A question starts with 'ali' — or just with 'a'
A yes/no question is built with the particle ali at the front of the sentence: Ali govorite angleško?, Ali je daleč? For example: “Ali je daleč?” — Is it far?. A rule from the Slovenian course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
A yes/no question is built with the particle ali at the front of the sentence: Ali govorite angleško?, Ali je daleč?
In speech it is almost always shortened to one sound — a: A greš z mano? That is not carelessness; everybody says it, and it is written that way in messages too.
Question words come first and leave the rest of the order alone: Kje je postaja?, Koliko stane?, Kako ti je ime? One pair deserves memorizing on its own: kje (where at) and kam (where to). Slovenian keeps them strictly apart, and 'kje greš?' sounds wrong.
By example
- Ali je daleč?Is it far?
- A imate vodo?Do you have water?
- Kam greš?Where are you going?
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
A question starts with 'ali' — or just with 'a': how does it work in Slovenian?
A yes/no question is built with the particle ali at the front of the sentence: Ali govorite angleško?, Ali je daleč?
What does it look like in an example sentence Slovenian?
“Ali je daleč?” — Is it far?. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.