Slovak Language Lessons for Beginners - Lesson 14

[Lesson Overview] [Personal Website]

[Lesson 1] [Lesson 2] [Lesson 3] [Lesson 4] [Lesson 5] [Lesson 6] [Lesson 7] [Lesson 8] [Lesson 9] [Lesson 10]

[Lesson 11] [Lesson 12] [Lesson 13] [Lesson 14] [Lesson 15] [Lesson 16] [Lesson 17] [Lesson 18] [Lesson 19] [Lesson 20]

[Lesson 21] [Lesson 22] [Lesson 23]

peniaze = money

cena = price

cenovka = price tag

účet = (bank) account, can also mean 'bill' (as in, how much you have to pay)

šéf = boss

zamestnanec (m), zamestnankyňa (f) = employee

zákazník (m), zákazníčka (f) = customer

na plný úväzok = full-time (literally: 'on full commitment')

na polovičný úväzok = part-time (literally: 'on half commitment')

tovar = good(s)

služba = service

dopyt = demand

ponuka = supply, offer

zľava = discount

plat (or mzda) = salary

príjem = income

dôchodok = pension

zisk (or profit) = profit

náklady = costs

poistenie = insurance

pôžička (or úver) = loan

hypotéka = mortgage

úrok = interest (financial term)

faktúra = invoice

objednávka = order

poukážka = voucher

daň = tax

daň z príjmu = income tax (literally: tax from income)

rovná daň = flat tax

daňová sadzba = tax rate

daňové priznanie = tax return (literally: tax admission)

daň z pridanej hodnoty (usually abbreviated as dph, or colloquially dépéháčka) = value-added tax (similar to a sales tax)

zarábať (stem: zarába-) = to earn

platiť (stem: platí-) = to pay

kupovať (stem: kupuje-) = to buy

nakupovať (stem: nakupuje-) = to shop

predávať (stem: predáva-) = to sell

tiež = also, too (meaning 'also'); usually located next to the verb

aj = also, too; usually located next to words other than the verb

nielen..., ale aj... = not only..., but also...

Ja som tiež platil v eurách, ale nemal som ich dosť. = I also paid in euros, but I didn't have enough (of them).

Aj moja manželka vie, prečo je to tak. = My wife also knows why it is so.

V obchodnom dome budú predávať nielen nábytok, ale aj oblečenie a autá. = In the department store, they will sell not only furniture but also clothing and cars.

To form the hypothetical conditional (equivalent to the English 'would + verb') in Slovak, we conjugate the verb as though it was in the past tense and insert the word by. Some examples:

byť = to be ja som bol = I was ja by som bol = I would be

písať = to write on písal = he was writing on by písal = he would be writing / he would write

čítať = to read vy ste čítali = you were reading vy by ste čítali = you would be reading / you would read

Let us now learn how to say something like this:

If he were smart, he would be writing a book.

In Slovak, you should use keby (rather than ak) to introduce the if-clause: In the if-clause, furthermore, the verb should be in the past tense.

The verb in the conditional clause follows the by rule outlined above.

Keby bol múdry, písal by knihu. = If he were smart, he would be writing a book.

Keby som mal peniaze, nepredával by som dom. = If I had money, I wouldn't be selling the house.

Ak - the regular 'if' - should be used when the sentence does not involve a conditional.

Ak budem mať čas, budem variť obed a možno aj večeru. = If I have time, I will cook lunch and maybe also dinner.

Ak vieš, koľko mám rokov, potom určite vieš, koľko má rokov aj môj brat. = If you know how old I am, then you certainly know how old my brother is too.

potrebovať (stem: potrebuje-; 3rd pers. plural: oni/ony potrebujú) = to need

Potrebujem vedieť, kedy v pondelok ráno budeš v práci. = I need to know when you will be at work on Monday morning.

Minulý týždeň sme varili polievku, a preto sme potrebovali zeleninu, soľ a vodu. = Last week we were cooking soup, and therefore we needed vegetables, salt and water.

Nebudeme potrebovať príliš veľa peňazí? = Won't we need too much money?

chcieť (stem: chce-; 3rd pers. plural: oni/ony chcú) = to want

Naozaj som to všetko nechcel čítať. = I really did not want to read all that.

Čo budeš chcieť robiť neskôr? = What will you want to do later?

Chcel som novú motorku, ale nechcel som kupovať nič drahé. = I wanted a new motorbike, but I did not want to buy anything too expensive.

The conditional form of chcieť (i.e.: chcel(a) by som, chcel(a) by si,...) is equivalent to the English 'would like:'

Čo by si chcel na obed? Kuracie mäso alebo uhorkový šalát? = What would you like for lunch? Chicken meat or cucumber salad?

Chcel by som hovoriť veľmi dobre po slovensky, ale stále sa iba učím. = I would like to speak very good Slovak, but I am still only learning.

Nechcel by som byť príliš bohatý, lebo môj život by nebol jednoduchý. = I would not like to be too rich, because my life would not be easy/simple.

mať + verb infinitive = to be supposed to

Zajtra mám ísť do Bratislavy, ale ešte nemám lístok. = Tomorrow, I am supposed to go to Bratislava, but I don't have a ticket yet.

Mal som tam byť už v nedeľu v noci, ale meškal vlak. = I was supposed to be there already on Sunday at night, but the train was late.

The conditional form of mať + verb infinitive (i.e.: mal(a) by som, mal(a) by si,...) is equivalent to the English 'should' or 'ought to':

Naozaj by som už mal ísť domov - je veľmi neskoro. = I really should go home already - it is very late.

Pozajtra mám dôležitú skúšku. Mal by som sa učiť. = The day after tomorrow, I have an important exam. I should be studying.

musieť (stem: musí-; 3rd pers. plural: oni/ony musia) = must, to have to

Nemusíte nič robiť, lebo všetko je už hotové. = You don't have to do anything, because everything is already done.

Teraz ma skutočne musíš počúvať - hovorím niečo veľmi dôležité. = Now you must really listen to me - I am saying something very important.

Moja sesternica bude musieť čoskoro ísť do lekárne, lebo potrebuje nové lieky. = My female cousin will soon have to go to the pharmacy, because she needs new medicine.

smieť (stem: smie-; 3rd pers. plural: oni/ony smú) = may, to be permitted/allowed to

Je tu príliš horúco. Smiem otvoriť okno? = It is too hot in here. May I open the window?

Nesmiem sa hrať na počítači, pretože sa zle učím. = I am not allowed to (I must not) play on the computer because I am getting bad grades (literally: because I am learning poorly).

Kedy sa konečne budem smieť hrať vonku s kamarátmi? = When will I finally be allowed to play outside with friends?

Nesmel som nič povedať. = I was not allowed to say anything.

Note: Please use nesmieť to express 'must not.' Nemusieť means 'not to have to', 'not to be required to.'

môcť (stem: môže-; 3rd pers. plural: oni/ony môžu; past tense: ja som mohol/mohla, ty si mohol/mohla, on mohol, ona mohla...) = can, to be able to (ability or possibility, rather than knowledge)

Ak chceš, môžeme mať na večeru rybu so zemiakmi. = If you want, we can have fish with potatoes for dinner.

Nemohla už bohužiaľ nič robiť. Všetko bolo stratené. = She could unfortunately not do anything anymore. All was lost.

Mohol by som ísť neskorším vlakom, prosím? = Could I go on a later train, please? (speaker is male)

Moja ruka je stále zlomená, ale dúfam, že čoskoro budem môcť znovu písať. = My arm is still broken, but I hope that I will soon be able to write again.

The pronoun ktorý behaves just like an adjective, and means 'which.' It should be distinguished from aký, which is closer in meaning to 'what kind of' or 'what' + noun. (Note, however, that ktorý and aký can sometimes be interchangeable, just like the English 'which' and 'what.')

Ktoré jedlo máte rád? = Which meal do you like?

Neviem, ktorú úlohu mám robiť okamžite. = I don't know which task I am supposed to work on (to do) immediately.

Ktorý can also be used to introduce a subordinate clause - much like the English 'which', 'that' (when roughly equivalent to 'which') or 'who':

Polievka, ktorú si včera varila, bola veľmi chutná. = The soup that you were cooking yesterday was very tasty.

Človek, ktorého som stretol, nebol vôbec priateľský. = The man (person) that I met was not friendly at all.

Often - especially in colloquial speech - you can also replace ktorý by čo to introduce a subordinate clause:

Ten človek, čo bol včera v škole, tam vôbec nemal byť. = The man, who was in the school yesterday, was not supposed to be there at all.

Chcem také auto, čo bude dobre fungovať. = I want (such) a car that will function well.

každý = every, each

nejaký, niektorý = some (Note: nejaký is more general, while niektorý is close to 'some' that means 'one of a given set')

žiadny = no

Každý študent, ktorý sa tu učí po slovensky, už vie hovoriť veľmi dobre. = Every student, who is learning Slovak here, already know how to speak very well.

Chcela by som nejakú dobrú knihu. Poznáš nejakú? = I would like some good book. Do you know any?

Žiadny lekár nevie vyliečiť každú chorobu. Niektoré sú, bohužiaľ, príliš nebezpečné. = No doctor knows how to cure every disease. Some are, unfortunately, too dangerous.

iný = another (meaning 'a different one')

ďalší (masc.), ďalšia (fem.), ďalšie (neut.) = another (meaning 'one more'), the next one

Nemám rád zeleninovú polievku. Máte inú? = I don't like vegetable soup. Do you have another one (meaning: a different one)?

Potrebujeme ďalšiu pôžičku. Už nemáme dosť peňazí. = We need another loan. We don't have enough money anymore.