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.
Rád čítam: what you like doing
Rád čítam: what you like doing
Why: to say what you like doing in your free time and ask others about it.
“I like reading” is Rád čítam: rád goes before the verb, and the verb is in its person form, not the infinitive (unlike English “like to read”). It changes with the person who likes: a man — rád, a woman — rada, several people — radi, women only — rady. “I don't like” takes ne as one word: nerád, nerada, neradi, nerady.
vy: to one person addressed with vy, the verb ends in -te, as for several people, but rád follows that person's gender: Pán Varga, čo rád robíte? Pani Šimková, čo rada robíte? To several people, radi or rady.
What exactly: after hrať and pozerať the words in the table don't change: hrať futbal, pozerať video. Learn two feminine pairs as a whole: čítať knihu, počúvať hudbu. The table is next to this text. “And, but, or” are a, ale, alebo.
The stress is on the first syllable; the mark over a letter is length: obľúbený, pozerám.
Common mistakes:
• × “Ja rád čítať” → “Rád čítam”.
• × “Lucia rád tancuje” → “Lucia rada tancuje”.
• × “Pán Novák, čo radi robíte?” (to one man) → “Pán Novák, čo rád robíte?”.
• × “Čítam kniha” → “Čítam knihu”.
rád, rada, radi, rady
rád changes with who likes it. vy to one person follows that person's gender.
| Who likes it | Form |
|---|---|
| ja (a man), on | rád |
| ja (a woman), ona | rada |
| my, oni (at least one man) | radi |
| my, ony (women only) | rady |
| vy — to one person | rád / rada |
| vy — to several people | radi / rady |
What we do in our free time
After hrať and pozerať the word doesn't change; learn knihu and hudbu as a whole.
| Verb | What |
|---|---|
| hrať | futbal, basketbal, volejbal, tenis |
| pozerať | film, seriál, video |
| počúvať | hudbu |
| čítať | knihu |
| no object | tancovať, spievať, plávať, bicyklovať, športovať |
Lesson notes
Rád čítam: what you like doing
Why: to say what you like doing in your free time and ask others about it.
“I like reading” is Rád čítam: rád goes before the verb, and the verb is in its person form, not the infinitive (unlike English “like to read”). It changes with the person who likes: a man — rád, a woman — rada, several people — radi, women only — rady. “I don't like” takes ne as one word: nerád, nerada, neradi, nerady.
vy: to one person addressed with vy, the verb ends in -te, as for several people, but rád follows that person's gender: Pán Varga, čo rád robíte? Pani Šimková, čo rada robíte? To several people, radi or rady.
What exactly: after hrať and pozerať the words in the table don't change: hrať futbal, pozerať video. Learn two feminine pairs as a whole: čítať knihu, počúvať hudbu. The table is next to this text. “And, but, or” are a, ale, alebo.
The stress is on the first syllable; the mark over a letter is length: obľúbený, pozerám.
Common mistakes:
• × “Ja rád čítať” → “Rád čítam”.
• × “Lucia rád tancuje” → “Lucia rada tancuje”.
• × “Pán Novák, čo radi robíte?” (to one man) → “Pán Novák, čo rád robíte?”.
• × “Čítam kniha” → “Čítam knihu”.