Parts of speech and inflexion
Substantives denote persons, animals, objects, properties and processes.
They are classified as follows:
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General
Names of persons, animals, objects... of the same kind. They are written with small initial letters.
človek ,učiteľ ,pes ,dom ,strom ,kniha ,škola ,mesiac ,leto ,pondelok ,január -
Proper
Names of unique persons, animals, objects, geographic names, holidays... They are written with LARGE initial letters. Names of days in the week and months are not regarded as proper nouns!
Zuzana ,Dunčo ,Vysoké Tatry ,Bratislava ,Slovensko ,Vianoce ,Veľká noc -
Concrete
Names of persons, animals, objects. They are tangible and are observable with sense organs.
brat ,Karol ,mačka ,pes ,ryba ,zajac ,stôl ,dom ,kniha ,škola -
Abstract
Names of properties, processes. They are intangible and are not observable with sense organs.
zdravie ,múdrosť ,šťastie ,láska ,leto ,prázdniny ,matematika
Declension of nouns
Slovak nouns follow several different declension patterns. Each gender (masculine, feminine, neuter) has its own patterns of declension, represented by model nouns. In order to use Slovak nouns correctly, we need to know both the gender of the noun, and also the declension pattern that it follows.
Example: The noun //mama// is declined according to the model of //
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Also:
The noun chlapec is declined according to the model of chlap.
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Also:
Noun declensions
Masculine Singular
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Masculine Plural
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Hint:
Living nouns
- Ending in a consonant or -o
chlap ,chlapec ,otec ,brat ,syn ,učiteľ ,spolužiak ,priateľ ,pes ,lev ,dedo ,Jano ,Martin - Ending in -a
hrdina ,hokejista ,huslista ,cyklista ,vodca ,sluha
Non-living nouns
- Ending in a hard or bilabial consonant
dub ,dom ,strom ,obraz ,hrad ,plot ,stôl ,vlak - Ending in a soft consonant
stroj ,kôš ,oheň ,nôž ,čaj ,počítač
Living masculine nouns are declined in the singular according to the model of chlap, and in the plural according to the model of dub (if the noun ends in a hard or bilabial consonant), or according to the model of stroj (if the noun ends in a soft consonant).
Model chlap
The following nouns are declined like //
- living masculine nouns ending in a consonant or -o:
chlapec ,otec ,syn ,dedo ,Jano ,pes ,vnuk ,spolužiak - only in singular form - animal nouns:
pes ,vlk ,vták ,lev ,medveď ,kôň
Note: Words in the nominative plural can also end with -ovia (
Model hrdina
The following nouns are declined like //
- (Living) masculine nouns ending in -a:
sudca ,sluha ,hokejista ,huslista
Note: Words ending in –ista have the ending -i (
Model dub
The following nouns are declined like //
- (non-living) masculine substantives ending with a hard or bilabial consonant:
potok ,dom ,strom ,obraz ,autobus ,trolejbus ,pondelok ,utorok ,štvrtok ,piatok - only in plural form — animal nouns ending with a hard or neutral consonant:
slon ,had ,vlk ,lev
Model dub
The following nouns are declined like //
- (non-living) masculine nouns ending in a soft consonant:
kôš ,oheň ,nôž ,čaj ,počítač ,dážď ,máj ,kameň - only in plural form — animal nouns that end in a soft consonant:
medveď ,kôň ,mravec
Model kuli
The following nouns are declined like //
- masculine nouns that are foreign loanwords, masculine names and surnames ending with the vowels i, y, í, e, é, ä, ű, ö, ő:
pony ,grizly ,abbé ,Škultéty ,Goethe ,Krčméry ,Nietsche
Feminine Singular
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Feminine Plural
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Hint:
Ending in -a
- a is preceded by a hard or bilabial consonant
žena ,voda ,hlava ,ruka ,noha ,chata ,Bratislava ,Nitra ,rodina - {1} is preceded by a soft consonant
ulica ,práca ,stanica ,schôdza ,tabuľa ,ruža ,cibuľa ,vaňa ,nedeľa
Ending in a consonant
- in the nominative plural, they end in -e
dlaň ,pieseň ,loď ,báseň - in the nominative plural, they end in -i
kosť ,noc ,krv ,vlasť
Model žena
The following nouns are declined like //
- feminine nouns ending in -a. The -a ending is preceded by a hard or bilabial consonant.:
mama ,dcéra ,vnučka ,rodina ,kniha ,cesta ,voda ,ruka ,noha ,hlava ,streda ,sobota
Note: When we add no ending in the genitive plural, the root is elongated.
mama →mám kniha →kníh ruka →rúk noha →nôh
Model ulica
The following nouns are declined like //
- Feminine nouns ending in {1}. The vowel {1} is preceded by a soft consonant.:
práca ,stanica ,schôdza ,tabuľa ,ruža ,cibuľa ,vaňa ,fľaša ,nedeľa ,chvíľa
Note: When we add no ending in the genitive plural, the root is elongated.
stanica →staníc tabuľa →tabúľ fľaša →fliaš chvíľa →chvíľ
Model dlaň
The following nouns are declined like //
- Feminine nouns ending with a consonant. In the nominative plural, they end in -e (
dlane ).:
pieseň ,loď ,báseň ,reportáž ,posteľ ,predpoveď
Model kosť
The following nouns are declined like //
- feminine nouns ending ina consonant. In the nominative plural, they end in -i (
kosti ).:
vec ,noc ,step ,pomoc ,zmes ,radosť ,krv
Model gazdiná
The following nouns are declined like //
- feminine nouns – only a few words that always designate people, mostly from the feudal period.:
princezná ,kráľovná ,cisárovná ,šľachtičná ,stryná
Model idea
The conjugation pattern of //idea// is sometimes used. The following nouns are declined like //idea//:
- Feminine nouns that are foreign loanwords ending in -ea, -oa, -ua:
orchidea ,Andrea ,aloa ,Nikaragua ,Ikea
The words //
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Note: The noun //pani// is declined only when it stands alone. When combined with a proper noun it is not declined.
to je pani Malá ideme od pani Malej ideme k pani Malej vidím pani Malú
Neuter Singular
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Hint:
- Ending in -o, -on or -um
mesto ,auto ,jablko ,Slovensko ,epiteton ,múzeum - Ending in -e
srdce ,vajce ,more ,nástupište ,pole - Ending in -ie
vysvedčenie ,lístie ,stretnutie ,námestie ,umenie - Ending in -a or -ä
dievča ,dieťa ,zviera ,kura ,žriebä
Model mesto
The following words are declined according to the model of //
- Neuter nouns ending in -o:
auto ,koleso ,jablko ,Slovensko ,kakao ,drevo ,dielo ,vedro ,oko ,ucho ,brucho ,mydlo - Foreign loanwords ending in -on or -um:
epiteton ,múzeum
Model srdce
The following words are declined according to the model of //
- Neuter substantives ending in -e:
vajce ,more ,nástupište ,pole
Model vysvedčenie
The following nouns are declined like //
- Neuter nouns ending in -ie:
lístie ,stretnutie ,zahraničie ,námestie ,umenie
Note: The suffixes are always long, the rhythmic rule is not observed.
Model dievča
The following nouns are declined like //
- Neuter nouns ending in -a or -ä:
dieťa ,zviera ,páža ,knieža ,mláďa ,kura ,žriebä
Note: The word //dieťa// has the following forms in the plural::
Plural-only nouns (pluralia tantum)
Some nouns only have a plural form, though they refer to a single object.
tie nohavice tie plavky tie šaty tie okuliare tie nožnice tie pľúca tie Košice
Čo je to? To sú okuliare. Aké sú okuliare? Okuliare sú nové. Čie sú to okuliare? Okuliare sú mamine. Tie okuliare sú nové a mamine.
These nouns do not have a singular form; they only have a plural form They are called plural-only nouns or pluralia tantum, and are only declined in the plural.
Plural-only nouns (pluralia tantum):
Distinguish between:
One item (plural-only noun)
nohavice plavky nohavičky slipy rifle šaty
Several items
rukavice (jedna rukavica ,dve rukavice) topánky (jedna topánka ,dve topánky) čižmy (jedna čižma ,dve čižmy) ponožky (jedna ponožka ,dve ponožky)
Plural-only nouns (pluralia tantum) are often used in geographic names.
mesto Košice mesto Levice mesto Trenčianske Teplice pohorie Vysoké Tatry pohorie Nízke Tatry Alpy, Benátky, Atény, Piešťany, Donovaly, Kúty...
Names of professions in the feminine
Names of professions in the feminine are formed using the suffix {1}:
lekár →lekárka predavač →predavačka kuchár →kuchárka učiteľ →učiteľka podnikateľ →podnikateľka kuchár →kuchárka pekár →pekárka manažér →manažérka sekretár →sekretárka policajt →policajtka prekladateľ →prekladateľka fotograf →fotografka
If a profession in the masculine has the ending {1}, the consonant {1} will change to {2}, followed by the suffix {3}:
právnik →právnička pokladník →pokladníčka čašník →čašníčka tanečník →tanečníčka lekárnik →lekárnička informatik →informatička chemik →chemička
Diminutives
In conversations with children, we often use diminutives and informal names. Diminutives are words that name small and tiny things. In addition to the substantive meaning, the diminutive suffix also has an expressive meaning, it expresses the speaker's positive or ironically negative emotional attitude. They occur in children's speech as well as in adults' speech.
Kde máš autíčka, Janko? Páči sa ti tento domček pre bábiky? Aké krásne dieťatko! Kde máš mamičku? - etc.
More than one diminutive can sometimes be derived from one word, e.g.:
Zuzana →Zuzka ,Zuzička ,Zuzanka …ruka →rúčka ,ručička …mama →mamka ,mamička ,mamulienka …otec →otecko tato →tatko ,tatíčko
Verbal nouns
Verbal nouns represent actions (like verbs), but have the form of nouns. Verbal nouns usually end in -ing in English. They are very easy to form in Slovak: detach the –ť ending from the infinitive form of the verb písať (to write), and add the suffix -nie or –tie to construct the verbal noun //písanie// (writing). All verbal nouns have neuter gender and are declined like
It is a program for writing texts.
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It is a program for listening to music.
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Attention:
kresliť →kreslenie vidieť →videnie zapnúť →zapnutie vypnúť →vypnutie