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.
Kde? Kam? Odkiaľ?
Kde? Kam? Odkiaľ?
Why: three questions about place. kde? — where I am, where something is; kam? — where I'm going; odkiaľ? — where from. In English the noun stays the same (in school, to school); in Slovak the ending changes, and often the preposition too. The tables are next to this text.
kde? — v / na + the locative (lesson 1). kam? — na + the accusative: na poštu, na námestie; instead of v, do: do školy, do centra, do parku, do práce, do kina. odkiaľ? — z / zo: z práce, zo školy, zo Slovenska. Learn the forms after do and z as whole phrases.
With na only the ending changes: kde? na pošte ↔ kam? na poštu. Pairs with no preposition: tu (here) ↔ sem (here, with a verb of movement), doma (at home) ↔ domov (home, with a verb of movement). “I'm not going” is nejdem: ne- joins the verb.
Directions: Choďte rovno. Odbočte vľavo. Or with musieť: Musíte odbočiť doprava. doprava, doľava only answer kam? (to the right, to the left): Choďte doprava. vpravo, vľavo also mean “on the right, on the left” (kde?): Pošta je vpravo.
Signs: pozor means “attention!, watch out!”; zákaz means a ban: something is not allowed.
Common mistakes:
• דIdem v školu” → Idem do školy.
• דSom na poštu” → Som na pošte.
• דJana ide doma” → Jana ide domov.
• דPoď tu” → Poď sem.
Cases and prepositions
Learn the forms after do and z as whole phrases.
| Question | Preposition and form | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| kde? | v / vo, na, pri + locative | v škole, na pošte, pri parku |
| kam? | na + accusative | na poštu, na námestie |
| kam? | do + the special form (learn as a set phrase) | do školy, do centra, do parku, do práce |
| odkiaľ? | z / zo + the same form | z práce, zo školy, zo Slovenska |
| no preposition | where? ↔ where to? | tu ↔ sem, doma ↔ domov |
One word, three questions
With na only the ending changes; v becomes do, and “where from” is z / zo.
| Word | kde? | kam? | odkiaľ? |
|---|---|---|---|
| škola | v škole | do školy | zo školy |
| práca | v práci | do práce | z práce |
| centrum | v centre | do centra | — |
| pošta | na pošte | na poštu | — |
| Slovensko | na Slovensku | na Slovensko | zo Slovenska |
Lesson notes
Kde? Kam? Odkiaľ?
Why: three questions about place. kde? — where I am, where something is; kam? — where I'm going; odkiaľ? — where from. In English the noun stays the same (in school, to school); in Slovak the ending changes, and often the preposition too. The tables are next to this text.
kde? — v / na + the locative (lesson 1). kam? — na + the accusative: na poštu, na námestie; instead of v, do: do školy, do centra, do parku, do práce, do kina. odkiaľ? — z / zo: z práce, zo školy, zo Slovenska. Learn the forms after do and z as whole phrases.
With na only the ending changes: kde? na pošte ↔ kam? na poštu. Pairs with no preposition: tu (here) ↔ sem (here, with a verb of movement), doma (at home) ↔ domov (home, with a verb of movement). “I'm not going” is nejdem: ne- joins the verb.
Directions: Choďte rovno. Odbočte vľavo. Or with musieť: Musíte odbočiť doprava. doprava, doľava only answer kam? (to the right, to the left): Choďte doprava. vpravo, vľavo also mean “on the right, on the left” (kde?): Pošta je vpravo.
Signs: pozor means “attention!, watch out!”; zákaz means a ban: something is not allowed.
Common mistakes:
• דIdem v školu” → Idem do školy.
• דSom na poštu” → Som na pošte.
• דJana ide doma” → Jana ide domov.
• דPoď tu” → Poď sem.