Slovak

Conjugate Verbs

Facts

  • Language: Slovak
  • Alternate names: slovenčina, slovenský jazyk, Slovakian
  • Language code: slk
  • Language family: Indo-European, Slavic, West, Czech-Slovak
  • Number of speakers: 5011120
  • Script: Latin script

Introduction

The Slovak language is an Indo-European language belonging to the West Slavic languages (together with Czech, Polish, Silesian?, Kashubian? and Sorbian?). Slovak is mutually intelligible with Czech.

The verb

Slovak verbs express three absolute tenses - past, present and future. Relativity can be expressed by the aspect, sentence constructions and participles.

Like in other Slavic languages, Slovak verbs are distinguished by aspect, they are either perfective or imperfective. Perfective verbs indicate the finality of the process. Therefore, they cannot express the present tense.

Sample verb: volať

Present

The present tense can be expressed in imperfective verbs only.

Person
Sg.1 volám
Sg.2 voláš
Sg.3 volá
Pl.1 voláme
Pl.2 voláte
Pl.3 volajú

References