Language/Slovenian/Grammar/Conjugation-of-verbs-in-the-present-tense

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SlovenianGrammar → Conjugation of verbs in the present tense

I am so happy to have you here for another Slovenian language lesson! I am a Slovenian language teacher and I have been teaching Slovenian for 20 years now. In today's lesson, we will learn how to conjugate basic Slovenian verbs in the present tense, including regular and irregular verbs, and their use in everyday conversation.

As a beginner, it can be challenging to conjugate verbs in Slovenian. We have to consider many factors such as the subject of the sentence, the tense, the mood and the aspect of the verb. But don't worry, we'll take it step by step and make it as easy as possible for you!

Conjugation in Slovenian

Conjugation refers to the way we change verbs to match the tense and subject of the sentence. In Slovenian, we have three main groups of verbs: the first conjugation, the second conjugation, and the third conjugation. The conjugation group of a verb can usually be recognized by its ending. However, there are some irregular verbs that do not follow this rule, and their conjugation must be memorized.

First Conjugation

The first conjugation group refers to verbs that end in -ati. Verbs belonging to this group include pogledati (to look), govoriti (to talk), and poslušati (to listen).

Here is how you can conjugate verbs from the first conjugation in the present tense:

Slovenian Pronunciation English
jaz gled-am yaz gled-ahm I look
ti gled-aš tee gled-ash you look (singular)
on/ona/ono gled-a on/ona/ono gled-ah he/she/it looks
midva/midve gled-ava meed-vah/meed-vee gled-ah-vah we (two) look
vidva/vidve gled-ata veed-vah/veed-vee gled-ah-ta you (two) look
oni/one/on-a gled-ajo on-ee/oh-neh/oh-nah gled-ah-yo they look

Second Conjugation

The second conjugation group refers to verbs that end in -eti. Verbs belonging to this group include jesti (to eat), čakati (to wait), and delati (to work).

Here is how you can conjugate verbs from the second conjugation in the present tense:

Slovenian Pronunciation English
jaz jem yaz yem I eat
ti ješ tee yesh you eat (singular)
on/ona/ono je on/ona/ono yeh he/she/it eats
midva/midve jed-eva meed-vah/meed-vee yeh-d-eh-vah we (two) eat
vidva/vidve jed-eta veed-vah/veed-vee yeh-d-eh-ta you (two) eat
oni/one/on-a jed-o on-ee/oh-neh/oh-nah yeh-d-oh they eat

Third Conjugation

The third conjugation group refers to verbs that end in -iti. Verbs belonging to this group include kupiti (to buy), priti (to come), and čistiti (to clean).

Here is how you can conjugate verbs from the third conjugation in the present tense:

Slovenian Pronunciation English
jaz kup-ujem yaz koo-poo-yem I buy
ti kup-uješ tee koo-poo-yesh you buy (singular)
on/ona/ono kup-uje on/ona/ono koo-poo-yeh he/she/it buys
midva/midve kup-ujeva meed-vah/meed-vee koo-poo-yeh-vah we (two) buy
vidva/vidve kup-ujeta veed-vah/veed-vee koo-poo-yeh-ta you (two) buy
oni/one/on-a kup-ujejo on-ee/oh-neh/oh-nah koo-poo-yeh-yo they buy

Irregular Verbs in the Present Tense

Unfortunately, not all verbs in Slovenian are regular or predictable. Some of them have irregular conjugations that must be memorized. Here are some of the most common irregular verbs in Slovenian and their conjugations in the present tense:

Slovenian Pronunciation English
biti bee-tee to be
imeti ee-meh-tee to have
narediti nah-reh-dee-tee to do, to make
videti vee-deh-tee to see
morati mo-ra-tee to have to, must

Using Verbs in Everyday Conversation

Learning how to correctly conjugate verbs is an important step, but it's not enough to make you fluent in Slovenian. In order to use verbs correctly in everyday conversation, you also need to learn about their correct usage, such as word order or different grammatical structures.

Word Order in Slovenian

The word order in Slovenian is typically subject-verb-object. However, the object can sometimes come before the verb for emphasis or stylistic reasons. For example:

- Jaz gledam film. (I am watching a movie.) - Film gledam jaz. (I am watching a movie.) [emphasizing "I"]

Auxiliary Verbs in Slovenian

In Slovenian, just like in English, auxiliary verbs are used to construct different grammatical structures, such as the passive voice or the conditional mood. The most common auxiliary verbs in Slovenian are biti (to be), imeti (to have), and hteti (to want). For example:

- Bil sem. (I was.) - Imel sem. (I had.) - Rad bi jedel. (I would like to eat.)

Negation in Slovenian

Negation in Slovenian is formed by adding ne before the verb, similar to the English "not". For example:

- Ne maram kave. (I don't like coffee.) - Ne pišem pisma. (I'm not writing a letter.)

That's it for today's lesson! We covered a lot of ground, but I hope you feel more confident about conjugating verbs in Slovenian now. Don't forget to practice regularly, especially with native speakers or through media such as films, books, and music. See you in the next lesson!





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