Without a subject: mrzlo je, treba je, se reče, zdi se mi
A great many everyday sentences have nobody acting in them. The verb stands in the neuter and no doer shows up. Mrzlo je — it's cold. Zunaj dežuje — it's raining. Treba je počakati — one has to wait. For example: “Zunaj je mrzlo, meni pa je vroče” — It's cold outside, but I'm hot. A rule from the Slovenian course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
A great many everyday sentences have nobody acting in them. The verb stands in the neuter and no doer shows up. Mrzlo je — it's cold. Zunaj dežuje — it's raining. Treba je počakati — one has to wait.
The difference comes when the state has an owner. He goes into the 'to whom' word: Mrzlo je — the room is cold, Mrzlo mi je — I'm freezing. The same shape carries slabo mi je and žal mi je.
The little se gives you what English says with 'they say': Kako se reče temu po slovensko?, Tukaj se ne kadi. From the same shelf comes Ljubljana's favourite: se ne da — it can't be done.
And zdi se mi — it seems to me. It wants da after it: Zdi se mi, da je zaprto. In speech it likes the end of the sentence: Zaprto je, se mi zdi.
Table
| phrase | no target | with a target ('to whom') |
|---|---|---|
| cold | mrzlo je | mrzlo mi je |
| bored | dolgčas je | dolgčas mu je |
| a pity | škoda je | žal mi je |
| necessary | treba je iti | treba mi je počivati |
| seems | — | zdi se mi, da… |
| one says | se reče | — |
| it can’t be done | se ne da | se mi ne da (I can’t be bothered) |
| it was cold | bilo je mrzlo | bilo mi je mrzlo |
By example
- Zunaj je mrzlo, meni pa je vročeIt's cold outside, but I'm hot
- Treba je bilo poklicati policijoThe police had to be called
- Zdi se mi, da je pralnica že zaprtaIt seems to me the laundry room is already closed
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
Without a subject: how does it work in Slovenian?
A great many everyday sentences have nobody acting in them. The verb stands in the neuter and no doer shows up. Mrzlo je — it's cold. Zunaj dežuje — it's raining. Treba je počakati — one has to wait.
What does it look like in an example sentence Slovenian?
“Zunaj je mrzlo, meni pa je vroče” — It's cold outside, but I'm hot. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.