Slovak Language Lessons for Beginners - Lesson 18

USEFUL WORDS AND PHRASES

Vďaka. / Díky. (or even Dík.) = very colloquial versions of 'thank you' (as opposed to the more formal Ďakujem.)

vieš čo = you know what (often used to introduce a suggestion; extremely common in Slovak - much more so than in English)

vdakadiky.mp3

(To) nevadí. = (It) does not bother (me). / It's ok.

Dlho sme sa nevideli. = We have not seen each other in a long time. (='Long time, no see.')

Netuším. or Čo ja viem? ('What do I know?') or very colloquially: Nemám šajnu. = I have no idea.

tonevadi.mp3

HOUSEHOLD AND ELECTRONIC APPLIANCES

chladnička = fridge, refrigerator

mraznička = freezer

sporák = stove

rúra (or, in some dialects, trúba) = oven

chladnickamraznicka.mp3

mikrovlnná rúra (or simply mikrovlnka) = microwave oven

varič = cooker

umývačka riadu = dishwasher

mikrovlnnarura.mp3

práčka = washing mashine

sušička = dryer

žehlička = iron (the household appliance, not the material)

prackasusicka.mp3

televízor = TV set

diaľkový ovládač (or simply ovládač) = remote control

počítač = computer

notebook (or, more recently, also laptop) = laptop (i.e., portable computer)

tlačiareň (fem.) = printer

televizordialkovyovladac.mp3

fén = hairdryer

kulma = hair curling iron

žehlička na vlasy = hair straightener (literally: 'iron for the hair')

ohrievač = heater

radiátor = radiator

fenkulma.mp3

WHERE, WHERE TO, ETC.

Kde? = Where?

Kam? = Where to?

Odkiaľ? = Where from?

fenkulma.mp3

Tam. = There. (both for location and direction.)

Tu. = Here. (expresses location; an object is already there)

Sem. = Here. (meaning 'To here.'; expresses direction of movement)

naspäť = back

tamtusem.mp3

Nikde. = Nowhere.

Nikam. = (To) nowhere. (when talking about direction of movement)

Všade. = Everywhere.

nikdenikam.mp3

Kedy? = When?

Odkedy? = Since when?

Dokedy? = Until when?

kedyodkedy.mp3

odvtedy = from then

dovtedy = until then

odteraz = from now on

doteraz = until now

odjakživa = since time immemorial; since anyone remembers

navždy = forever

odtedydovtedy.mp3

CONJUGATION OF THE VERB 'TO GO' (ÍSŤ)

The verb ísť ('to go') is quite irregular in Slovak.

In the present tense, the verb ísť takes on the following forms:

ja idem (I am going) my ideme (we are going)

ty ideš (you are going) vy idete (you are going)

on/ona/ono ide (he/she/it is going) oni/ony idú (they are going)

jaidem.mp3

And this is how we negate the verb in the present tense:

ja nejdem (I am not going) my nejdeme (we are not going)

ty nejdeš (you are not going) vy nejdete (you are not going)

on/ona/ono nejde (he/she/it is not going) oni/ony nejdú (they are not going)

janejdem.mp3

Past tense forms (positive):

ja som išiel (I went - speaker is male)

ja som išla (I went - speaker is female) my sme išli (we went)

ty si išiel / išla (you went) vy ste išli (you went)

on išiel / ona išla / ono išlo (he/she/it went) oni/ony išli (they went)

jasomisiel.mp3

Negation in the past tense:

ja som nešiel (I didn't go - speaker is male)

ja som nešla (I didn't go - speaker is female) my sme nešli (we didn't go)

ty si nešiel / nešla (you didn't go) vy ste nešli (you didn't go)

on nešiel / ona nešla / ono nešlo (he/she/it didn't go) oni/ony nešli (they didn't go)

jasomnesiel.mp3

Future tense:

ja pôjdem (I will go) my pôjdeme (we will go)

ty pôjdeš (you will go) vy pôjdete (you will go)

on / ona / ono pôjde (he/she/it will go) oni/ony pôjdu (they will go)

japojdem.mp3

We negate the future tense forms in the usual way - by adding the ne- prefix: ja nepôjdem, ty nepôjdeš, etc.

Note: You may notice that the future tense forms of ísť do not follow the pattern we learned in [Lesson 11] (i.e., budem, budeš, bude... + infinitive). The precise reason why this is so is probably beyond the scope of an introductory language course. For now, suffice it to say that Slovak, like many other Slavic language, has a grammatical feature called 'aspect.' Aspect is used to distinguish between actions that take place repeatedly or continuously (roughly equivalent to English continuous tenses) and those that are completed once they have taken place. When an action takes place repeatedly or continuously, we can rely on the future tense pattern we learned in [Lesson 11]. If not, things get too complicated for a first course in Slovak.

Kam ideš? Teraz idem do mesta, ale neskôr pôjdem aj na záhradu. = Where are you going? I am now going to town, but later I will also go to the garden.

terazidemdomesta.mp3

Naozaj sme nikam nešli, lebo sme nemali žiadne vozidlo. = We really didn'tgo anywhere, because we did not have any vehicle.

naozajsmenikamnesli.mp3

Nepôjdeš niekedy čoskoro už domov? = Won't you go home sometime soon already?

nepojdesniekedy.mp3

EXPRESSING INTENTION USING 'ABY' = 'SO THAT'

You can use the word aby in a way that is similar to the English 'so that' to express intention. You can also use this word with modal verbs, such as chcieť (to want), potrebovať (to need) and others, to say things like: 'I need you to do this.', 'I want him to come back.', and so on. You get the idea.

Note: The verb that follows aby is, as a rule, in its past tense form.

Išiel som na univerzitu, aby som mohol byť ekonóm. = I went to university so I could be an economist.

isielsomnauniverzitu.mp3

Robíme to len preto, aby ste mohli zajtra byť doma. = We are doing it only so you can be at home tomorrow. (note that preto = for that reason)

robimetolenpreto.mp3

Chcela by si, aby som ho volil? = Would you like me to vote for him?

abysomhovolil.mp3

Tamtá úradníčka žiada, aby sme sa vrátili o dva dni. = That (female) bureaucrat requests that we return in two days.

tamtauradnickaziada.mp3

AS IF

You can use akoby, or sometimes ako keby, to express the English 'as if.' Please note that the clause that follows akoby and ako keby must be in the past tense.

Nemáte niekedy ten pocit, akoby ste žili na planéte opíc? = Don't you sometimes have that feeling, as if you were living on a planet of monkeys ('on the Planet of Apes')?

naplaneteopic.mp3

Vyzerá to, ako keby si vôbec nechcel vedieť pravdu. = It seems, as if he didn't want to know the truth at all.

vobecnechcelvedietpravdu.mp3

WHILE, UNTIL

kým = while (when followed by positive - non-negated - verb)

dovtedy, kým ... = until ... (usually followed by negative future tense); can also be simply kým, followed by a negative verb

kym.mp3

Kým je šéf stále v úrade, nikto nemôže ísť domov. = While the boss is still in the office, no one can go home.

kymjesefstalevurade.mp3

Nechcem kupovať novú žehličku, kým sa tá stará nepokazí. = I don't want to buy a new iron until the old one breaks.

nechcemkupovatnovuzehlicku.mp3

Musíte na ňu čakať dovtedy, kým nebude mať nový pas. = You have to wait for her until she has/gets a new passport.

kymnebudematnovypas.mp3

SLOVAK IN ACTION: AJ MÚDRY SCHYBÍ

If you want to practise your understanding of spoken Slovak, check out the video below. It comes from a TV show called Aj múdry schybí where regular people on the street are asked questions about their general knowledge, with predictably terrible results.

DOWNLOAD:

You can download the entire lesson in MP3 format [here].