Language/Slovak/Grammar/Future-Tense

Slovak Grammar - Future Tense

Hi Slovak learners! 😊
In this lesson, we will discuss the future tense in Slovak language. It is one of the most common verb tenses that you will need to know if you wish to speak Slovak fluently. We will go through the conjugation rules and exceptions, and some cultural aspects related to it.

What is the Future Tense?

In Slovak language, the future tense is used to express an action that will happen or will be completed at some point in the future. We use it to talk about future plans, predictions, or hopes. It is one of the simpler tense forms as it doesn't have too many exceptions, but proper usage takes a lot of practice.

Conjugation Rules

To form the future tense we begin with the whole infinitive, remove the -t or -ť ending and add the following endings according to the verb type:

Verb Type	Example	Future Tense Ending
Regular Verbs	hrať (to play)	-m, -š, -me, -te, -ia, -ia
Verbs ending in -ovať	cestovať (to travel)	-em, -eš, -eme, -ete, -ú, -ú
Verbs ending in -ieť/-iete	bieť (to beat)	-em, -eš, -e, -ieme, -iete, -ú, -ú
Verbs ending in -ať/-iať	robiť (to do)	-m, -š, -me, -te, -ia, -ia

Examples

Here are some examples of how to conjugate the future tense in Slovak language:

Regular Verbs

Slovak	Pronunciation	English
Hovoriť	[ˈho.vo.ritʲ]	will speak
Čakať	[ˈtʃa.ka.ʨ̑]	will wait
Vidieť	[ˈvi.djɛc]	will see

Verbs ending in -ovať

Slovak	Pronunciation	English
Cestovať	[ˈtse.stɔ.va.ʧ̑]	will travel
Robiť fotografie	[ˈrɔ.bɪtʲ fo.to.ɡra.fʲɛ]	will take photos
Znovať sa	[ˈzno.vat̪ sa]	will call back

Verbs ending in -ieť/-iete

Slovak	Pronunciation	English
Bieť	[ˈbɪjɛc]	will beat
Povieť	[ˈpo.vjɛc]	will say
Vidieť	[vɪdjɛc]	will see

Verbs ending in -ať/-iať

Slovak	Pronunciation	English
Robiť	[ˈrɔbɪtʲ]	will do
Hrať sa	[ˈhrat̪ sa]	will play
Hľadať	[ˈhl̩a.dac]	will look for

Exceptions

Like any other tense, the future tense also has some exceptions. Here are some commonly used words and their irregular conjugation forms:

Byť (to be)

Slovak	Pronunciation	English
Budem	[ˈbu.dɛc]	will be (I)
Budeš	[ˈbu.dɛʃ]	will be (you-singular)
Bude	[ˈbu.dɛ]	will be (he/she/it)
Budeme	[ˈbu.dɛ.mɛ]	will be (we)
Budete	[bu.ˈdɛ.tɛ]	will be (you-plural)
Budú	[ˈbu.duː]	will be (they)

ísť (to go)

Slovak	Pronunciation	English
Pôjdem	[ˈpoːjdem]	will go (I)
Pôjdeš	[ˈpoːjdeʃ]	will go (you-singular)
Pôjde	[ˈpoːjde]	will go (he/she/it)
Pôjdeme	[poj.ˈde.mɛ]	will go (we)
Pôjdete	[poj.ˈde.tɛ]	will go (you-plural)
Pôjdu	[ˈpoːjdu]	will go (they)

Cultural aspects

Slovak culture has a long history of literature, music, theater, and film. Slovak language is an essential part of Slovak culture, and so is the way you speak it. Slovak people are mostly known for their hospitality and their willingness to help. If you struggled with using the future tense, don't hesitate to ask for help. You can always use Polyglot Club to find native speakers and ask them any questions you might have.

Dialogue

To help you understand the future tense in context, here's a simple dialogue:

• Person 1: Kedy si (ty) kúpiš nový telefón? (When will you buy a new phone?)
• Person 2: Kúpim si ho zajtra. (I will buy it tomorrow.)

Conclusion

In this lesson, we went through the conjugation rules and exceptions of the future tense in Slovak language. We also discussed some cultural aspects related to the usage of this tense. Don't forget to practice what you learned and don't be afraid to ask for help. It takes time to grasp the proper usage of verb tenses, but with patience and practice, you'll get there.

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➡ If you have any questions, please ask them in the comments section below.
➡ Feel free to edit this wiki page if you think it can be improved. 😎

Sources

• Slovak language
• Slovak grammar
• Slovak literature