A1 · Slovak

Slovak from zero to A1

Standard Slovak (spisovná slovenčina) from zero to A1, taught in English: letters and sounds — vowel length, the soft consonants, ä and ô; meeting people with ty and vy, the verb byť, countries, gender and surnames in -ová, numbers and verb endings. Then things and colors, jobs, the time and days of the week, modal and reflexive verbs, free time, home, food and shopping with the accusative. Then town and getting around with the locative and the instrumental, the past and the future tense, your life story, official business, the doctor, family and feelings. Extras — nationalities and languages, the post office and the bank, a letter and a phone call; and real-life scenes — restaurant, clothing store, transportation, doctor and pharmacy.

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PepelenCourse author

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Module 0. Letters and sounds

Lesson 1. The alphabet and long vowels: dĺžeň is not stress

13 exercises · I can say a Slovak letter by the name used when spelling a word aloud, hear a long vowel, and not move the stress onto it: in Slovak the stress is always on the first syllable.

Lesson 2. Soft consonants: ď, ť, ň, ľ and de, te, ne, le

12 exercises · I can read ď, ť, ň, ľ and the soft de, te, ne, le, di, ti, ni, li that carry no mark, tell them from the hard dy, ty, ny, ly, and read aloud “Ďakujem, dobrý deň”.

Lesson 3. ä, ô, diphthongs, and syllabic r, l

11 exercises · I can read ä as [e], ô as [ŭo] in one syllable, ia, ie, iu as one syllable, and words where r or l carries the syllable with no vowel: štvrtok, krv, jablko.

Lesson 4. Voiced and voiceless: h ↔ ch, devoicing, v at the end of a syllable

13 exercises · I can tell the voiced h from the voiceless ch by ear and in writing, spell a word as the dictionary does even when I hear a voiceless sound at the end, and read v at the end of a syllable as a short u, like the w in “now”: zastávka, domov.

Module 1. Meeting people

Lesson 1. Dobrý deň! Greetings, ty and vy

16 exercises · I can say hello and goodbye in the morning, afternoon, and evening, thank someone, apologize, and invite someone in, and choose the ty form for a friend and the vy form for Ms. Nováková.

Lesson 2. Som Anna. Odkiaľ ste? The verb byť and countries

19 exercises · I can say who I am and where I'm from, ask where someone is from and how they are, and use som, si, je in every such sentence: “Som z Austrálie”, “Nie som zo Slovenska”.

Lesson 3. Kto je to? People, gender, and last names in -ová

16 exercises · I can ask “Kto je to? Čo je to?”, name a person with the masculine or feminine word — študent, študentka — and say a woman's last name correctly: pán Novák — pani Nováková, Anna Petrovová.

Lesson 4. Môj, tvoj, náš: whose is it?

14 exercises · I can ask “Čí je to mobil? Čia je to taška?” and answer: môj mobil, moja taška, moje auto, jeho kniha, jej pero.

Lesson 5. Čísla 0–100: telefón, e-mail a vek

18 exercises · I can say any number up to a hundred, read out a phone number and an e-mail address, and say how old I am: “Mám tridsaťpäť rokov”, not “Som…”.

Lesson 6. Hovorím, rozumiem: -m, -š, -te, and “I don't understand”

15 exercises · I can say where I live, what I do, and what language I speak, ask the same with ty and with vy — hovoríš / hovoríte — and ask: “Nerozumiem. Hovorte pomaly, prosím”.

Lesson 7. Module 1 review

18 exercises · I can review the whole module: say hello with ty and with vy, say who I am and where I'm from, name a woman and her last name, say whose something is and how old I am, and ask someone what language they speak.

Module 2. Things, study, and work

Lesson 1. Ten, tá, to; tu a tam: things around you

14 exercises · I can point to something near me or far away — tento stôl, tamtá stolička — and say where it is: tu, tam, vľavo, hore.

Lesson 2. Aký je? Adjectives and colors

15 exercises · I can describe a thing — its color, its size, new or old — and make the adjective agree with the gender: nový mobil, nová taška, nové auto.

Lesson 3. Čítam, robím: verbs in -ám and -ím

15 exercises · I can say what I, you (ty), he, we, you (vy), and they do with verbs in -ám and -ím — čítam, robím — and say “I have” with the verb mať.

Lesson 4. Píšem, pracujem: verbs in -em, -iem, -ujem; ne- and questions

15 exercises · I can say what I do and don't do with verbs in -em, -iem, -ujem (píšem, rozumiem, pracujem), write ne- as one word with the verb, and ask prečo?

Lesson 5. Som lekár, pracujem ako lekárka: jobs and the feminine form

14 exercises · I can say what I do for a living — Som lekár / lekárka, Pracujem ako predavačka — and form the feminine of a job by the pattern.

Lesson 6. Pondelok, utorok: days of the week and times of day

15 exercises · I can say the day of the week and the time of day, and say when I do things: v pondelok, vo štvrtok, ráno, večer, dnes, zajtra.

Lesson 7. Module 2 review

18 exercises · I can point to and describe a thing, say what I do and don't do, what I do for a living and on which day, and not mix up pekne and pekné.

Module 3. The day and free time

Lesson 1. Koľko je hodín? Telling time and ordinal numbers

15 exercises · I can ask and say what time it is — Koľko je hodín? Sú tri hodiny — say what time I get up, have breakfast, and have lunch (o siedmej, o pol ôsmej), and name first, second … twelfth.

Lesson 2. Môžem, chcem, musím: modal verbs

15 exercises · I can say what I can, want to, have to, and know how to do — môžem, chcem, musím, viem + infinitive — ask for permission (“Môžem …?”), and say “I don't have to” (nemusím) without mixing it up with “not allowed”.

Lesson 3. Ráno sa sprchujem: reflexive verbs and where sa goes

16 exercises · I can talk about my usual day — Ráno sa sprchujem, jem a pijem — put sa in second position in a sentence, and say how often I do something: vždy, často, niekedy, dvakrát.

Lesson 4. Rád čítam: what you like doing

16 exercises · I can say what I like and don't like doing — Rád plávam, nerada tancujem — ask a friend about it, ask someone else formally, and rate an activity: zaujímavý, nudný, hrozný.

Lesson 5. Január, február: months, seasons, and dates

15 exercises · I can name all the months and seasons, say when my birthday and name day are — Mám narodeniny v máji — and what I do in summer and in winter.

Lesson 6. Idem do kina: ísť, prísť, chodiť, and invitations

15 exercises · I can say where I'm going now and where I go regularly — idem do kina, chodím na koncert — invite a friend (“Poďme …! Prídeš?”), agree on a time, and say no politely.

Lesson 7. Module 3 review

17 exercises · I can talk about my day and free time: telling time, can / want / have to, sa in second position, rád / rada, months and seasons, where I'm going and where I go regularly.

Module 4. Home, food, and shopping

Lesson 1. Kde bývam: byt, izby a internát

14 exercises · I can name the rooms of an apartment and a dorm, say where things are (vľavo, hore), ask “which one?” — ktorý, ktorá, ktoré — and not mix up prízemie and prvé poschodie.

Lesson 2. Stoly a lampy: the plural and dva, tri, štyri

14 exercises · I can say how many things are in a room and what they're like: stoly, lampy, okná; dva stoly, but dve lampy and dve okná; nové lampy, moje okná, tie dvere.

Lesson 3. Mám rád kávu: food and the accusative

13 exercises · I can say what I eat, look for, and like: jem rybu, hľadám šéfa, mám rád pizzu — and say what tastes good to me: Chutí mi syr.

Lesson 4. Koľko to stojí? Stores, the market, and euros

15 exercises · I can ask the price — Koľko stojí? Koľko stoja? — say an amount in euros and cents, say who I'm buying for and what I'm going to get (pre Luciu, po chlieb), and not mix up ovocie and zelenina.

Lesson 5. Dám si kávu: at a café, and si in second position

17 exercises · I can order at a café — Dám si…, Prosím si…, Chcem si objednať…, — put si in second position, invite someone: Pozývam ťa / vás na kávu, — and say thank you: Ďakujem za…

Lesson 6. Module 4 review

16 exercises · I can review the module: describe an apartment and things in the plural, say what I like and what I buy, give a price, order at a café, and not mix up ťa and tá, náš and nás.

Module 5. Town and getting around

Lesson 1. V meste: the locative (kde?)

13 exercises · I can say where I am and where things are in town — v meste, na námestí, pri rieke — and choose v or na correctly.

Lesson 2. Kde? Kam? Odkiaľ? — v škole, do školy, zo školy

16 exercises · I can ask and say where I am, where I'm going, and where from, give directions — rovno, doprava, doľava — and understand a pozor or zákaz sign.

Lesson 3. Autobusom, električkou: the instrumental

14 exercises · I can say how I'm traveling — autobusom, vlakom, električkou — and ask about departures and arrivals.

Lesson 4. S kým? Pod stolom: s / so and pred, nad, pod, za, medzi

13 exercises · I can say who I'm going with and show exactly where things are: pred hotelom, pod stolom, medzi poštou a parkom, so mnou.

Lesson 5. Kde si bol? The past tense: bol som, robil som

15 exercises · I can say where I was and what I did yesterday, on the weekend, and on vacation, and ask the person I'm talking to: bol som, bola si, boli ste.

Lesson 6. Module 5 review

14 exercises · I can review the module: where, where to, and where from; how and with whom; what happened yesterday — without mixing up v and na, or adding som in the 3rd person.

Module 6. My life and official business

Lesson 1. Moja história: kde som sa narodil a žil

15 exercises · I can say where I was born and lived, where I studied and worked, understand a simple résumé, and answer open questions about my story.

Lesson 2. Na polícii a v hoteli: musel som, ubytovala som sa

16 exercises · I can say what I had to, managed to, or wanted to do at the police station and at a hotel, put som before sa and si correctly, and fill in a form for foreigners.

Lesson 3. Bolí ma hlava: the body and how you feel

16 exercises · I can say what hurts and how I feel, and understand the doctor's question “Čo vám je?”.

Lesson 4. Moji rodičia a dvaja bratia: family and the plural for men

16 exercises · I can talk about my family and ask about someone else's: my parents, two brothers, these students — and not mix up the plural for men with the forms I learned before.

Lesson 5. Páči sa mi: looks, personality, and feelings

15 exercises · I can describe a person's looks and personality and say what I like and whom I love.

Lesson 6. Budem pracovať, nikto neprišiel: the future and double negatives

15 exercises · I can talk about my plans — what I'll do and where I'll go — congratulate someone, and say “nobody came, I'm not doing anything”.

Lesson 7. Module 6 review

15 exercises · I can review the module: talk about the past and my plans, say what hurts and what I like, talk about my family, and not mix up tí and tie, dvaja and dve.

Module 7. A1 extras

Lesson 1. Slovák, slovenský, po slovensky: nationalities and languages

16 exercises · I can say where people are from and what language they speak (the country, the man and the woman from it, the adjective, the language), name a citizenship and a continent, and capitalize the word for the person but not the adjective.

Lesson 2. Na pošte a v banke: the locative with o, and od – do

17 exercises · I can understand post office and bank hours, say at what time, after what, and about what or whom, name sums from a hundred into the thousands, and address an envelope correctly.

Lesson 3. Píšem správu a volám: letters, texts, and phone calls

18 exercises · I can write a short letter to a teacher and a text message (SMS) to a friend, start and end a phone call, ask someone to call back, and say that my phone or internet isn't working.

Module 8. A1 practice

Lesson 1. V reštaurácii

17 exercises · I can book a table, order at a restaurant, ask for cutlery and for food to go, ask for the check, pay by card or in cash, and leave a tip.

Lesson 2. V obchode s oblečením a v drogérii

16 exercises · I can find clothes, shoes, and the drugstore in a shopping mall, buy shampoo, soap, and toothpaste, name clothes and colors, ask about the size, and ask to try something on.

Lesson 3. V meste: lístok, zastávka a cesta

16 exercises · I can choose and buy a ticket from a machine, validate it, transfer to another line, ask the way if I'm lost, and understand the signs on doors: entrance, exit, open, pull, push.

Lesson 4. U lekára a v lekárni

17 exercises · I can make a doctor's appointment by phone, show my insurance, understand the doctor's instructions and say what hurts, and buy medicine and pills at the pharmacy.