Igrati, ukvarjati se, trenirati: what you do and with which case
English 'play tennis', 'do sports' and 'go to yoga' fall apart in Slovenian into four different constructions, each with its own case. An error here is not fatal, but it gives the foreigner away instantly. For example: “Ukvarjam se s tekom, hodim pa tudi na jogo” — I run, and I also do yoga. A rule from the Slovenian course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
English 'play tennis', 'do sports' and 'go to yoga' fall apart in Slovenian into four different constructions, each with its own case. An error here is not fatal, but it gives the foreigner away instantly.
Igrati plus the accusative, with no preposition. igrati nogomet, igrati košarko, igrati tenis, igrati odbojko. English 'play football' also needs no extra word, and neither does Slovenian: igrati v tenis is a mistake. The same with instruments: igrati klavir, igrati violino. The colloquial igrati na klavir is heard too, but the norm is the accusative.
Ukvarjati se plus the instrumental. ukvarjati se s športom, z glasbo, s tekom. The most general way to say 'this is my thing'. The preposition s before a voiceless consonant (s športom, s tekom), z before a voiced one or a vowel (z glasbo, z jogo).
Hoditi na plus the accusative — 'attend classes': hodim na jogo, hodi na gimnastiko, hodiva na tenis. Here we speak of regular sessions with a timetable, not of the sport in general.
Trenirati plus the accusative or with no object: trenira košarko — he trains in basketball, trenira vsak dan — he trains every day. And carefully: trenirati koga means 'to coach somebody'. One word in two roles, told apart only by the human in the object.
Separately za — whom you root for: navijati za Slovenijo. And proti plus the dative — whom you play against: igrati proti Italiji. Both prepositions sound constantly in sport, and neither takes the case an English eye would expect.
Table
| construction | case | example | the English |
|---|---|---|---|
| igrati | accusative | igrati tenis | play tennis |
| igrati | accusative | igrati violino | play the violin |
| ukvarjati se | instrumental | ukvarjati se s športom | do sports |
| ukvarjati se | instrumental | ukvarjati se z glasbo | do music |
| hoditi na | accusative | hoditi na jogo | go to yoga |
| trenirati | accusative | trenirati košarko | train in basketball |
| trenirati koga | accusative | trenirati otroke | coach children |
| navijati za | accusative | navijati za Slovenijo | root for Slovenia |
| igrati proti | dative | igrati proti Italiji | play against Italy |
By example
- Ukvarjam se s tekom, hodim pa tudi na jogoI run, and I also do yoga
- Brata igrata odbojko in navijata za isto ekipoThe two brothers play volleyball and root for the same team
- Jutri igramo proti sosednji šoliTomorrow we play against the neighboring school
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
Igrati, ukvarjati se, trenirati: how does it work in Slovenian?
English 'play tennis', 'do sports' and 'go to yoga' fall apart in Slovenian into four different constructions, each with its own case. An error here is not fatal, but it gives the foreigner away instantly.
What does it look like in an example sentence Slovenian?
“Ukvarjam se s tekom, hodim pa tudi na jogo” — I run, and I also do yoga. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.