Veliko, malo, nekaj, ves — and 'about' instead of an exact figure
Quantity drags a form behind it. Veliko, malo and nekaj push the next word into its 'of what' shape. Veliko denarja — a lot of money. Malo časa — little time. Nekaj vprašanj — a few questions. So do dovolj, preveč and premalo. For example: “Za selitev sva porabila okoli tristo evrov” — The two of us spent about three hundred euros on the move. A rule from the Slovenian course: worked out on examples, not memorized…
How it works
Quantity drags a form behind it. Veliko, malo and nekaj push the next word into its 'of what' shape. Veliko denarja — a lot of money. Malo časa — little time. Nekaj vprašanj — a few questions. So do dovolj, preveč and premalo.
The quantity word itself never changes — all the work falls on the noun. The same rule runs through phrases you already use: zmanjkuje denarja, ni signala, ni vode.
Ves — all — behaves like an adjective: ves denar, vsa plača, vsi sodelavci. And vsak is 'every': vsak dan is every day, ves dan is the whole day.
Without rounding, your speech sounds like an accounting report. Slovenian says okoli and približno: okoli petsto evrov, približno pol ure. The colloquial kakšnih works the same: kakšnih deset ljudi — some ten people.
Table
| word | meaning | what follows |
|---|---|---|
| veliko | a lot of | of what: veliko denarja |
| malo | little | of what: malo časa |
| nekaj | a few | of what: nekaj vprašanj |
| dovolj | enough | of what: dovolj prostora |
| preveč / premalo | too much / too little | of what: preveč dela |
| ves, vsa, vse | all, the whole | agrees: ves teden |
| vsak | every | agrees: vsak teden |
| okoli / približno | about, approximately | okoli petih, približno sto |
| vsaj / največ | at least / at most | vsaj eno leto |
By example
- Za selitev sva porabila okoli tristo evrovThe two of us spent about three hundred euros on the move
- Imam premalo časa in preveč nalogI have too little time and too many tasks
- Ves mesec sem varčeval, a prihrankov je še vedno maloI saved all month, but the savings are still small
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
Veliko, malo, nekaj, ves — and 'about' instead of an exact figure: how does it work in Slovenian?
Quantity drags a form behind it. Veliko, malo and nekaj push the next word into its 'of what' shape. Veliko denarja — a lot of money. Malo časa — little time. Nekaj vprašanj — a few questions. So do dovolj, preveč and premalo.
What does it look like in an example sentence Slovenian?
“Za selitev sva porabila okoli tristo evrov” — The two of us spent about three hundred euros on the move. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.