LingoflyZmečkan, obrabljen, zbledel: the participle that works as an adjective
Almost all words about the state of a thing are not 'real' adjectives but forms made from verbs. Once you see the seam, you stop learning them one by one. For example: “Srajca je zmečkana, hlače pa so zbledele” — The shirt is crumpled, and the trousers have faded. A rule from the Slovenian course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
Almost all words about the state of a thing are not 'real' adjectives but forms made from verbs. Once you see the seam, you stop learning them one by one.
A form in -n or -t means 'already done to it'. Zmečkati → zmečkan, obrabiti → obrabljen, odpreti → odprt, zaviti → zavit. Short verbs end in -t, all the rest in -n.
Such a word changes like an adjective: zmečkana srajca, zmečkano perilo, zmečkani hlači — two trouser legs.
The -l form, the same one the past tense uses, can also be an adjective: zbledel — faded, zarjavel — rusty. The difference is simple: zbledel faded by itself, while zmečkan was crumpled by somebody.
Table
| verb | participle | the English | who acted |
|---|---|---|---|
| zmečkati | zmečkan | crumpled | somebody crumpled it |
| obrabiti | obrabljen | worn out | something wore it out |
| ponarediti | ponarejen | fake | somebody faked it |
| odpreti | odprt | open | somebody opened it |
| zbiti | zbit | compacted | something packed it |
| zbledeti | zbledel | faded | it faded by itself |
| zarjaveti | zarjavel | rusty | it rusted by itself |
| usahniti | usahel | dried up | it dried by itself |
By example
- Zavore so obrabljene, ključavnica pa zarjavelaThe brakes are worn, and the lock has rusted
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
Zmečkan, obrabljen, zbledel: how does it work in Slovenian?
Almost all words about the state of a thing are not 'real' adjectives but forms made from verbs. Once you see the seam, you stop learning them one by one.
What does it look like in a Slovenian example sentence?
“Srajca je zmečkana, hlače pa so zbledele” — The shirt is crumpled, and the trousers have faded. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.