Language/Slovenian/Grammar/Tenses
Slovenian, like many other languages, has several tenses that are used to express different actions and events that occur at different times. In this lesson, we'll cover the following tenses in Slovenian:
Take some time to dive into these other pages after completing this lesson: The subjunctive mood and modal verbs & Adverbs and prepositions.
Present tense (Trenutno sedanjik):[edit | edit source]
The present tense in Slovenian is used to describe actions that are happening right now, or that happen regularly. The conjugation of verbs in the present tense depends on the subject of the sentence.
For example, the verb "go" in the present tense would be:
- Jaz grem (I go)
- Ti greš (You go)
- On/Ona/Ono gre (He/She/It goes)
- Mi gremo (We go)
- Vi greste (You all go)
- Oni/One/Ona gredo (They go)
More in-depth lesson about the Present tense here.
Simple past tense (Pretekliko preprosti):[edit | edit source]
The simple past tense in Slovenian is used to describe actions that happened in the past and are now finished. The conjugation of verbs in the simple past tense also depends on the subject of the sentence.
For example, the verb "go" in the simple past tense would be:
- Jaz sem šel/šla/šlo (I went)
- Ti si šel/šla/šlo (You went)
- On/Ona/Ono je šel/šla/šlo (He/She/It went)
- Mi smo šli/šle/šla (We went)
- Vi ste šli/šle/šla (You all went)
- Oni/One/Ona so šli/šle/šla (They went)
More in-depth lesson about the Simple past tense here.
Imperfect past tense (Pretekliko nedokončni):[edit | edit source]
The imperfect past tense in Slovenian is used to describe actions that were ongoing in the past. This tense is similar to the English "was/were + -ing" construction. The conjugation of verbs in the imperfect past tense also depends on the subject of the sentence.
For example, the verb "go" in the imperfect past tense would be:
- Jaz sem hodil/hodila/hodilo (I was going)
- Ti si hodil/hodila/hodilo (You were going)
- On/Ona/Ono je hodil/hodila/hodilo (He/She/It was going)
- Mi smo hodili/hodile/hodila (We were going)
- Vi ste hodili/hodile/hodila (You all were going)
- Oni/One/Ona so hodili/hodile/hodila (They were going)
More in-depth lesson about the Imperfect past tense here.
Future tense (Bodoči čas):[edit | edit source]
The future tense in Slovenian is used to describe actions that will happen in the future. The conjugation of verbs in the future tense is the same for all subjects, and it is formed by adding the appropriate conjugation of the verb "bo" (to be) before the infinit
ive form of the verb.
For example, the verb "go" in the future tense would be:
- Jaz bom šel/šla/šlo (I will go)
- Ti boš šel/šla/šlo (You will go)
- On/Ona/Ono bo šel/šla/šlo (He/She/It will go)
- Mi bomo šli/šle/šla (We will go)
- Vi boste šli/šle/šla (You all will go)
- Oni/One/Ona bodo šli/šle/šla (They will go)
More in-depth lesson about the future tense here.
Conditional tense (Pogojni naklon):[edit | edit source]
The conditional tense in Slovenian is used to describe actions that would happen under certain conditions. The conjugation of verbs in the conditional tense is the same for all subjects, and it is formed by adding the appropriate conjugation of the verb "bi" (would) before the infinitive form of the verb.
For example, the verb "go" in the conditional tense would be:
- Jaz bi šel/šla/šlo (I would go)
- Ti bi šel/šla/šlo (You would go)
- On/Ona/Ono bi šel/šla/šlo (He/She/It would go)
- Mi bi šli/šle/šla (We would go)
- Vi bi šli/šle/šla (You all would go)
- Oni/One/Ona bi šli/šle/šla (They would go)
More in-depth lesson about the Conditional tense here.
Perfect tense (Sedajnik preteklosti):[edit | edit source]
The perfect tense in Slovenian is used to describe actions that happened in the past and have a connection to the present. The conjugation of verbs in the perfect tense is formed by using the appropriate conjugation of the verb "imeti" (to have) or "biti" (to be) followed by the past participle of the main verb.
For example, the verb "go" in the perfect tense would be:
- Jaz sem šel/šla/šlo (I have gone)
- Ti si šel/šla/šlo (You have gone)
- On/Ona/Ono je šel/šla/šlo (He/She/It has gone)
- Mi smo šli/šle/šla (We have gone)
- Vi ste šli/šle/šla (You all have gone)
- Oni/One/Ona so šli/šle/šla (They have gone)
More in-depth lesson about the Perfect tense here.
Pluperfect tense (Predpretekliko):[edit | edit source]
The pluperfect tense in Slovenian is used to describe actions that happened before another past action. The conjugation of verbs in the pluperfect tense is formed by using the appropriate conjugation of the verb "imeti" (to have) or "biti" (to be) followed by the past participle of the main verb and the appropriate conjugation of the verb "bilo" (had been).
For example, the verb "go" in the pluperfect tense would be:
- Jaz sem bil šel/šla/šlo (I had gone)
- Ti si bil šel/šla/šlo (You had gone)
- On/Ona/Ono je bil šel/šla/šlo (He/She/It had gone)
- Mi smo bili šli/šle/šla (We had gone)
- Vi ste bili šli/šle/šla (You all had gone)
- Oni/One/Ona so bili šli/šle/šla (They had gone)
More in-depth lesson about the Pluperfect tense tense here.
Future perfect tense (Bodoči sedajnik):[edit | edit source]
- The future perfect tense in Slovenian is used to describe actions that will have happened by a certain point in the future. The conjugation of verbs in the future perfect tense is formed by using the appropriate conjugation of the verb "imeti" (to have) or "biti" (to be) followed by the past participle of the main verb and the appropriate conjugation of the verb "bo" (will have). For example, the verb "go" in the future perfect tense would be:
- Jaz bom šel/šla/šlo (I will have gone)
- Ti boš šel/šla/šlo (You will have gone)
- On/Ona/Ono bo šel/šla/šlo (He/She/It will have gone)
- Mi bomo šli/šle/šla (We will have gone)
- Vi boste šli/šle/šla (You all will have gone)
- Oni/One/Ona bodo šli/šle/šla (They will have gone)
More in-depth lesson about the Future perfect tense here.
Conditional perfect tense (Pogojnik sedajnik):[edit | edit source]
- The conditional perfect tense in Slovenian is used to describe actions that would have happened under certain conditions by a certain point in the future. The conjugation of verbs in the conditional perfect tense is formed by using the appropriate conjugation of the verb "imeti" (to have) or "biti" (to be) followed by the past participle of the main verb, the appropriate conjugation of the verb "bi" (would), and the appropriate conjugation of the verb "bil" (had been). For example, the verb "go" in the conditional perfect tense would be:
- Jaz bi bil šel/šla/šlo (I would have gone)
- Ti bi bil šel/šla/šlo (You would have gone)
- On/Ona/Ono bi bil šel/šla/šlo (He/She/It would have gone)
- Mi bi bili šli/šle/šla (We would have gone)
- Vi bi bili šli/šle/šla (You all would have gone)
- Oni/One/Ona bi bili šli/šle/šla (They would have gone)
More in-depth lesson about the Conditional perfect tense here.
Learning the different tenses in Slovenian can be challenging, but it's an essential part of becoming proficient in the language. By practicing the conjugation of verbs in each tense, you'll be able to communicate effectively in different situations and express yourself clearly in both written and spoken Slovenian. Good luck!