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.
Kde si bol? The past tense
Kde si bol? The past tense
Why: to say what happened (yesterday, on the weekend, on vacation) and ask the person you're talking to. Time words: včera, minulý týždeň (last week), cez víkend, v sobotu, pred rokom (a year ago).
The form: the infinitive without -ť + -l: robiť → robil, čítať → čítal, pracovať → pracoval. It changes with gender and number: robil, robila, robilo, robili. Unlike English, it shows the gender: a woman says robila som. It also needs a short word: robil som (I), robil si (you, informal), robili sme (we), robili ste (you, formal; you all). The third person has none: Tomáš robil.
Word order: som, si, sme, ste come second in the sentence: Včera som bol doma. Kde si bola? With sa, som comes first, then sa: Včera som sa ubytoval. For “not”, ne- joins the verb: Nebol som doma. Formal vy takes the -li form: Boli ste v Bratislave, pani Nováková?
Special forms are in the table: bol, išiel (šiel), jedol, mohol, letel. už means “already” (in a question, also “yet”): Už si bola v Nitre? — Ešte nie (not yet).
Common mistakes:
• דVčera bol doma” — that means “he was” → Včera som bol doma.
• דVčera ja som bol doma” → the short word comes second: Včera som bol doma.
• דTomáš je bol doma” → Tomáš bol doma.
• דVčera sa som ubytoval” → Včera som sa ubytoval.
The past tense
Som, si, sme, ste come second in the sentence; the 3rd person has none.
| Who | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ja | -l / -la + som | robil som / robila som |
| ty | -l / -la + si | robil si / robila si |
| on, ona, ono | -l, -la, -lo (no som!) | robil, robila, robilo |
| my | -li + sme | robili sme |
| vy | -li + ste | robili ste |
| oni, ony | -li | robili |
Special past forms
Išiel and šiel: both forms are correct.
| Infinitive | he | she | they |
|---|---|---|---|
| byť | bol | bola | boli |
| ísť | išiel (šiel) | išla (šla) | išli (šli) |
| jesť | jedol | jedla | jedli |
| môcť | mohol | mohla | mohli |
| letieť | letel | letela | leteli |
Lesson notes
Kde si bol? The past tense
Why: to say what happened (yesterday, on the weekend, on vacation) and ask the person you're talking to. Time words: včera, minulý týždeň (last week), cez víkend, v sobotu, pred rokom (a year ago).
The form: the infinitive without -ť + -l: robiť → robil, čítať → čítal, pracovať → pracoval. It changes with gender and number: robil, robila, robilo, robili. Unlike English, it shows the gender: a woman says robila som. It also needs a short word: robil som (I), robil si (you, informal), robili sme (we), robili ste (you, formal; you all). The third person has none: Tomáš robil.
Word order: som, si, sme, ste come second in the sentence: Včera som bol doma. Kde si bola? With sa, som comes first, then sa: Včera som sa ubytoval. For “not”, ne- joins the verb: Nebol som doma. Formal vy takes the -li form: Boli ste v Bratislave, pani Nováková?
Special forms are in the table: bol, išiel (šiel), jedol, mohol, letel. už means “already” (in a question, also “yet”): Už si bola v Nitre? — Ešte nie (not yet).
Common mistakes:
• דVčera bol doma” — that means “he was” → Včera som bol doma.
• דVčera ja som bol doma” → the short word comes second: Včera som bol doma.
• דTomáš je bol doma” → Tomáš bol doma.
• דVčera sa som ubytoval” → Včera som sa ubytoval.