movement onto/to
na mizo
na mizo
“onto the table”
4. Locative prepositions
Slovenian Transliteration English Case
v v in Locative
na na on / at Locative
o o about Locative
pri pri at / by / near Locative
po po around / throughout / after Locative
ob ob at / beside / against Locative
proti proti toward / against Dative normally
The most important:
v hiši
v hisi
“in the house”
na mizi
na mizi
“on the table”
pri zdravniku
pri zdravniku
“at the doctor”
o knjigi
o knjigi
“about the book”
5. Instrumental prepositions
Slovenian Transliteration English Case
s s with / from Instrumental
z z with / from Instrumental
pred pred in front of Instrumental
za za behind Instrumental
nad nad above / over Instrumental
pod pod under Instrumental
med med among / between Instrumental
ob ob beside / against Instrumental in certain uses
s / z
s and z both mean with.
s prijateljem
s prijateljem
“with a friend”
z mamo
z mamo
“with mother”
The choice depends on the following sound.
6. Prepositions that change case
This is one of the most important parts of Slovenian prepositions.
v — in / into
Construction Example English
v + Locative v hiši in the house
v + Accusative v hišo into the house
Sem v hiši.
Sem v hisi.
“I am in the house.”
Grem v hišo.
Grem v hiso.
“I am going into the house.”
na — on / onto / to
Construction Example English
na + Locative na mizi on the table
na + Accusative na mizo onto the table
Knjiga je na mizi.
Knjiga je na mizi.
“The book is on the table.”
Položim knjigo na mizo.
Polozim knjigo na mizo.
“I put the book onto the table.”
pod — under
Construction Example English
pod + Instrumental pod mizo under the table
pod + Accusative pod mizo to/under the table
The case distinguishes location vs. movement.
nad — above / over
Construction Example English
nad + Instrumental nad mizo above the table
nad + Accusative nad mizo to/over the table
pred — in front of
Construction Example English
pred + Instrumental pred hišo in front of the house
pred + Accusative pred hišo to/in front of the house
za — behind / for
Construction Example English
za + Instrumental za hišo behind the house
za + Accusative za hišo to/behind the house
za + Accusative za prijatelja for a friend
med — between / among
Construction Example English
med + Instrumental med ljudmi among people
med + Accusative med ljudi among/to among people
7. “With” and “from” — s/z
The preposition s/z has two important uses.
With
z avtom
z avtom
“by car / with a car”
s prijateljem
s prijateljem
“with a friend”
From/off a surface
s mize
s mize
“from/off the table”
z drevesa
z drevesa
“from/off the tree”
This latter use takes the genitive.
8. Place and spatial prepositions
Slovenian Transliteration English
v v in / into
na na on / onto
pod pod under
nad nad above
pred pred in front of
za za behind
med med between / among
ob ob beside / against
pri pri at / by
k k toward / to
h h toward / to
iz iz out of / from inside
od od from
s s from/off
z z from/off
skozi skozi through
čez cez across / over
mimo mimo past
okoli okoli around
okrog okrog around
blizu blizu near
poleg poleg beside
nasproti nasproti opposite
naproti naproti toward / opposite
med med among
onkraj onkraj beyond
znotraj znotraj inside
zunaj zunaj outside
sredi sredi in the middle of
vzdolž vzdolz along
9. Time prepositions
Slovenian Transliteration English
pred pred before
po po after
med med during
do do until / by
od od from / since
za za in / within
čez cez in / after
ob ob at
okoli okoli around / about
proti proti toward / around
sredi sredi in the middle of
konec konec toward the end of
v začetku v zacetku at the beginning of
na začetku na zacetku at the beginning of
konec konec at the end of
Examples:
pred kosilom
pred kosilom
“before lunch”
po kosilu
po kosilu
“after lunch”
med počitnicami
med pocitnicami
“during the holidays”
do večera
do vecera
“until evening”
čez eno uro
cez eno uro
“in one hour”
10. Cause / reason
Slovenian Transliteration English Case
zaradi zaradi because of Genitive
spričo sprico because of / in view of Genitive
vsled vsled due to Genitive
zaradi zaradi owing to Genitive
po po because of / due to, in some expressions varies
iz iz out of / from, figurative cause Genitive
Zaradi dežja smo ostali doma.
Zaradi dezja smo ostali doma.
“Because of the rain, we stayed home.”
11. Purpose / beneficiary
Slovenian Transliteration English
za za for
k k toward / for
v korist v korist for the benefit of
v prid v prid in favor of
z namenom z namenom with the purpose
zaradi zaradi for the sake of / because of
na na for, in certain expressions
To je za tebe.
To je za tebe.
“This is for you.”
12. Means / instrument
Slovenian Transliteration English
s s with / by
z z with / by
preko preko via / through
skozi skozi through
po po by / via
s pomočjo s pomocjo with the help of
s pomočjo s pomocjo by means of
Potujem z vlakom.
Potujem z vlakom.
“I travel by train.”
To sem naredil s pomočjo prijatelja.
To sem naredil s pomocjo prijatelja.
“I did this with the help of a friend.”
13. Accompaniment
Slovenian Transliteration English
s s with
z z with
skupaj s skupaj s together with
skupaj z skupaj z together with
ob ob with / alongside, context-dependent
Šel je s prijateljem.
Sel je s prijateljem.
“He went with a friend.”
14. Comparison
Slovenian Transliteration English
kot kot than / as
kakor kakor than / as
v primerjavi z v primerjavi z compared with
v nasprotju z v nasprotju z in contrast to
podobno kot podobno kot similarly to
drugače kot drugace kot differently from
tako kot tako kot just like
15. Opposition
Slovenian Transliteration English
proti proti against
zoper zoper against
kljub kljub despite
navkljub navkljub despite
nasproti nasproti opposite / contrary to
v nasprotju z v nasprotju z contrary to
proti proti against / toward
16. Exception
Slovenian Transliteration English
razen razen except
razen za razen za except for
razen pri razen pri except at/with
razen v razen v except in
razen z razen z except with
izvzemši izvzemsi excluding
z izjemo z izjemo with the exception of
Vsi razen Janeza so prišli.
Vsi razen Janeza so prisli.
“Everyone except Janez came.”
17. Compound prepositional expressions
These are extremely common in Slovenian.
Slovenian Transliteration English
skupaj z skupaj z together with
skupaj s skupaj s together with
v bližini v blizini near
v okolici v okolici in the vicinity of
v okolici v okolici around
v sredini v sredini in the middle of
sredi sredi in the middle of
na sredini na sredini in the middle of
na vrhu na vrhu on top of
na dnu na dnu at the bottom of
na koncu na koncu at the end of
na začetku na zacetku at the beginning of
v začetku v zacetku at the beginning of
v času v casu during
v primeru v primeru in case of
v primeru da v primeru da in case that
zaradi tega zaradi tega because of that
zaradi zaradi because of
glede na glede na regarding / according to
v zvezi z v zvezi z in connection with
v povezavi z v povezavi z in connection with
v skladu z v skladu z in accordance with
v nasprotju z v nasprotju z contrary to
v primerjavi z v primerjavi z compared with
v korist v korist in favor of
v prid v prid in favor of
na račun na racun at the expense of
na podlagi na podlagi on the basis of
na osnovi na osnovi on the basis of
s pomočjo s pomocjo with the help of
s strani s strani on the part of
po zaslugi po zaslugi thanks to
po krivdi po krivdi through the fault of
z namenom z namenom with the purpose of
v imenu v imenu in the name of
za razliko od za razliko od unlike
ne glede na ne glede na regardless of
kljub temu kljub temu despite that
vpričo vprico in the presence of
v odsotnosti v odsotnosti in the absence of
v času v casu during
ob koncu ob koncu at the end of
ob začetku ob zacetku at the beginning of
pred koncem pred koncem before the end of
po koncu po koncu after the end of
18. “According to / in accordance with”
Slovenian Transliteration English
po po according to
glede na glede na according to / considering
v skladu z v skladu z in accordance with
skladno z skladno z in accordance with
v skladu s v skladu s in accordance with
po mnenju po mnenju according to the opinion of
po podatkih po podatkih according to the data
po besedah po besedah according to the words of
Po njegovem mnenju je to pravilno.
Po njegovem mnenju je to pravilno.
“According to his opinion, this is correct.”
19. “About / concerning”
Slovenian Transliteration English
o o about
glede glede regarding
glede na glede na regarding / in view of
v zvezi z v zvezi z concerning / regarding
kar zadeva kar zadeva as for / concerning
v povezavi z v povezavi z in connection with
na temo na temo on the topic of
v zvezi s v zvezi s concerning
Govorimo o filmu.
Govorimo o filmu.
“We are talking about the film.”
20. “Instead of”
Slovenian Transliteration English
namesto namesto instead of
namesto da namesto da instead of
namesto tega namesto tega instead of this
v zameno za v zameno za in exchange for
namesto namesto in place of
21. “Beyond / within / outside”
Slovenian Transliteration English
znotraj znotraj inside / within
zunaj zunaj outside
onkraj onkraj beyond
preko preko beyond / across
čez cez across / beyond
v v in / within
izven izven outside / beyond
zunaj zunaj outside
22. Direction: “from”
Slovenian distinguishes different kinds of from.
Slovenian Transliteration Meaning
iz iz from inside
od od from a person/source
s s from/off a surface
z z from/off a surface
Examples
iz hiše
iz hise
“from the house / out of the house”
od prijatelja
od prijatelja
“from a friend”
z mize
z mize
“from/off the table”
23. Direction: “to”
Slovenian Transliteration English
v v into / to
na na onto / to
k k to / toward
h h to / toward
proti proti toward
do do up to / as far as
Examples:
Grem v šolo.
Grem v solo.
“I am going to school.”
Grem na trg.
Grem na trg.
“I am going to the square.”
Grem k zdravniku.
Grem k zdravniku.
“I am going to the doctor.”
Most important case-changing group
Preposition Location Movement
v v + Locative v + Accusative
na na + Locative na + Accusative
pod pod + Instrumental pod + Accusative
nad nad + Instrumental nad + Accusative
pred pred + Instrumental pred + Accusative
za za + Instrumental za + Accusative
med med + Instrumental med + Accusative
So the key pattern is:
Location → Instrumental/Locative
Movement toward → Accusative
For example:
v hiši — v hisi — in the house
v hišo — v hiso — into the house
na mizi — na mizi — on the table
na mizo — na mizo — onto the table
pod mizo — pod mizo — under the table
pred hišo — pred hiso — in front of the house
za hišo — za hiso — behind the house
12- DETERMINERS
Slovenian Transliteration English Example
ta ta this ta knjiga — this book
ta ta this ta človek — this person
ta ta these te knjige — these books
ta ta these ti ljudje — these people
ta ta this/that to mesto — this/that place
ta ta these te hiše — these houses
tisti tisti that tisti človek — that person
tisti tisti those tisti ljudje — those people
tisti tisti that tista hiša — that house
tisti tisti those tiste hiše — those houses
tisti tisti that tisto mesto — that place
tak tak such / this kind of tak človek — such a person
takšen taksen such / of such a kind takšen človek — such a person
tak tak such takšna hiša — such a house
takšen taksen such takšno mesto — such a place
Main demonstrative stems:
ta = this
tisti = that
tak / takšen = such / of this kind
2. Possessive determiners
Slovenian possessives agree with the noun they modify.
Slovenian Transliteration English Example
moj moj my moj avto — my car
tvoj tvoj your tvoj avto — your car
njegov njegov his njegov avto — his car
njen njen her njen avto — her car
najin najin our (two people) najin avto — our car
vajin vajin your (two people) vajin avto — your car
njun njun their (two people) njun avto — their car
naš nas our naš avto — our car
vaš vas your vaš avto — your car
njihov njihov their njihov avto — their car
svoj svoj one's own svoj avto — one's own car
Possessive paradigm
Person Singular Dual Plural
1st moj — my najin — our naš — our
2nd tvoj — your vajin — your vaš — your
3rd njegov — his njun — their njihov — their
Reflexive svoj — one's own svoj — one's own svoj — one's own
The possessive forms change for gender, number and case:
moj avto — my car
moja hiša — my house
moje mesto — my city
moji prijatelji — my friends
3. Interrogative determiners
These are used to ask which/what kind of noun.
Slovenian Transliteration English Example
kateri kateri which Kateri avto? — Which car?
katera katera which Katera knjiga? — Which book?
katero katero which Katero mesto? — Which city?
čigav cigav whose Čigav avto? — Whose car?
čigava cigava whose Čigava hiša? — Whose house?
čigavo cigavo whose Čigavo mesto? — Whose city?
kak kak what kind of Kak avto? — What kind of car?
kakšen kaksen what kind of Kakšen avto? — What kind of car?
katerikšen kateriksen which kind / what sort Katerikšen človek? — What sort of person?
4. Indefinite determiners
These indicate an unspecified or unidentified noun.
Slovenian Transliteration English Example
nek nek some / a certain nek človek — some person
neka neka some / a certain neka ženska — some woman
neko neko some / a certain neko mesto — some place
neki neki some / a certain neki ljudje — some people
nekateri nekateri some / certain nekateri ljudje — some people
nekakšen nekaksen some kind of nekakšen problem — some kind of problem
nekak nekak some kind of nekak problem — some kind of problem
katerikoli katerikoli any / whichever katerikoli avto — any car
katerakoli katerakoli any / whichever katerakoli knjiga — any book
katerokoli katerokoli any / whichever katerokoli mesto — any city
kakršenkoli kakrsenkoli whatever kind of kakršenkoli problem — whatever kind of problem
vsak vsak every / each vsak dan — every day
vsaka vsaka every / each vsaka hiša — every house
vsako vsako every / each vsako mesto — every city
sleherni sleherni every / each sleherni človek — every person
marsikateri marsikateri many a / many marsikateri človek — many a person
marsikak marsikak many kinds of marsikak problem — many kinds of problems
marsikateri marsikateri many / numerous marsikateri primer — many a case
5. Negative determiners
Slovenian Transliteration English Example
noben noben no / not any noben človek — no person
nobena nobena no / not any nobena knjiga — no book
nobeno nobeno no / not any nobeno mesto — no city
nikakršen nikaksen no kind of nikakršen problem — no kind of problem
nobeden nobeden nobody / no one normally pronoun, not determiner
Important:
noben directly modifies a noun:
Noben človek ni prišel.
Noben clovek ni prisel.
No person came.
Whereas nobeden normally stands independently:
Nobeden ni prišel.
No one came.
So noben is determiner-like, while nobeden is primarily a pronoun.
6. Universal determiners
Slovenian Transliteration English Example
vsak vsak every / each vsak človek — every person
vsakdo* vsakdo everyone pronoun
vsakršen vsakrsen every kind of / any kind of vsakršen problem — every kind of problem
sleherni sleherni every / each sleherni človek — every person
ves ves all / the whole ves dan — the whole day
vsa vsa all / the whole vsa hiša — the whole house
vse vse all / the whole vse mesto — the whole city
cel cel whole / entire cel dan — the whole day
cela cela whole / entire cela hiša — the whole house
celo celo whole / entire celo mesto — the whole city
* vsakdo is a pronoun rather than a noun modifier.
7. Quantifying determiners
These specify quantity.
Slovenian Transliteration English Example
veliko veliko much / a lot of veliko ljudi — many people
malo malo little / few malo ljudi — few people
precej precej quite a lot of precej ljudi — quite a lot of people
dovolj dovolj enough dovolj časa — enough time
nekaj nekaj some / several nekaj ljudi — some people
nič nic no / nothing nič ljudi — no people
mnogo mnogo many / much mnogo ljudi — many people
ogromno ogromno a huge amount of ogromno ljudi — huge numbers of people
obilo obilo plenty of obilo časa — plenty of time
kopica kopica a heap/lot of kopica ljudi — a lot of people
množica mnozica a multitude of množica ljudi — a multitude of people
vrsta vrsta a number/series of vrsta problemov — a number of problems
Some of these are quantifiers or nouns used in quantifying constructions, rather than strict determiners.
8. Exact quantity / numeral determiners
Cardinal numbers can function as noun-determining quantifiers.
Slovenian Transliteration English Example
en en one en človek — one person
dva dva two dva človeka — two people
tri tri three tri knjige — three books
štiri stiri four štiri hiše — four houses
pet pet five pet ljudi — five people
šest sest six šest ljudi — six people
sedem sedem seven sedem dni — seven days
osem osem eight osem knjig — eight books
devet devet nine devet ljudi — nine people
deset deset ten deset hiš — ten houses
sto sto one hundred sto ljudi — one hundred people
tisoč tisoc one thousand tisoč ljudi — one thousand people
milijon milijon million milijon ljudi — a million people
Ordinal numbers can also determine nouns:
Slovenian Transliteration English Example
prvi prvi first prvi dan — the first day
drugi drugi second drugi dan — the second day
tretji tretji third tretji dan — the third day
četrti cetrti fourth četrti dan — the fourth day
zadnji zadnji last zadnji dan — the last day
9. Fractional / distributive quantity words
Slovenian Transliteration English Example
vsak vsak each / every vsak učenec — each student
vsakokratni vsakokratni each respective / every given vsakokratni primer — each respective case
oboji oboji both oboji starši — both parents
oboj oboj both kinds / both oboja vrata — both doors
dvojni dvojni double dvojna cena — double price
trojni trojni triple trojna količina — triple quantity
polovica polovica half polovica časa — half the time
četrtina cetrtina quarter četrtina leta — a quarter of the year
Again, polovica and četrtina are nouns rather than strict determiners.
10. Collective / group determiners
Slovenian Transliteration English Example
oba oba both oba človeka — both people
obe obe both obe ženski — both women
oboje oboje both / both things oboje — both
troje troje three (collective) troje otrok — three children
četvero cetvero four (collective) četvero otrok — four children
petero petero five (collective) petero otrok — five children
mnogo mnogo many mnogo otrok — many children
nekaj nekaj some/several nekaj otrok — several children
11. Determiners expressing “another / other”
Slovenian Transliteration English Example
drug drug another / other drug človek — another person
druga druga another / other druga knjiga — another book
drugo drugo another / other drugo mesto — another place
drugi drugi other / second drugi ljudje — other people
preostali preostali remaining / the rest preostali ljudje — the remaining people
naslednji naslednji next naslednji dan — the next day
prejšnji prejsnji previous prejšnji dan — the previous day
vsak drug vsak drug every other vsak drugi dan — every other day
12. Determiners expressing similarity or kind
Slovenian Transliteration English Example
tak tak such tak človek — such a person
takšen taksen such takšen človek — such a person
drugačen drugacen different drugačen človek — a different person
isti isti same isti človek — the same person
enak enak same/equal enak problem — the same/equal problem
različen razlicen different različni ljudje — different people
podoben podoben similar podoben primer — a similar case
vsakršen vsakrsen every kind of vsakršen problem — every kind of problem
kakršen kakrsen whatever kind of / what kind of kakršen koli problem — whatever kind of problem
nikakršen nikaksen no kind of nikakršen problem — no kind of problem
13. Indefinite compounds
Slovenian creates many indefinite determiner-like forms with -koli, -koli, etc.
Slovenian Transliteration English
kateri koli kateri koli any / whichever
katerikoli katerikoli any / whichever
kakršen koli kakrsen koli whatever kind of
kakršenikoli kakrsenikoli whatever kind of
kdorkoli kdorkoli whoever
karkoli karkoli whatever
kjerkoli kjerkoli wherever
kadarkoli kadarkoli whenever
kamorkoli kamorkoli wherever / to wherever
The last several are pronouns/adverbs, not noun determiners when used independently.
14. Negative/indefinite compounds
Slovenian Transliteration English
noben noben no / not any
nikakršen nikaksen no kind of
nič nic nothing / no amount
nobeden nobeden nobody
nihče nihce nobody
ničesar nicesar nothing
nikogar nikogar nobody / no one
nikjer nikjer nowhere
nikoli nikoli never
nikamor nikamor nowhere / to nowhere
Only noben and nikakršen directly function as noun determiners in the normal sense.
15. Possessive/genitive determiner expressions
Slovenian can also use noun phrases in the genitive to specify possession or association:
Slovenian Transliteration English Example
Janezov Janezov Janez's Janezov avto — Janez's car
Marijin Marijin Mary's Marijin avto — Mary's car
očetov ocetov father's očetov avto — father's car
materin materin mother's materina hiša — mother's house
otrokov otrokov child's otrokova knjiga — the child's book
prijateljev prijateljev friend's prijateljev avto — friend's car
13- IF CONDITIONAL
Zero če + present, present Če dežuje, je mokro. If it rains, it is wet.
First če + present, future Če prideš, bom vesel. If you come, I will be happy.
Second če + bi + participle, bi + participle Če bi imel denar, bi kupil. If I had money, I would buy.
Third če bi bil + participle, bi bil + participle Če bi prišel, bi videl. If I had come, I would have seen.
Mixed combination Če bi delal, bi imel več denarja. If I worked, I would have more money.
jaz delal bi I would work
ti delal bi you would work
on delal bi he would work
ona delala bi she would work
mi delali bi we would work
vi delali bi you would work
oni delali bi they would work
Takrat bi delal. I would be working then.
Delal bi bil. I would have worked.
Šel bi bil. I would have gone.
Kupil bi bil avto. I would have bought a car.
Rad bi jedel. I would like to eat. (male)
Rada bi jedla. I would like to eat. (female)
Radi bi šli. We would like to go.
Želel bi govoriti s tabo. I would like/want to speak with you.
Želela bi iti domov. She would like to go home.
Mogel bi pomagati. I would be able to help.
Moral bi delati. I would have to work.
Morala bi iti. She would have to go.
Vedno sem hodil tja. OR: Vedno bi hodil tja. I would always go there (habitual).
če + bi + participle, bi + participle:
Če bi imel denar, bi kupil avto. If I had money, I would buy a car.
Če bi vedel, bi prišel. If I had known, I would have come.
jaz (m) bil bi I would be
jaz (f) bila bi I would be
ti (m) bil bi you would be
ona bila bi she would be
mi bili bi we would be
oni bili bi they would be
jaz (m) ne bi delal I would not work
jaz (f) ne bi delala I would not work
ti (m) ne bi delal you would not work
ti (f) ne bi delala you would not work
on ne bi delal he would not work
ona ne bi delala she would not work
ono ne bi delalo it would not work
midva ne bi delala we two would not work
midve ne bi delali we two would not work
mi ne bi delali we would not work
me ne bi delale we would not work
oni ne bi delali they would not work
one ne bi delale they would not work
jaz (m) ne bi bil I would not be
jaz (f) ne bi bila I would not be
ti (m) ne bi bil you would not be
ona ne bi bila she would not be
ono ne bi bilo it would not be
mi ne bi bili we would not be
one ne bi bile they would not be
Takrat ne bi delal. I would not be working then.
Ne bi bil delal. I would not have worked.
Ne bi bila šla. She would not have gone.
Ne bi kupili hiše. They would not have bought the house.
Male Ne bi rad jedel. I would not like to eat.
Female Ne bi rada jedla. I would not like to eat.
Plural Ne bi radi jedli. We would not like to eat.
jaz (m) napisan bi bil I would be written
jaz (f) napisana bi bila I would be written
ti (m) napisan bi bil You would be written
ti (f) napisana bi bila You would be written
on napisan bi bil He would be written
ona napisana bi bila She would be written
ono napisano bi bilo It would be written
mi napisani bi bili We would be written
ve napisane bi bile You (f) would be written
vi napisani bi bili You would be written
oni napisani bi bili They would be written
one napisane bi bile They would be written
Knjiga bi se pisala. The book would be being written.
Knjiga bi bila napisana. The book would have been written.
Pismo bi bilo poslano. The letter would have been sent.
Projekt bi bil končan. The project would have been finished.
To bi se lahko naredilo. This could be done.
Problem bi se lahko rešil. The problem could be solved.
moralo bi biti + passive participle
To bi moralo biti narejeno. This would have to be done.
Če + bi + passive participle, bi + passive participle:
Če bi bila knjiga napisana, bi bila prebrana. If the book were written, it would be read.
Če bi bila knjiga napisana, bi bila objavljena. If the book had been written, it would have been published.
Rad bi bil obveščen. I would like to be informed.
Rada bi bila sprejeta. I would like to be accepted.
Pisma bi bila vedno poslana. (The letters would always sent.)
jaz (m) ne bi bil napisan I would not be written
jaz (f) ne bi bila napisana I would not be written
ti (m) ne bi bil napisan you would not be written
ti (f) ne bi bila napisana you would not be written
on ne bi bil napisan he would not be written
ona ne bi bila napisana she would not be written
ono ne bi bilo napisano it would not be written
mi ne bi bili napisani we would not be written
me ne bi bile napisane we would not be written
oni ne bi bili napisani they would not be written
one ne bi bile napisane they would not be written
Knjiga se ne bi pisala. The book would not be being written.
Hiša se ne bi gradila. The house would not be being built.
Avto se ne bi popravljal. The car would not be being repaired.
would not be done ne bi bil + participle Knjiga ne bi bila napisana
would not be being done ne bi se + imperfective verb Knjiga se ne bi pisala
would not have been done ne bi bil + participle Knjiga ne bi bila napisana
would not have been being done ne bi se + imperfective verb Hiša se ne bi gradila
would not be able to be done ne bi se moglo + infinitive Tega ne bi bilo mogoče narediti
would not have to be done ne bi bilo treba + infinitive Tega ne bi bilo treba narediti
would not like to be done ne bi rad/rada bil + participle Ne bi rad bil povabljen
14- COMPARATIVE AND SUPERLATIVE
Positive adjective lep beautiful
Comparative stem + -ši/-ji/-ejši lepši more beautiful
Superlative naj + comparative najlepši most beautiful
Analytical comparative bolj + adjective bolj zanimiv more interesting
Analytical superlative najbolj + adjective najbolj zanimiv most interesting
Equality tako + adj + kot tako lep kot as beautiful as
Inferiority manj + adj + kot manj lep kot less beautiful than
Increasing čedalje + comparative čedalje lepši more and more beautiful
Degree comparison čim + comparative, tem + comparative čim več, tem bolje the more, the better
Adverb (prislov): -je or bolj + adverb
Superlative: naj- + comparative or najbolj + adverb hitro → hitreje → najhitreje; pogosto → bolj pogosto → najbolj pogosto quickly → faster → fastest; often → more often → most often Peter teče hitreje kot Ana, toda Marko teče najhitreje. Peter runs faster than Ana, but Marko runs the fastest.
Noun (samostalnik): več / manj + noun (genitive)
Superlative:največ / najmanj + noun (genitive) več knjig → največ knjig more books → most books Imam več knjig kot brat, sestra pa ima največ knjig. I have more books than my brother, but my sister has the most books.
Verb (glagol): več / manj + verb
Superlative:največ / najmanj + verb dela več → dela največ works more → works the most Ana dela več kot jaz, toda Luka dela največ. Ana works more than I do, but Luka works the most.
Pronoun (zaimek): več / manj (quantity pronouns)
Superlative:največ / najmanj več jih → največ jih more of them → most of them Več jih je prišlo danes, največ jih bo prišlo jutri. More of them came today, and most of them will come tomorrow.
Determiner (določevalnik): več / manj
Superlative: največ / najmanj veliko → več → največ many/much → more → most Letos je več turistov kot lani, največ pa jih pride poleti. There are more tourists this year than last year, and the most come in the summer.
Numeral (števnik): več kot + numeral
Superlative: največ (expressing the greatest quantity) več kot dva → največ (ljudi/knjig) more than two → the most (people/books) Na srečanje je prišlo več kot deset ljudi, največ doslej. More than ten people came to the meeting—the most so far.
express more with več and less with manj
Positive adjective adjective lep beautiful
Synthetic comparative -ši/-ji/-ejši lepši more beautiful
Analytical comparative bolj + adjective bolj zanimiv more interesting
Synthetic superlative naj- + comparative najlepši most beautiful
Analytical superlative najbolj + adjective najbolj zanimiv most interesting
Inferior comparison manj + adjective manj zanimiv less interesting
Equality tako + adj. + kot tako lep kot as beautiful as
Quantity comparative več + noun več knjig more books
Quantity superlative največ + noun največ knjig most books
Quantity inferior manj + noun manj knjig fewer books
Quantity least najmanj + noun najmanj knjig fewest books
Verb comparison več/manj + verb dela več works more
Progressive vedno bolj + adj. vedno boljši better and better
Progressive negative vedno manj + adj. vedno manjši smaller and smaller
More...more čim...tem... čim več, tem bolje the more, the better
As...as possible čim + comparative čim prej as soon as possible
15- RELATIVE CLAUSES
who Človek, ki govori The person who is speaking
that (object) Knjiga, ki sem jo kupil The book that I bought
to whom Fant, ki sem mu pisal The boy whom I wrote to
whose Mož, čigar avto The man whose car
in which Hiša, v kateri živim The house in which I live
with which Nož, s katerim režem The knife with which I cut
whoever Kdor pride Whoever comes
what Kar vidiš What you see
as much as Kolikor potrebuješ As much as you need
Knjiga, ki sem jo kupil. The book I bought
Mož, ki dela tukaj, je prijazen. The man who works here is friendly.
Relative clauses can have a shorter form, however this is optional:
Present active participle verb stem + -č/-eč/-oč + noun jokajoči otrok crying child
Past passive participle passive participle + noun napisana knjiga written book
Adjective adjective + noun velika hiša big house
Prepositional phrase noun + prepositional phrase ljudje v sobi people in the room
Infinitive phrase noun + za + infinitive/verbal expression delo za opraviti work to do
Genitive phrase noun + genitive noun vrata hiše the house's door / the door of the house
16- REPORTED SPEECH AND DIRECT SPEECH
Direct Speech: Reporting clause + ":" + quotation OR: "Quotation," + reporting clause
Reported Speech:
Statement Reporting verb + da + clause Rekel je, da prihaja. He said that he is coming.
Negative statement Reporting verb + da + ne + clause Rekel je, da ne prihaja. He said that he isn't coming.
Yes/No question Reporting verb + ali + clause Vprašal je, ali prihajam. He asked whether I was coming.
Wh-question Reporting verb + wh-word + clause Vprašal je, kje živim. He asked where I lived.
Command Reporting verb + naj + verb Rekel mi je, naj pridem. He told me to come.
Negative command Reporting verb + naj + ne + verb Rekel mi je, naj ne zamudim. He told me not to be late.
Request Prositi + naj + verb Prosil me je, naj mu pomagam. He asked me to help him.
Suggestion Predlagati + da + clause Predlagal je, da gremo domov. He suggested that we go home.
17- INFINITIVES AND VERBAL NOUNS
Infinitive verb + infinitive Moram delati. I must work. (VERB STEM + -ti)
Gerund as subject verbal noun Branje pomaga. Reading helps.
Gerund as object verbal noun Obožujem plavanje. I love swimming.
After prepositions preposition + verbal noun Po branju After reading
Purpose da bi + verb Prišel sem, da bi pomagal. I came to help.
Perception object + infinitive Vidim ga teči. I see him run/running.
Reduced relative participle Jokajoči otrok Crying child
GERUNDS:
Verbal noun (glagolnik) verb stem + -anje/-enje etc. branje reading
-anje verbal noun stem + -anje delati → delanje working/doing
-enje verbal noun stem + -enje govoriti → govorjenje speaking
-ovanje verbal noun stem + -ovanje potovati → potovanje traveling
-itev action/result noun stem + -itev odločiti → odločitev decision
Gerund as subject verbal noun Branje je koristno. Reading is useful.
Gerund as object/activity verbal noun Branje mi je všeč. I like reading.
After preposition preposition + declined verbal noun o branju about reading
Before -ing pred + instrumental pred spanjem before sleeping
After -ing po + locative po učenju after studying
Without -ing brez + genitive brez čakanja without waiting
Present active participle present stem + -č govoreč speaking
Infinitive stem + -ti/-či brati to read
Present finite verb present-tense conjugation berem I read / I am reading
Reflexive verbal noun verbal noun + se umivanje washing oneself
Purpose infinitive / da bi + verb prišel pomagat came to help
"I like -ing" rad/rada + present verb Rad berem. I like reading.
"I want to -ing" želim + infinitive Želim brati. I want to read.
I am happy seeing you. Vesel sem, da te vidim. adjective + da + present tense
I am happy to see you. Vesel sem, da te vidim. adjective + da + present tense
I plan to eat. Načrtujem jesti. (more idiomatic: Načrtujem, da bom jedel.) verb + infinitive / da clause
I plan eating. Načrtujem jesti. (English gerund → infinitive) verb + infinitive
I see him run. Vidim ga teči. perception verb + object + infinitive
I see him running. Vidim ga teči. perception verb + object + infinitive
I eat to play / in order to play. Jem, da bi igral. main clause + da bi + conditional verb
18- SUBJUNCTIVE
Wish da + present Želim, da pride. I want him to come.
Desire da + present Hočem, da dela. I want him to work.
Recommendation da + present Priporočam, da počiva. I recommend that he rest.
Necessity da + present Treba je, da greš. It is necessary that you go.
Possibility da + present Mogoče je, da pride. It is possible that he comes.
Purpose da bi + conditional Prišel sem, da bi pomagal. I came to help.
Commands naj + verb Naj pride. Let him come.
Hypothetical bi + verb Kupil bi avto. I would buy a car.
19- TAG QUESTIONS
kajne? right? / isn't it? Most common Lepo je, kajne?
ne? right? Casual Lepo je, ne?
a ne? right? Very spoken Prideš, a ne?
ali ne? or not? Formal Res je, ali ne?
mar ne? isn't it so? Formal/literary Strinjate se, mar ne?
Ti si utrujen, kajne? You are tired, aren't you?
Danes je lepo vreme, kajne? The weather is nice today, isn't it?
Ona je učiteljica, kajne? She is a teacher, isn't she?
Ne delaš danes, kajne? You are not working today, are you?
Ne prideš jutri, kajne? You are not coming tomorrow, are you?
Nimaš časa, kajne? You don't have time, do you?
Present ne + verb Ne prideš? Aren't you coming?
With biti nisi/ni/nismo + adjective/noun Nisi utrujen? Aren't you tired?
With imeti nimaš/nima + noun Nimaš časa? Don't you have time?
Past ne + auxiliary + participle Nisi prišel? Didn't you come?
Future ne + future auxiliary + participle Ne boš šel? Won't you go?
Modal ne + modal verb Ne moreš priti? Can't you come?
Wh-question wh-word + ne + verb Zakaj ne prideš? Why don't you come?
Surprise ne + verb?! Ne veš?! You don't know?!
20- MODAL WORDS
Slovenian Transliteration English meaning Example
morati morati must / have to Moram iti. — I must go.
moči moci can / be able to Lahko grem. — I can go.
smeti smeti may / be allowed to Smeš iti. — You may go.
hoteti hoteti want to / be willing to Hočem iti. — I want to go.
želeti zeleti wish / want to Želim iti. — I want to go.
nameravati nameravati intend to Nameravam iti. — I intend to go.
upati upati hope / dare Upam iti. — I hope to go.
upati si upati si dare to Upam si iti. — I dare to go.
potrebovati potrebovati need Potrebujem iti. — I need to go.
morati morati have to Moraš delati. — You have to work.
znati znati know how to / be able to Znam plavati. — I know how to swim.
uspeti uspeti manage to / succeed in Uspem priti pravočasno. — I manage to arrive on time.
Most important distinction
morati = obligation/necessity
moči = ability/possibility
smeti = permission
hoteti/želeti = desire/willingness
znati = know how to
2. Ability
moči — can / be able to
Slovenian Transliteration English
lahko lahko can / may / be able to
moči moci can / be able to
zmoči zmoci be able to
biti sposoben biti sposoben be capable of
biti zmožen biti zmozen be capable of
znati znati know how to
Examples:
Lahko pridem.
Lahko pridem.
I can come.
Znam plavati.
Znam plavati.
I know how to swim.
Sposoben je to narediti.
Sposoben je to narediti.
He is capable of doing it.
3. Possibility
Slovenian Transliteration English
lahko lahko possibly / may / can
morda morda perhaps / maybe
mogoče mogoce maybe / possibly
morebiti morebiti perhaps
nemara nemara perhaps
utegniti utegniti may / might / be likely to
biti mogoče biti mogoce be possible
biti možno biti mozno be possible
obstajati možnost obstajati moznost there is a possibility
Examples:
Morda pride.
Morda pride.
Perhaps he/she will come.
Mogoče bo deževalo.
Mogoče bo deževalo.
It might rain.
Lahko pride jutri.
Lahko pride jutri.
He/she may come tomorrow.
4. Necessity
Slovenian Transliteration English
morati morati must / have to
potrebno je potrebno je it is necessary
treba je treba je it is necessary / one must
nujno je nujno je it is necessary / essential
biti treba biti treba need to / have to
potrebovati potrebovati need
nujno potrebovati nujno potrebovati urgently need
Very important construction: treba je
Treba je delati.
Treba je delati.
One must work / It is necessary to work.
Treba je iti.
Treba je iti.
It is necessary to go.
5. Obligation / duty
Slovenian Transliteration English
morati morati must / have to
treba treba must / need to
dolžan dolzan obliged / obligated
dolžna dolzna obliged
dolžno dolzno obliged
biti dolžan biti dolzan be obliged to
biti zavezan biti zavezan be bound/obliged to
obvezno obvezno obligatorily / mandatory
obvezen obvezen obligatory / mandatory
nujno nujno necessarily / urgently
nujen nujen necessary
Example:
Moraš končati delo.
Moraš končati delo.
You must finish the work.
Dolžan si pomagati.
Dolzan si pomagati.
You are obliged to help.
6. Permission
Slovenian Transliteration English
smeti smeti may / be allowed to
lahko lahko may / can
dovoliti dovoliti allow
dovoljen dovoljen allowed
dovoljeno dovoljeno permitted
imeti dovoljenje imeti dovoljenje have permission
biti dovoljen biti dovoljen be permitted
Example:
Smeš iti domov.
Smes iti domov.
You may go home.
Lahko vstopite.
Lahko vstopite.
You may enter.
Tukaj je dovoljeno parkirati.
Tukaj je dovoljeno parkirati.
Parking is permitted here.
7. Prohibition
Slovenian Transliteration English
ne smeti ne smeti must not / may not
ne smeš ne smes you must not / may not
prepovedati prepovedati forbid
prepovedan prepovedan forbidden
prepovedano prepovedano prohibited
ni dovoljeno ni dovoljeno not permitted
ne biti dovoljeno ne biti dovoljeno not be allowed
Example:
Ne smeš kaditi.
Ne smes kaditi.
You must not smoke.
Tukaj je prepovedano parkirati.
Tukaj je prepovedano parkirati.
Parking here is prohibited.
8. Advice / recommendation
Slovenian has several ways to express should / ought to.
Slovenian Transliteration English
morati morati should / have to, depending context
treba treba should / need to
naj naj should / let
bolje je bolje je it is better to
bolje bi bilo bolje bi bilo it would be better to
priporočljivo je priporocljivo je it is advisable
priporočati priporocati recommend
svetovati svetovati advise
vredno je vredno je it is worth
splača se splaca se it is worthwhile
naj is especially important
Naj gre domov.
Naj gre domov.
He/she should go home. / Let him/her go home.
Naj pride jutri.
Naj pride jutri.
He/she should come tomorrow.
9. Desire / willingness
Slovenian Transliteration English
hoteti hoteti want
želeti zeleti wish / want
želeti si zeleti si wish for
hoteti si hoteti si want
rad rad like to / gladly
rada rada like to
radi radi like to
rade rade like to
biti pripravljen biti pripravljen be willing/ready
biti voljan biti voljan be willing
strinjati se strinjati se agree to
Example:
Želim iti domov.
Zelim iti domov.
I want to go home.
Pripravljen sem pomagati.
Pripravljen sem pomagati.
I am willing/ready to help.
10. Intention
Slovenian Transliteration English
nameravati nameravati intend
nameriti se nameriti se intend / set out to
načrtovati nacrtovati plan
planirati planirati plan
imeti namen imeti namen intend / have the intention
nameravati nameravati be going to / intend to
Example:
Nameravam študirati v tujini.
Nameravam studirati v tujini.
I intend to study abroad.
11. Probability / likelihood
Slovenian Transliteration English
verjetno verjetno probably
najbrž najbrz probably
gotovo gotovo certainly / surely
zagotovo zagotovo certainly
skoraj zagotovo skoraj zagotovo almost certainly
morda morda perhaps
mogoče mogoce possibly
morebiti morebiti perhaps
nemara nemara perhaps
verjetno da verjetno da probably
zelo verjetno zelo verjetno very likely
malo verjetno malo verjetno unlikely
verjetno je verjetno je it is probable
možno je mozno je it is possible
mogoče je mogoce je it is possible
12. Certainty
Slovenian Transliteration English
gotovo gotovo certainly / surely
zagotovo zagotovo definitely
vsekakor vsekakor certainly / in any case
nedvomno nedvomno undoubtedly
zagotovo zagotovo certainly
seveda seveda of course
prav gotovo prav gotovo certainly
brez dvoma brez dvoma without a doubt
gotovo da gotovo da certainly
nedvomno je nedvomno je it is undoubtedly
Example:
Zagotovo bo prišel.
Zagotovo bo prisel.
He will definitely come.
13. Doubt / uncertainty
Slovenian Transliteration English
morda morda perhaps
mogoče mogoce maybe
morebiti morebiti perhaps
nemara nemara perhaps
verjetno verjetno probably
dvomiti dvomiti doubt
dvomljivo dvomljivo doubtfully
vprašanje je vprasanje je it is questionable
ni gotovo ni gotovo it is not certain
ni jasno ni jasno it is unclear
težko je reči tezko je reci it is hard to say
14. Necessity vs possibility: important contrast
Slovenian English Modality
Moram iti. I must go. necessity
Lahko grem. I can go. ability/possibility
Smem iti. I may go. permission
Morda grem. I may/might go. possibility
Ne smem iti. I must not go. prohibition
Ni treba iti. You don't have to go. lack of necessity
Treba je iti. One must go. necessity
Naj grem. I should go / Shall I go? recommendation/volition
15. Modal adverbs
These are extremely important in Slovenian modality.
Slovenian Transliteration English
morda morda perhaps
mogoče mogoce maybe / possibly
morebiti morebiti perhaps
nemara nemara perhaps
verjetno verjetno probably
najbrž najbrz probably
gotovo gotovo certainly
zagotovo zagotovo definitely
vsekakor vsekakor certainly / definitely
nedvomno nedvomno undoubtedly
seveda seveda of course
gotovo gotovo surely
očitno ocitno obviously
domnevno domnevno supposedly
baje baje allegedly / reportedly
menda menda supposedly / apparently
morda pa morda pa perhaps
morda tudi morda tudi perhaps also
verjetno tudi verjetno tudi probably also
skoraj skoraj almost
komaj komaj barely / hardly
nujno nujno necessarily
obvezno obvezno obligatorily
prostovoljno prostovoljno voluntarily
namenoma namenoma intentionally
slučajno slucajno accidentally / by chance
namerno namerno deliberately
16. Modal particles
Slovenian also uses particles that modify the speaker's attitude toward a proposition.
Slovenian Transliteration Approximate English
naj naj should / let
pač pac simply / just / after all
menda menda apparently / supposedly
baje baje reportedly / allegedly
morda morda perhaps
mogoče mogoce maybe
seveda seveda of course
gotovo gotovo surely
že ze already / surely / indeed, context-dependent
vendar vendar however / after all
vendarle vendarle nevertheless / after all
saj saj after all / surely
prav prav exactly / indeed / quite
res res really / indeed
resda resda admittedly
morda pa morda pa perhaps
samo samo just / only
le le only / just
Some of these are discourse particles or adverbs rather than strict modal particles; Slovenian grammatical classification varies by framework.
17. Epistemic modality
Epistemic modality expresses how certain the speaker is that something is true.
Slovenian Transliteration English
gotovo gotovo certainly
zagotovo zagotovo definitely
verjetno verjetno probably
najbrž najbrz probably
morda morda perhaps
mogoče mogoce possibly
morebiti morebiti perhaps
nemara nemara perhaps
očitno ocitno apparently/obviously
domnevno domnevno supposedly
menda menda apparently
baje baje reportedly
nedvomno nedvomno undoubtedly
skoraj gotovo skoraj gotovo almost certainly
18. Deontic modality
Deontic modality expresses obligation, permission, and prohibition.
Slovenian Transliteration English
morati morati must
treba treba must / need to
smeti smeti may
lahko lahko may / can
ne smeti ne smeti must not
dovoljen dovoljen permitted
dovoljen je dovoljen je is permitted
prepovedan prepovedan forbidden
obvezen obvezen obligatory
nujen nujen necessary
dolžan dolzan obliged
19. Dynamic modality
Dynamic modality concerns ability, willingness, and circumstances.
Slovenian Transliteration English
moči moci be able to
lahko lahko can
znati znati know how to
zmoči zmoci be capable of
biti sposoben biti sposoben be capable of
biti zmožen biti zmozen be capable of
hoteti hoteti want to
želeti zeleti wish to
upati si upati si dare to
biti pripravljen biti pripravljen be willing to
20. Volitional modality
Slovenian Transliteration English
hoteti hoteti want
želeti zeleti wish
želeti si zeleti si wish for
nameravati nameravati intend
nameriti se nameriti se intend/set out
pripravljen biti pripravljen biti be willing
voljan biti voljan biti be willing
upati si upati si dare
upati upati hope
21. Evaluation / necessity expressions
These are very common modal constructions:
Slovenian Transliteration English
treba je treba je it is necessary
potrebno je potrebno je it is necessary
nujno je nujno je it is necessary/essential
pomembno je pomembno je it is important
priporočljivo je priporocljivo je it is advisable
zaželeno je zazeleno je it is desirable
vredno je vredno je it is worth
splača se splaca se it is worthwhile
možno je mozno je it is possible
mogoče je mogoce je it is possible
verjetno je verjetno je it is probable
malo verjetno je malo verjetno je it is unlikely
gotovo je gotovo je it is certain
jasno je jasno je it is clear
22. “Should” in Slovenian
There is no single perfect equivalent of English should.
Depending on meaning:
Slovenian English
naj + present should / let
treba je + infinitive should / need to
moral bi + infinitive should / ought to
bolje je + infinitive it is better to
priporočljivo je + infinitive it is advisable to
The especially important construction is:
Moral bi iti.
Moral bi iti.
I should go.
Here bi is the conditional auxiliary and moral is the past participle of morati.
23. “Would” / conditional modality
Slovenian does not have a direct one-word equivalent of English would.
The conditional particle bi is central:
Slovenian Transliteration English
bi bi would
bi lahko bi lahko could / would be able to
bi moral bi moral would have to / should
bi smel bi smel would be allowed to / might
bi želel bi zelel would like
bi hotel bi hotel would want
bi lahko bilo bi lahko bilo it could be
verjetno bi verjetno bi would probably
Examples:
Lahko bi šel.
Lahko bi sel.
I could go.
Moral bi delati.
Moral bi delati.
I should work / I would have to work.
Želel bi kavo.
Zelel bi kavo.
I would like a coffee.
24. “Might / may”
Common Slovenian equivalents:
Slovenian English
lahko may / can
morda may/might
mogoče may/might
morebiti may/might
nemara may/might
utegne may/might
utegniti may/might
lahko bi might/could
morda bi might perhaps
mogoče bi might possibly
Example:
Morda bo prišel.
Perhaps he will come.
Lahko bi prišel.
He might/could come.
25. “Can / could”
Slovenian English
lahko can
moči be able to
znam I know how to
zmorem I am able to / I can manage
lahko bi could
mogel bi could / would be able to
Examples:
Lahko to naredim.
I can do this.
Mogel bi pomagati.
I could help.
Zmorem to narediti.
I can manage to do this.
26. “Must / have to”
Slovenian English
morati must
treba je one must / it is necessary
potrebno je it is necessary
nujno je it is necessary
biti dolžan be obliged to
biti zavezan be bound to
moral bi should / would have to
Examples:
Moram iti. — I must go.
Treba je iti. — One must go.
Dolžan sem pomagati. — I am obliged to help.
27. “Don't have to / needn't”
This distinction is important:
ni treba + infinitive
Ni treba iti.
Ni treba iti.
You don't have to go.
ni potrebno + infinitive
Ni potrebno čakati.
Ni potrebno cakati.
It isn't necessary to wait.
This is different from:
Ne smeš iti.
You must not go.
So:
ni treba iti = you don't have to go
ne smeš iti = you must not go
28. “Need to”
Slovenian English
morati need to / have to
treba je need to
potrebno je it is necessary to
potrebovati need
biti potrebno be necessary
Example:
Moram iti. — I need to go.
Treba mi je iti. — I need to go. (less neutral; construction depends on context)
Potrebno je iti. — It is necessary to go.
29. “Dare”
Slovenian English
upati si dare
drzniti si dare
upati dare/hope, depending on construction
drzniti se dare
Example:
Ne upam si vprašati.
Ne upam si vprasati.
I don't dare ask.
Drznil si je ugovarjati.
Drznil si je ugovarjati.
He dared to object.
30. “Have to / be supposed to”
Slovenian English
morati have to
biti treba have to
biti dolžan be obliged to
biti namenjen be intended/supposed
naj bi be supposed to / reportedly
moral naj bi was/were supposed to
naj bi
This is particularly important because it can express reported expectation/information:
On naj bi prišel jutri.
On naj bi prisel jutri.
He is supposedly expected to come tomorrow.
It can also mean:
He was supposed to come tomorrow.
The exact interpretation depends on context.
31. “Let”
naj is commonly used for this meaning:
Slovenian English
naj grem let me go
naj gre let him/her go
naj pride let him/her come
naj naredijo let them do it
Example:
Naj grem?
Should I go? / Shall I go?
Naj pride noter.
Let him/her come inside.
21- THERE IS / HAVE / BE
There is je + noun Je knjiga. There is a book.
There are so + plural noun So knjige. There are books.
There isn't ni + genitive singular Ni knjige. There isn't a book.
There aren't ni + genitive plural Ni knjig. There aren't books.
Is there? Ali je + noun? Ali je voda? Is there water?
Are there? Ali so + plural? Ali so ljudje? Are there people?
There was bil/a/o je Bila je hiša. There was a house.
There were bili so Bili so ljudje. There were people.
There will be bo/bodo Bo zabava. There will be a party.
There would be bi bilo/bili Bilo bi več časa. There would be more time.
I have imam + noun Imam knjigo.
I don't have nimam + noun Nimam knjige.
Do you have? imaš? / ali imaš? Imaš čas?
I had imel sem Imel sem avto.
I didn't have nisem imel Nisem imel časa.
I will have imel bom Imel bom čas.
I would have imel bi Imel bi denar.
jaz imam I have
ti imaš you have (singular)
on/ona/ono ima he/she/it has
mi imamo we have
vi imate you have (plural/formal)
oni/one imajo they have
IMPERATIVES:
You (singular) stem + ending Delaj! Work!
You (formal/plural) imperative + te Delajte! Work!
Let's imperative + mo Delajmo! Let's work!
Negative singular ne + imperative Ne delaj! Don't work!
Negative formal/plural ne + imperative + te Ne delajte! Don't work!
Let me naj + present Naj grem. Let me go.
Let him/her naj + present Naj pride. Let him come.
Passive command (you) bodi + participle Bodi pripravljen! Be prepared!
Passive command (formal/plural) bodite + participle Bodite obveščeni! Be informed!
Let's passive bodimo + participle Bodimo povezani! Let us be connected!
Negative passive ne + bodi + participle Ne bodi pozabljen! Don't be forgotten!
Let it be done naj bo + participle Naj bo narejeno. Let it be done.
General passive instruction naj se + verb Naj se odpre. Let it be opened.
Negative general instruction naj se ne + verb Naj se ne odpre. Let it not be opened.