When you start learning Slovak, present tense might seem intimidating but here is the good news: verbs belong to predictable pattern families. First two suffixes that we will be dealing with in this article are ám/am and ím/im. You will find the suffixes -ie/e and -je here and irregular verbs here.
Use
It is used for actions happening right now, habits, routines, truths or even scheduled future events.
Práve čítam knihu (happening right now)
Každý deň mám kávu (routine)
Zajtra volám mame (scheduled future event)
Conjugation
1, Verbs that end with suffix -áť/ať
To conjugate verbs that end with this prefix, you need to drop the infinitive ending “-ť” and add personal endings according to the table below
2, Verbs that end with suffix -íť/iť
To conjugate verbs that end with this suffix, you need to drop the infinitive ending “-ť” and add personal endings according to the table below
Additional rules
1, You don´t need pronouns
You dont have to say “ja čítam”, because the verb ending tells you what person it is without needing to mention that. Also, leaving out pronouns sounds much more natural.
ja čítam -> čítam
2, Negation is super easy
Just attach ne- directly to the front of the verb:
čítam -> nečítam
3, Short vs. Long vowels (Rhythmic Rule)
If the syllable right before the ending is long (has an accent like á or í), the ending becomes short or vice versa.
(píšem, not píšém)
DIALOGUE
Ahoj Peter, čo robíš?
Ahoj Marek, čítam knihu a počúvam hudbu. A ty?
Ja čakám na kamaráta. Bývaš ešte v centre?
Nie, už tam nebývam. Teraz bývam blízko parku. A čo tvoja práca?
Učím angličtinu v jazykovej škole. Čo robíš zajtra?
Zajtra robím do 8 hodiny. Máš zajtra nejaký voľný čas?
Myslím, že áno. Prečo?
Zajtra pomáham Alene s opravou jej domu. Hľadáme ďalších ľudí na pomoc. Čo hovoríš?
Prepáč, ale už mám iné plány.
Nevadí. Možno nabúduce. Maj sa
GAP FILL
1. Complete the sentences
SPEAKING
1. Answer the questions
a)Čo teraz robí Peter?
b)Kde býva Peter?
c)Kde učí Marek?
2. Practice the grammar
a)Create your own sentence using any verb from the article.