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.
Na polícii a v hoteli: musel som, ubytovala som sa
Na polícii a v hoteli: musel som, ubytovala som sa
Why: to say what you had to do, could do, or wanted to do at the foreigners' police office and at a hotel.
Put the modal verb in the past; the second verb stays in the infinitive, as in English “had to wait”: “Musel som čakať”. One form is irregular: môcť → mohol, mohla, mohli. The others are in the table.
Two short words in a row: som comes first, som → sa / si: “V piatok som sa ubytovala”, “Kúpil som si lístok”. Both stand in second position, after the first word or phrase.
In the third person there is no verb “to be”: “Eva sa podpísala” (podpísať sa: to sign).
niesť (to carry): nesiem … nesú; past: niesol, niesla, niesli.
platný means “valid”; doklad is an ID document.
Common mistakes:
• דVčera sa som ubytoval” → “Včera som sa ubytoval”.
• דMusel som vyplnil formulár” → “Musel som vyplniť formulár”.
• דVrátili sme domov” — without sa: “Vrátili sme sa domov”.
Modal verbs in the past
The second verb stays in the infinitive: musel som čakať.
| Verb | he | she | they, vy |
|---|---|---|---|
| môcť | mohol | mohla | mohli |
| chcieť | chcel | chcela | chceli |
| musieť | musel | musela | museli |
| vedieť | vedel | vedela | vedeli |
The verb “to be” comes before sa and si
Both short words go in second position; the 3rd person has no verb “to be”.
| Who | With sa | With si |
|---|---|---|
| ja | Ubytoval som sa. | Dal som si čaj. |
| ty | Ubytovala si sa? | Dala si si čaj? |
| my | Ubytovali sme sa. | Dali sme si čaj. |
| vy | Ubytovali ste sa? | Dali ste si čaj? |
| on, ona — no verb “to be” | Tomáš sa ubytoval. | Eva si dala čaj. |
niesť — to carry
The stem in the present is nes-, in the past nies-: niesol, niesla, niesli.
| Who | Now | Before |
|---|---|---|
| ja | nesiem | niesol som / niesla som |
| ty | nesieš | niesol si / niesla si |
| on, ona | nesie | niesol, niesla |
| my | nesieme | niesli sme |
| vy | nesiete | niesli ste |
| oni | nesú | niesli |
Lesson notes
Na polícii a v hoteli: musel som, ubytovala som sa
Why: to say what you had to do, could do, or wanted to do at the foreigners' police office and at a hotel.
Put the modal verb in the past; the second verb stays in the infinitive, as in English “had to wait”: “Musel som čakať”. One form is irregular: môcť → mohol, mohla, mohli. The others are in the table.
Two short words in a row: som comes first, som → sa / si: “V piatok som sa ubytovala”, “Kúpil som si lístok”. Both stand in second position, after the first word or phrase.
In the third person there is no verb “to be”: “Eva sa podpísala” (podpísať sa: to sign).
niesť (to carry): nesiem … nesú; past: niesol, niesla, niesli.
platný means “valid”; doklad is an ID document.
Common mistakes:
• דVčera sa som ubytoval” → “Včera som sa ubytoval”.
• דMusel som vyplnil formulár” → “Musel som vyplniť formulár”.
• דVrátili sme domov” — without sa: “Vrátili sme sa domov”.