Slovene verbs

This article describes the conjugation and use of verbs in Slovene. Further information about the grammar of the Slovene language can be found in the article Slovene grammar.

Grammatical categories

In Slovene, there are four tenses:

  1. The present tense (sedanjik), which considers events that are occurring.
  2. The past or preterite tense (preteklik), which considers events that occurred in the past.
  3. The pluperfect (past perfect) tense (predpreteklik), which considers events that occurred before a given event already in the past. It is rare in normal use.
  4. The future tense (prihodnjik), which considers events that will occur.

There are 3 verb moods:

  1. Indicative mood, which is used to state a fact or opinion.
  2. Imperative mood, which is used to give commands.
  3. Conditional mood, which is used to state possibilities or wishes, for example, If only I knew that....

In addition, there are several non-finite forms:

  1. An infinitive in -ti and a supine in -t.
  2. Two present active participles, in -č and in -e, indicating ongoing action.
  3. Two past active participles, in -l and in -(v)ši, indicating a past or completed action.
  4. A past passive participle in -n or -t, indicating an action having been performed on something.

Only the present indicative, the imperative and the non-finite forms are formed synthetically, by changing the form of the verb directly. All other forms are periphrastic (analytic), and are formed using auxiliary verbs or other additional words.

As in all Slavic languages, Slovene verbs are classified based on their aspect:

  1. Perfective (dovršni) verbs, which represent a completed action.
  2. Imperfective (nedovršni) verbs, which represent an ongoing action.

Each verb is either perfective or imperfective, and most verbs occur in pairs to express the same meaning with different aspects. For example, the concept of jumping is expressed in the 2 different aspects is skákati, which has an imperfective aspect and can roughly be translated as to be jumping (continuously), and skočíti, which has a perfective aspect and can roughly be translated as to jump (once). While each aspect is represented by a full verb with its own distinct conjugation, certain combinations are not or rarely used in one aspect or the other. For example, imperfective verbs generally lack a past passive participle, while perfective verbs have no present participles. Additionally, the present tense has 2 different meanings depending on the aspect of a verb. For imperfective verbs, it has present meaning, while for perfective verbs, it has a future meaning expressing a desire to carry out the action. For example, To kravo prodam "I want to sell the cow" (compare this with the future tense To kravo bom prodal "I will sell the cow").

As well, verbs can be classified based on their transitivity (Glagolska prehodnost) and aspect (Glagolski vid). Many verbs in Slovene can be both transitive and intransitive depending on their use in a sentence. However, all reflexive verbs, which are marked by the participle se (one self) are intransitive.

Conjugation

All conjugated forms of Slovene verbs can be derived from one of two verb stems. The present stem forms the base for all forms of the present indicative and the imperative, as well as the present participles. The infinitive stem forms the infinitive, supine and past participles.

The Slovene verb can be classified into several different conjugation patterns. The following table lists the basic patterns, but note that individual verbs may be irregular and have unpredictable changes. The "present" column shows the ending of the first person singular present indicative. Letters that belong to the present or infinitive stem (and are thus common to all forms based on those stems) are shown in bold.

Present Infinitive Examples Notes
-em -ti, -či
-ati
nêsti, nêsem "carry", rêči, rêčem "say"
bráti, bêrem "read", mléti, méljem "grind"
Basic (old) stems ending in a consonant. There are many irregularities in this group. The final consonant may be altered by some endings, in particular the infinitive, or it may switch places with the preceding vowel.
-jem -ti
-jati
bíti, bíjem "beat", čúti, čújem "hear"
dajáti, dájem "give"
Basic (old) stems ending in a vowel or certain consonants.
-jem -ati rísati, ríšem "draw", jemáti, jémljem "take" An extra -j- appears in the present tense, which can affect the final consonant of the stem.
-ujem -ovati
-evati
kupováti, kupújem "buy"
plačeváti, plačújem "pay"
The verbs ending in -evati always have stems ending in -č-, -š-, -ž- or -j-.
-am -ati délati, délam "do, make" These verbs originally had longer stems, in -aje-, in which the -j- was lost and the vowels contracted. The -j- remains in the imperative and present participles.
-em -eti razuméti, razúmem "understand"
-im -iti
-eti
-ati
mísliti, míslim "think"
vídeti, vídim "see"
slíšati, slíšim "hear"
The verbs ending in -ati always have stems ending in -č-, -š-, -ž- or -j-.
-nem -niti dvígniti, dvígnem "lift, raise"

Present indicative

These following endings are added to the present stem of a verb, to form the present indicative.

Singular Dual Plural
First person -(e)m -(e)va -(e)mo
Second person -(e)š -(e)ta -(e)te
Third person -(e) -(e)ta -(e)jo

The extra -e- is added to the endings when the verb stem ends in a consonant. This -e- causes changes to stems ending in -k- or -g- (which have an infinitive in -či); these become -č- and -ž- before the present tense endings.

In some consonant stem verbs, an older, shorter form of the third person plural ending exists, which is just -o instead of -ejo. Similarly, in verbs with present stems in -i-, the ending -ijo has a shorter alternative form -e.

Imperative mood

The imperative mood is used to give commands, and only exists in the present tense. There are no forms for the first person singular or the third person of any number.

The following endings are added to the present stem of a verb, to form the present indicative.

Singular Dual Plural
First person -iva -imo
Second person -i -ita -ite

If the present stem ends in -a-, the initial -i- of the ending changes to a -j-. Present stems ending with other vowels drop their final vowel. The endings also cause changes to stems ending in -k- or -g- (which have an infinitive in -či); these become -c- and -z- respectively before the imperative endings.

An additional kind of imperative, which may be called the optative or hortative, is formed by using the particle naj with the present indicative. This acts as a substitute for the imperative in the third person as well.

Non-finite forms

Infinitive and supine

There are 2 verbal nouns: the infinitive (nedoločnik) and the supine (namenilnik).

The infinitive is the basic verb form found in dictionaries, and ends in -ti. When the infinitive ending is attached to a stem ending in a consonant, that consonant may change, as follows:

The supine is formed by dropping the last -i of the infinitive. It is used after verbs that designate motion. For example, the supine would be used in the following sentences, (the supine has been bolded):

Present active participle

There are two present active participles, which are used with imperfective verbs. They correspond to the English participle in -ing, and indicate ongoing or current action.

The first is an adjectival participle. It is formed by adding -eč to verbs with present stem in -i- or -e- (which lose their final vowel), -joč to verbs with present stem in -a- (the vowel is kept, so -ajoč), and -oč to all other verbs. It declines as a regular soft adjective.

Examples:

The second is an adverbial participle. It was originally the nominative singular of the first participle, which had an irregular form. It is formed by removing from the first participle and changing -o to -e. For verbs in -uj-/-ovati this produces -uje, but this form is now archaic and has been replaced by -ovaje, as though it were an a-verb.

Past active participle

There are two kinds of past active participle, used with different functions.

The l-participle exists for all verbs, and is used mainly to form the past tense. Although it is adjectival, it exists only in the nominative case, and declines for gender and number (not for person). It is formed by adding -l to the infinitive stem. A fill vowel (schwa, -e-) is inserted in the masculine singular form when attached to verbs with an infinitive stem ending in a consonant.

Examples:

The š-participle is an adverbial participle, and is rarely used in modern Slovene. It denotes completed action, and is equivalent to the English construct with having + past participle. It is formed by adding -vši to the infinitive stem. The ending is only -ši if the infinitive stem ends in a consonant.

Examples:

Past passive participle

This participle corresponds to the English participle in '-ed or -en, and is an adjective that indicates a state of having undergone an action. It exists only for transitive verbs, and almost only if they are perfective. It is formed with two possible suffixes.

-n is added to verbs with an infinitive stem in -a-. Verbs with an infinitive stem in -i- receive -jen, but the -j- may disappear and alter the preceding consonant. All other verbs have -en. However, a small number of verbs, mostly those with presents in a vowel followed by -je-, have a completely different ending -t.

Examples of this participle are:

Analytical forms

Past indicative

The past (or preterite) indicative is used to indicate events that occurred in the past. Slovene does not distinguish the past tense ("saw") from the perfect tense ("have seen").

It is formed with the auxiliary verb biti (to be) in the present tense, plus the l-participle of the verb. The participle must agree with the subject in number and gender. For example:

Pluperfect indicative

The pluperfect indicative is used to indicate an action that occurred before some other future action. It is rarely used in colloquial speech, where it is replaced by the past tense.

It is formed as though it were the past tense of the past tense: the auxiliary verb biti (to be) in the present tense, plus the l-participle of the verb biti (to be), plus the l-participle of the verb. The participles must agree with the subject in number and gender. For example:

Future indicative

The future indicative tense is used to state events that will happen in the future.

The verb biti (to be) has its own unique set of future tense forms, with the stem bo-. No other verb has a distinct form for the future tense. Instead, it is formed using biti in the future tense, plus the l-participle of the verb. The participle must agree with the subject in number and gender. For example:

Conditional mood

The conditional mood is used to express desires, wishes, and hypothetical (often impossible) conditions.

The present conditional is formed using the special particle bi, plus the l'-participle of the lexical verb. The past conditional is rarely used, like the pluperfect, and is formed analogously: the particle bi, plus l-participle of the verb biti (to be), plus the l-participle of the verb. Examples of the conditional mood are:

Passive voice

The passive voice is formed by using the auxiliary verb biti (to be), plus the passive past participle of the verb. It may also be formed by turning a verb into a reflexive verb, by adding the reflexive pronoun se to the end of a verb. Except for reflexive verbs, the passive voice is rarely used. An example of the passive voice is:

However, this is more commonly stated using the active voice with an impersonal form of the third person plural (like English "impersonal they"):

Sample conjugations of Slovene verbs

The following table present the conjugation pattern for each of the 5 classes, as well as the irregular verbs.

Class I: tres- (to shake)
Tenses
Number Person Present Indicative Past Indicative (1) Pluperfect Indicative (1) Future Indicative (1) Imperative Present Conditional (1) Past Conditional (1)
Singular First tresem sem tresel sem bil tresel bom tresel -- bi tresel bi bil tresel
Second treseš si tresel si bil tresel boš tresel tresi bi tresel bi bil tresel
Third trese je tresel je bil tresel bo tresel naj trese bi tresel bi bil tresel
Dual First treseva sva tresla sva bila tresla bova tresla tresiva bi tresla bi bila tresla
Second treseta sta tresla sta bila tresla bosta tresla tresita bi tresla bi bila tresla
Third treseta sta tresla sta bil tresla bosta tresla naj treseta bi tresla bi bila tresla
Plural First tresemo smo tresli smo bili tresli bomo tresli tresimo bi tresli bi bili tresli
Second tresete ste tresli ste bili tresli boste tresli tresite bi tresli bi bili tresli
Third tresejo so tresli so bili tresli bodo tresli naj tresejo bi tresli bi bili tresli
Participles, Gerunds, and Verbal Nouns
Singular Dual Plural
Name Masculine Feminine Neuter Masculine Feminine Neuter Masculine Feminine Neuter
Participles Present Active ---
Past Active I tresel tresla treslo tresla tresli tresli tresli tresle tresla
Past Passive raztresen raztresena raztreseno raztresena raztreseni raztreseni raztreseni raztresene raztresena
Gerunds Present Active --- Verbal Nouns Infinitive tresti
Past Active II -- Supine trest

(1)Indicates that the participle must agree with the subject of the sentence.

Class II: ven- (to wilt/fade)
Tenses
Number Person Present Indicative Past Indicative (1) Pluperfect Indicative (1) Future Indicative (1) Imperative Present Conditional (1) Past Conditional (1)
Singular First venem sem venil sem bil venil bom venil -- bi venil bi bil venil
Second veneš si venil si bil venil boš venil veni bi venil bi bil venil
Third vene je venil je bil venil bo venil naj vene bi venil bi bil venil
Dual First veneva sva venila sva bila venila bova venila veniva bi venila bi bila venila
Second veneta sta venila sta bila venila bosta venila venita bi venila bi bila venila
Third veneta sta venila sta bil venila bosta venila naj veneta bi venila bi bila venila
Plural First venemo smo venili smo bili venili bomo venili venimo bi venili bi bili venili
Second venete ste venili ste bili venili boste venili venite bi venili bi bili venili
Third venejo so venili so bili venili bodo venili naj venejo bi venili bi bili venili
Participles, Gerunds, and Verbal Nouns
Singular Dual Plural
Name Masculine Feminine Neuter Masculine Feminine Neuter Masculine Feminine Neuter
Participles Present Active ---
Past Active I venil venila venilo venila venili venili venili venile venila
Past Passive ---
Gerunds Present Active --- Verbal Nouns Infinitive veniti
Past Active II -- Supine venit

(1) Indicates that the participle must agree with the subject of the sentence.

Class III: kupu-/kupova- (to buy)
Tenses
Number Person Present Indicative Past Indicative (1) Pluperfect Indicative (1) Future Indicative (1) Imperative Present Conditional (1) Past Conditional (1)
Singular First kupujem sem kupoval sem bil kupoval bom kupoval -- bi kupoval bi bil kupoval
Second kupuješ si kupoval si bil kupoval boš kupoval kupuj bi kupoval bi bil kupoval
Third kupuje je kupoval je bil kupoval bo kupoval naj kupuje bi kupoval bi bil kupoval
Dual First kupujeva sva kupovala sva bila kupovala bova kupoval kupujva bi kupovala bi bila kupovala
Second kupujeta sta kupovala sta bila kupovala bosta kupovala kupujta bi kupovala bi bila kupovala
Third kupujeta sta kupovala sta bil kupovala bosta kupovala naj kupujeta bi kupovala bi bila kupovala
Plural First kupujemo smo kupovali smo bili kupovali bomo kupovali kupujmo bi kupovali bi bili kupovali
Second kupujete ste kupovali ste bili kupovali boste kupovali kupujte bi kupovali bi bili kupovali
Third kupujejo so kupovali so bili kupovali bodo kupovali naj kupujejo bi kupovali bi bili kupovali
Participles, Gerunds, and Verbal Nouns
Singular Dual Plural
Name Masculine Feminine Neuter Masculine Feminine Neuter Masculine Feminine Neuter
Participles Present Active kupujoč kupujoča kupujoče kupujoča kupujoči kupujoči kupujoči kupujoče kupujoča
Past Active I kupoval kupovala kupovalo kupovala kupovali kupovali kupovali kupovale kupovala
Past Passive kupovan kupovana kupovano kupovana kupovani kupovani kupovani kupovane kupovana
Gerunds Present Active kupovaje Verbal Nouns Infinitive kupovati
Past Active II -- Supine kupovat

(1)Indicates that the participle must agree with the subject of the sentence.

Class IV: dela- (to work/do)
Tenses
Number Person Present Indicative Past Indicative (1) Pluperfect Indicative (1) Future Indicative (1) Imperative Present Conditional (1) Past Conditional (1)
Singular First delam sem delal sem bil delal bom delal -- bi delal bi bil delal
Second delaš si delal si bil delal boš delal delaj bi delal bi bil delal
Third dela je delal je bil delal bo delal naj dela bi delal bi bil delal
Dual First delava sva delala sva bila delala bova delal delajva bi delala bi bila delala
Second delata sta delala sta bila delala bosta delala delajta bi delala bi bila delala
Third delata sta delala sta bil delala bosta delala naj delata bi delala bi bila delala
Plural First delamo smo delali smo bili delali bomo delali delajmo bi delali bi bili delali
Second delate ste delali ste bili delali boste delali delajte bi delali bi bili delali
Third delajo so delali so bili delali bodo delali naj delajo bi delali bi bili delali
Participles, Gerunds, and Verbal Nouns
Singular Dual Plural
Name Masculine Feminine Neuter Masculine Feminine Neuter Masculine Feminine Neuter
Participles Present Active delajoč delajoča delajoče delajoča delajoči delajoči delajoči delajoče delajoča
Past Active I delal delala delalo delala delali delali delali delale delala
Past Passive zdelan zdelana zdelano zdelana zdelani zdelani zdelani zdelane zdelana
Gerunds Present Active --- Verbal Nouns Infinitive delati
Past Active II predelavši Supine delat

(1)Indicates that the participle must agree with the subject of the sentence.

Class V: želi- (to wish)
Tenses
Number Person Present Indicative Past Indicative (1) Pluperfect Indicative (1) Future Indicative (1) Imperative Present Conditional (1) Past Conditional (1)
Singular First želim sem želel sem bil želel bom želel -- bi želel bi bil želel
Second želiš si želel si bil želel boš želel želi bi želel bi bil želel
Third želi je želel je bil želel bo želel naj želi bi želel bi bil želel
Dual First želiva sva želela sva bila želela bova želel želiva bi želela bi bila želela
Second želita sta želela sta bila želela bosta želela želita bi želela bi bila želela
Third želita sta želela sta bil želela bosta želela naj želita bi želela bi bila želela
Plural First želimo smo želeli smo bili želeli bomo želeli želimo bi želeli bi bili želeli
Second želite ste želeli ste bili želeli boste želeli želite bi želeli bi bili želeli
Third žele / želijo so želeli so bili želeli bodo želeli naj žele bi želeli bi bili želeli
Participles, Gerunds, and Verbal Nouns
Singular Dual Plural
Name Masculine Feminine Neuter Masculine Feminine Neuter Masculine Feminine Neuter
Participles Present Active želeč želeča želeče želeča želeči želeči želeči želeče želeča
Past Active I želel želela želelo želela želeli želeli želeli želele želela
Past Passive zaželen zaželena zaželeno zaželena zaželeni zaželeni zaželeni zaželene zaželena
Gerunds Present Active žele Verbal Nouns Infinitive želeti
Past Active II zaželevši Supine želet

(1) Indicates that the participle must agree with the subject of the sentence.

The following is the conjugation of the athematic Slovene verbs: dati (to give), vedeti (to know), jesti (to eat), and biti (to be).

Class VI: Athematic Verb dati (to give)
Tenses
Number Person Present Indicative Past Indicative (1) Pluperfect Indicative (1) Future Indicative (1) Imperative Present Conditional (1) Past Conditional (1)
Singular First dam sem dal sem bil dal bom dal -- bi dal bi bil dal
Second daš si dal si bil dal boš dal daj bi dal bi bil dal
Third da je dal je bil dal bo dal naj da bi dal bi bil dal
Dual First dava sva dala sva bila dala bova dal dajva bi dala bi bila dala
Second dasta sta dala sta bila dala bosta dala dajta bi dala bi bila dala
Third dasta sta dala sta bil dala bosta dala naj data bi dala bi bila dala
Plural First damo smo dali smo bili dali bomo dali dajmo bi dali bi bili dali
Second daste ste dali ste bili dali boste dali dajte bi dali bi bili dali
Third dado / dajo so dali so bili dali bodo dali naj dado bi dali bi bili dali
Participles, Gerunds, and Verbal Nouns
Singular Dual Plural
Name Masculine Feminine Neuter Masculine Feminine Neuter Masculine Feminine Neuter
Participles Present Active ---
Past Active I dal dala dalo dala dali dali dali dale dala
Past Passive dan dana dano dana dani dani dani dane dana
Gerunds Present Active --- Verbal Nouns Infinitive dati
Past Active II podavši Supine dat
Class VI: Athematic Verb vedeti (to know)
Tenses
Number Person Present Indicative Past Indicative (1) Pluperfect Indicative (1) Future Indicative (1) Imperative Present Conditional (1) Past Conditional (1)
Singular First vem sem vedel sem bil vedel bom vedel -- bi vedel bi bil vedel
Second veš si vedel si bil vedel boš vedel vedi bi vedel bi bil vedel
Third ve je vedel je bil vedel bo vedel naj ve bi vedel bi bil vedel
Dual First veva sva vedela sva bila vedela bova vedel vediva bi vedela bi bila vedela
Second vesta sta vedela sta bila vedela bosta vedela vedita bi vedela bi bila vedela
Third vesta sta vedela sta bil vedela bosta vedela naj vesta bi vedela bi bila vedela
Plural First vemo smo vedeli smo bili vedeli bomo vedeli vedimo bi vedeli bi bili vedeli
Second veste ste vedeli ste bili vedeli boste vedeli vedite bi vedeli bi bili vedeli
Third vedo so vedeli so bili vedeli bodo vedeli naj vedo bi vedeli bi bili vedeli
Participles, Gerunds, and Verbal Nouns
Singular Dual Plural
Name Masculine Feminine Neuter Masculine Feminine Neuter Masculine Feminine Neuter
Participles Present Active vedoč vedoča vedoče vedoča vedoči vedoči vedoči vedoče vedoča
Past Active I vedel vedela vedelo vedela vedeli vedeli vedeli vedele vedela
Past Passive ---
Gerunds Present Active vede Verbal Nouns Infinitive vedeti
Past Active II zvedevši Supine ---

(1)Indicates that the participle must agree with the subject of the sentence.

Class VI: Athematic Verb jesti (to eat)
Tenses
Number Person Present Indicative Past Indicative (1) Pluperfect Indicative (1) Future Indicative (1) Imperative Present Conditional (1) Past Conditional (1)
Singular First jem sem jedel sem bil jedel bom jedel -- bi jedel bi bil jedl
Second ješ si jedel si bil jedel boš jedel jej bi jedel bi bil jedl
Third je je jedel je bil jedl bo jedl naj je bi jedl bi bil jedel
Dual First jeva sva jedla sva bila jedla bova jedl jejva bi jedla bi bila jedla
Second jesta sta jedla sta bila jedla bosta jedla jejta bi jedla bi bila jedla
Third jesta sta jedla sta bil jedla bosta jedla naj jeta bi jedla bi bila jedla
Plural First jemo smo jedli smo bili jedli bomo jedli jejmo bi jedli bi bili jedli
Second jeste ste jedli ste bili jedli boste jedli jejte bi jedli bi bili jedli
Third jejo / jedo so jedli so bili jedli bodo jedli naj jedo bi jedli bi bili jedli
Participles, Gerunds, and Verbal Nouns
Singular Dual Plural
Name Masculine Feminine Neuter Masculine Feminine Neuter Masculine Feminine Neuter
Participles Present Active ---
Past Active I jedel / jel jedla / jela jedlo / jelo jedla / jela jedli / jeli jedli / jeli jedli / jeli jedle / jele jedla / jela
Past Passive pojeden pojedena pojedeno pojedena pojedeni pojedeni pojedeni pojedene pojedena
Gerunds Present Active jede Verbal Nouns Infinitive jesti
Past Active II pojevši Supine jest

(1) Indicates that the participle must agree with the subject of the sentence.

Class VI: Athematic Verb biti (to be)
Tenses
Number Person Present Indicative Past Indicative (1) Pluperfect Indicative (1) Future Indicative Imperative Present Conditional (1) Past Conditional (1)
Singular First sem sem bil sem bil bil bom -- bi bil bi bil bil
Second si si bil si bil bil boš bodi bi bil bi bil bil
Third je je bil je bil bil bo naj je bi bil bi bil bil
Dual First sva sva bila sva bila bila bova bodiva bi bila bi bila bila
Second sta sta bila sta bila bila bosta bodita bi bila bi bila bila
Third sta sta bila sta bil bila bosta naj sta bi bila bi bila bila
Plural First smo smo bili smo bili bili bomo bodimo bi bili bi bili bili
Second ste ste bili ste bili bili boste bodite bi bili bi bili bili
Third so so bili so bili bili bodo naj so bi bili bi bili bili
Participles, Gerunds, and Verbal Nouns
Singular Dual Plural
Name Masculine Feminine Neuter Masculine Feminine Neuter Masculine Feminine Neuter
Participles Present Active prihodnji prihodnja prihodnje prihodnja prihodnji prihodnji prihodnji prihodnje prihodnja
Past Active I bil bila bilo bila bili bili bili bile bila
Past Passive ---
Gerunds Present Active --- Verbal Nouns Infinitive biti
Past Active II bivši Supine ---

(1)Indicates that the participle must agree with the subject of the sentence.

In the future, there also exist forms with an inserted -de between the stem bo- and the ending. For example, bodem for bom. The negative form of the verb, (to not be), is formed by attaching ni to the present indicative forms.

References

External links

For a list of words relating to Slovene verbs, see the Slovene verbs category of words in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.