The 'of what' form at work: no money, a lot of people, whose
The 'of what' form is the busiest one in Slovenian. It turns up in every second sentence about money. English marks none of this, so these endings have to be learned by use. For example: “Nimam dovolj denarja za polovico zneska” — I don’t have enough money for half the amount. A rule from the Slovenian course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
The 'of what' form is the busiest one in Slovenian. It turns up in every second sentence about money. English marks none of this, so these endings have to be learned by use.
Negation. Imam pogodbo becomes Nimam pogodbe. Vidim avto becomes Ne vidim avta. After a negative, any object switches shape.
Quantity. After veliko, malo, dovolj, večina, polovica and after any number from five up: veliko ljudi, pet evrov, dvajset let.
Belonging and prepositions. Člen pogodbe, stroški dostave — that is how two nouns get glued together. And brez, do, iz, od, zaradi, poleg all ask for the same form: brez pooblastila, zaradi inflacije.
Table
| the job | example | literally | the English |
|---|---|---|---|
| negation | Nimam pogodbe | I have no contract | I don’t have a contract |
| a negated object | Ne vidim avta | I see no car | I don’t see the car |
| quantity | veliko ljudi | much of people | a lot of people |
| quantity | pet evrov | five of euros | five euros |
| a share | polovica zneska | half of the amount | half the amount |
| belonging | člen pogodbe | clause of the contract | the contract clause |
| a preposition | brez izvirnika | without the original | without the original |
| a preposition | zaradi krize | because of the crisis | because of the crisis |
By example
- Nimam dovolj denarja za polovico zneskaI don’t have enough money for half the amount
- Brez pooblastila in izvirnika pogodbe ne greWithout a power of attorney and the original of the contract it won’t work
- Večina zaposlenih je dobila izplačilo do petnajstegaMost employees got their pay by the fifteenth
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
The 'of what' form at work: how does it work in Slovenian?
The 'of what' form is the busiest one in Slovenian. It turns up in every second sentence about money. English marks none of this, so these endings have to be learned by use.
What does it look like in an example sentence Slovenian?
“Nimam dovolj denarja za polovico zneska” — I don’t have enough money for half the amount. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.