Slovenian verbs
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This article discusses verbs in the Slovenian language.
[edit] Transitivity (Glagolska prehodnost)
As in English, the Slovenian language features transitive and intransitive verbs, or, in other words, verbs that require a direct object to function properly and those that have exact meaning in themselves already. For example:
- Imam avto. (I have a car.) (transitive)
- Hodim. (I am walking.) (intransitive)
- Dežuje. (It is raining.) (intransitive, although some might say this is a valence 0 verb)
- Sodelavcu je podal kladivo. (He passed the hammer to his co-worker.) (transitive + two obejcts; this is sometimes known as ditransitive in English)
Verbal transitivity (or intransitivity) is a characteristic of all verbs in Slovenian, but a given verb may be transitive in some and intransitive in other meanings it conveys.
The Slavic reflexive pronoun (or particle) -sę (Slovene se) renders a transitive verb reflexive, and therefore intransitive. Verbs whose transitive form has disappeared (such as, in Slovene, bati se, to be afraid) have se as a required component, and are so recorded lexically (in dictionaries).
[edit] Verbal Aspect (Glagolski vid)
Verbs have, as in many languages, two main continuance forms. In English, however, the perfective (dovršni) and imperfective (nedovršni) verb forms are rather expressed by different tense aspects (simple versus continuous).
- skakati (to jump (habitually or continuously) (to be jumping)) [imperfective verb (infinitive)]
- skočiti (to jump (once)) [perfective verb (infinitive)]
Continuance is preserved in almost all 'tenses':
- (Jaz) skačem (I am jumping) [imperfective verb in the present (continuous) tense]
- (Jaz) skočim (I jump (once)) [perfective verb in the present (simple) tense]
- skakal sem (I was jumping) [imperfective verb in the past (continuous) tense, masculine]
- skakala sem (I was jumping) [imperfective verb in the past (continuous) tense, feminine]
- skočil sem (I jumped) [perfective verb in the past (simple) tense, masculine]
- skočila sem (I jumped) [perfective verb in the past (simple) tense, feminine]
Note: Gender is expressed by verb endings.
- skakal bom (I shall be jumping) [imperfective verb of future (continuous) tense, masculine]
- skakala bom (I shall be jumping) [imperfective verb of future (continuous) tense, feminine]
- skočil bom (I shall jump, and land) [perfective verb of future (simple) tense, masculine]
- skočila bom (I shall jump, and land) [perfective verb of future (simple) tense, feminine]
In Slovene, the present form of perfective verbs is in rather wider use than in other South Slavic languages; and one of its functions is modal; i.e., to differentiate a modal present (English I will, he shall) from a declarative present (I shall, he will):
- To kravo prodam: I will sell this cow. (I want to sell this cow)
- To kravo bom prodal: I shall sell this cow. (I'm going to sell this cow, for sure)
[edit] Active and Passive Voice (Tvornik in trpnik)
Slovenian mostly uses the active voice. Hence, a typical English sentence, such as He was elected as a fellow of the Royal Society (Izvoljen je bil za člana Kraljeve družbe), would more likely be seen in Slovenian in the form They elected him a fellow of the Royal Society (Izvolili so ga za člana Kraljeve družbe).
The passive in Slovenian is formed by using the verb biti (to be) in the appropriate form, depending on the person, gender, tense and number, and adding to it the full lexical verb with the ending -en, or, in another form, by using the word se and the appropriate form of the full lexical verb.
For example:
- Trgovina je zaprta. (The shop is closed.) (state passive cannot be transformed into the active) – German: Das Geschäft ist geschlossen.
- Trgovina se zapira. (The shop is being closed.) (in the active: Trgovino zapirajo.) – German: Das Geschäft wird geschlossen.
- Tu se plava. (Here, one may swim.) (there is no English passive suitable in this translation, and also no active form in Slovenian to directly correspond to it) – German: Hier wird geschwommen.
- Vržen je bil iz službe. (He was sacked.) (in the active: Vrgli so ga iz službe.)
[edit] Verb Tense (Glagolski čas)
In Slovenian, there are four tenses:
- the pluperfect (past perfect) tense (predpreteklik)
- the preterite (past simple) tense (preteklik)
- the present tense (sedanjik)
- the future tense (prihodnjik)
[edit] The Pluperfect (Predpreteklik)
The pluperfect tense is formed the following way: auxiliary verb biti (to be) in the present tense + 'l' participle of the auxiliary verb biti (to be) + 'l' participle of the full lexical verb
For example:
- sem bil videl (I had seen)
- je bila odšla (she had gone)
- so bili odkrili (they had discovered)
The pluperfect tense is rarely used in colloquial speech. The preterite is normally used in instead, and context implies the pluperfect.
It describes an action taking place before another action in the past.
[edit] The Preterite (Preteklik)
The preterite (Slavonic perfect) tense is formed in the following way: auxiliary verb biti (to be) in the present tense + 'l' participle of the full lexical verb
For example:
- sem videl (I saw)
- je odšla (she went)
- so odkrili (they discovered)
The preterite tense is used to describe an action or state in the past.
[edit] The Present Tense (Sedanjik)
The present tense is formed in the following way: the present tense of the full lexical verb
For example:
- vidim (I see)
- odhaja (she is going)
- odkrivajo (they are discovering)
The present tense is used to describe actions and states happening at this moment or generally. Progressiveness is denoted by using perfective and imperfective verbs.
For verb formation, see verb conjugations below.
[edit] The Future Tense (Prihodnjik)
The future tense is formed in the following way: auxiliary verb biti (to be) in the future tense + 'l' participle of the full lexical verb
For example:
- videl bom (I shall see)
- odšla bo (she will go)
- bodo odkrili (they will discover)
The future tense describes future actions or states.
[edit] Verb Conjugations (Glagolske spregatve)
There are various types of conjugation existent in Slovenian, videlicet:
- the present conjugation,
- the conjugation of the infinitive for the second person of singular, dual and plural, and the first person of dual and plural (see the section on the imperative),
- a future tense conjugation (existing only for the verb to be (biti), see below), and
- the conditional conjugation, which is not expressed by voiced or written endings, but rather by the conditional mood.
Slovenian has both thematic and athematic conjugations of verbs in the present tense.
Athematic conjugations differ from thematic ones in that they add S to the stem in some cases. For comparison, let us take the verbs imeti (to have) and dati (to give), both of which belong to the first (-a-) conjugation, as described below. It is considered grammatically incorrect, although common in certain dialects, to inflect verbs of either conjugation by the rules of the other.
| Singular | Dual | Plural |
| imam – dam | imava – dava | imamo – damo |
| imaš – daš | imata – daSta | imate – daSte |
| ima – da | imata – daSta | imajo – dajo |
Imperative: Imej!, Imejmo!; Daj!, Dajmo!
There are 5 discrete thematic and athematic present tense conjugations, as follows, plus irregular verbs:
- First conjugation in -a- (eg, oddati (to let, rent))
- Second conjugation in -i- (eg, hoditi (to walk))
- Third conjugation in -je- (eg, biti (to beat))
- Fourth conjugation in -e- (eg, risati (to draw))
- Fifth conjugation in --- (eg, žreti (to gourmandise) (?))
First conjugation example:
| Singular | Dual | Plural |
| oddam | oddava | oddamo |
| oddaš | oddata | oddate |
| odda | oddata | oddajo |
Imperative: Oddaj!, Oddajte!
Second conjugation example:
| Singular | Dual | Plural |
| hodim | hodiva | hodimo |
| hodiš | hodita | hodite |
| hodi | hodita | hodijo |
Imperative: Hodi!, Hodite!
Third conjugation example:
| Singular | Dual | Plural |
| bijem | bijeva | bijemo |
| biješ | bijeta | bijete |
| bije | bijeta | bijejo |
Imperative: Bij!, Bijte!
Fourth conjugation example:
| Singular | Dual | Plural |
| rišem | riševa | rišemo |
| rišeš | rišeta | rišete |
| riše | rišeta | rišejo |
Imperative: Riši!, Rišite!
The third person plural often has more variants, such as dajo and dado (from dati, to give), jedo and jejo (from jesti, to eat), but more often than not, one of these is not stylistically neutral.
[edit] The Irregular Verb to be (Nepravilni glagol biti)
The verb biti (to be) is irregular, and is formed thus:
Present tense:
| Singular | Dual | Plural |
| sem | sva | smo |
| si | sta | ste |
| je | sta | so |
(Common Slavic: jesm', jesi, jest, jesvě, jesta, jeste, jesm, jeste, sąt)
Future tense:
| Singular | Dual | Plural |
| bom | bova | bomo |
| boš | bosta | boste |
| bo | bosta | bodo |
(Common Slavic: bądą, bądeš, bądet, bądevě, bądeta, bądete, bądem, bądete, bądąt)
An alternative, but stylised, affected or literary way of forming the future tense of the verb biti is by inserting -de-: eg, boDEm. A more colloquial alternative to bodo is bojo (and a rather peculiar version thereof is bodejo).
Past tense (solidi mark gender: masculine/feminine/neuter):
| Singular | Dual | Plural |
| bil/-a/-o | bila/-i/-i | bili/-e/-a |
| bil/-a/-o | bila/-i/-i | bili/-e/-a |
| bil/-a/-o | bila/-i/-i | bili/-e/-a |
The imperative of to be is Bodi!, Bodite!.
The negative conjugation of the verb to be in the present:
| Singular | Dual | Plural |
| nisem | nisva | nismo |
| nisi | nista | niste |
| ni | nista | niso |
[edit] Participle (Deležnik)
In Slovenian, there are many forms of the participle. The most common are the following:
- -č: This participle denotes active doing of the described noun, and corresponds to Partizip I (Partizip Präsens) in German, and to present participle in English.
- Otrok, ki joka, je jokajoč otrok. (A child that cries is a crying child.)
- V sobo je vstopil glasno pojoč. (He entered the room singing loudly.)
- -ši: This historically used participle denotes action occurring before another. It is considered archaic, and should not be used in modern language. It corresponds to a perfect present participle in English. Note the use of the comma – this participle acts as a predicate.
- Stopivši iz hiše, se je napotil v krčmo. (Having stepped out of the house, he headed to the pub.)
- -l: This is the participle used to form verbs in the past tense; it also expresses states or state changes.
- Videl sem. (I saw.)
- Ob tej novici je prebledela. (Upon [hearing] the news, she became wan.)
- Bleda je. (She is wan.)
- -n/-t: This participle denotes passive state of the described noun, and corresponds to Partizip II (Partizip Perfekt) in German, and to past participle in English.
- Parkiran avto je bil ukraden. (The parked car was stolen.) (perhaps better in the active voice, "Parkiran avto so ukradli.")
- Sodišče je sodilo obtoženemu roparju. (The court tried the accused robber.)
- Spočit konj je čakal na dvorišču. (A rested horse was waiting on the yard.)
Note that when used as an adjective, participles are declined as per the adjectival declension.
[edit] Gerund
The Slavic gerund (verbal adverb) survives in Slovene: Sede se je pretegnil. ([While] sitting, he stretched.) Also in -aje: Sedaje se je pretegnil. (While sitting down, he stretched.)
[edit] Imperative (Velelnik)
The imperative mood is formed using a different ending to verbs for each person, but more often than not, there is a change in the base as well (for instance: plesati (to dance) - pleši (Dance!), or peti (to sing) - poj (Sing!)).
The following table lists forms for the verbs to be (biti), to go (iti), and a regular verb, to walk (hoditi).
| Singular | Dual | Plural |
| -- | bodiva - pojdiva - hodiva | bodimo - pojdimo - hodimo |
| bodi - pojdi - hodi | bodita - pojdita - hodita | bodite - pojdite - hodite |
The idea expressed by the Imperative, this is, a command, may also be expressed by the modal verb should (naj). For instance: "naj bom" (Let me be.), "naj gredo" (or even "naj pojdejo") (They must go; I order them that they should go.), "naj bo (luč)" (Let there be (light).).
When the imperative is in fact used for the first person singular or for the third person, it is not stylistically neutral. Thus: Pa bodi po tvoje. (Let it be your way. Po tvojem gre svet tako: Jaz delaj, ti pa lenari. (Per you, the world goes like so: I work (but in imperative for 2nd person singular), you be lazy.)
[edit] Conditionals (Pogojnik)
The Slovenian conditional, a descendant of the Common Slavic conditional, is a compound tense; it consists of the particle bi (descendant of the declinable aorist of biti: byh, by, by, byhom, byste, byshę) and an l-participle, the same l-participle used in formation of the perfect (preterite).
- Če bi mi postalo slabo, mi, prosim, podajte tiste tablete. (Literally: If it became sick to me, to me, I kindly ask, pass those pills.; If I should become sick, kindly pass me those pills.)
- V primeru, da bi prišlo do požara, bomo umrli. (Should there be a fire, we would die.)
- Če bi (bili) končali prej, bi bili zdaj prosti. (If we had finished earlier, we would be free now.)
- Želi si, da bi bil maneken, vendar s svojimi obraznimi nečistočami nima možnosti. (He wishes that he were a model, but with his facial impurities, he has no chance.)
- O, da bi bila jesen! (O, if only it were autumn!) (bookish)
- O, ko bi le bila jesen! (O, if only it were autumn!)
"Bi" is used only for irreal conditions: if I were a chipmunk, then I would jump for joy! Real conditions are expressed, as in English, using the present. For example: Če vam pomaham, odprite okno. (If I wave to you, open the window.)
[edit] Supine and Infinitive (Namenilnik in nedoločnik)
The supine and the infinitive are ordinarily used as verbal nouns, with the latter far more common than the former.
The infinitive is the basic verb form ending in -ti (postati, biti, hladiti – to become, to be, to cool), or, with a few verbs, -či (peči, teči, sleči – to bake, to run, to undress).
For example:
- Postati slaven je težko. (To become famous is difficult.)
- Seveda je res, da stalno nekaj blebeče, vendar govoričiti brez smisla zahteva veliko vaje. (Of course it is true that he/she (3rd person, but unstated) is forever blethering, but to babble meaninglessly demands much practice.)
The supine is used following verbs designating movement. Its form is the same as that of the infinitive, with the -i omitted at the end; thus, for the example verbs given above: postat, bit, hladit, peč, teč, sleč.
Examples of the supine:
- V novi svet so odšli iskat bogastvo. (They went to the New World to seek fortune.)
- Pojdi se solit. (Literally, Go salt yourself; it expresses annoyance, refusal)
- Stekli smo pogasit ogenj. (We ran to put out the fire.)
