Slovak perfective and imperfective verbs
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In Slovak language, many verbs have two forms: perfective and imperfective. Let's have a look at what it means and how we differentiate them!
Lesson outline
HideThe difference between perfective and imperfective verbs
- perfective verbs = the action ended or is complete
- imperfective verbs = the action has not ended yet, or it is a repeated action. Even though Slovak language does not have continuous tense, the imperfective verbs can be used to express the continuous actions.
Here are some examples:
| English | Perfective | Imperfective |
|---|---|---|
| to read | prečítať | čítať |
| to write | napísať | písať |
| to wash | umyť | umývať |
| put shoes on | obuť sa | obúvať sa |
Perfective verbs do not exist in present tense. They have just future or past form. To express the present time, we use perfective verbs.
For example the verb "I eat":
najedol som sa (perfective, past tense) - jem (imperfective, present tense) - najem sa (perfective, future tense)
Very often the perfective verb is a finishing phase of imperfective verb.
For example the verb "to put the clothes on":
obliekať sa (imperfective) -> obliecť sa (perfective)
"obliecť sa" is a finishing phase of "obliekať sa" and it is used when you finished eating.
As you can see, the perfective and imperfective verbs are similar. However, there is no exact rule on how to create these forms. Some are created by adding a prefix or a suffix (písať - napísať), some have an extra consonant (umývať - umyť)and some completely change their word base (hľadať - nájsť).
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Perfective verbs
We will show you how the perfective verbs work in practice.
- Adam prišiel do školy. (Adam arrived to school.)
- Adam sa obul. (Adam put his shoes on.)
- Adam sa umyl. (Adam washed himself.)
- Jana navrhla interér bytu. (Jana designed the interior.)
All of the actions were finished.
Imperfective verbs
Here are the examples of the same sentences, but with the actions that have not been finished yet, or we do not know when they will be finished.
- Adam išiel do školy. (Adam was going to school.) = we do not know, if he arrived to school as well
- Adam sa obúval. (Adam was putting his shoes on.) = we do not know if he put the shoes on, or if something else happened during this action
- Adam sa umýval. (Adam was washing himself.) = we do not know if he also finished his washing
- Jana navrhuje intériery bytov. (Jana is designing the interiors) = Jana is an interior designer, it is her job, she does it every day.
Useful perfective and imperfective verbs
And now, we will provide you with a list of vocabulary of some useful perfective and imperfective verbs.
| English | perfective | imperfective |
|---|---|---|
| to clean | upratať | upratovať |
| to sell | predať | predávať |
| to eat | zjesť | jesť |
| to do | urobiť | robiť |
| to pay | zaplatiť | platiť |
| to find | nájsť | hľadať |
| to give | dať | dávať |
| to earn | zarobiť | zarábať |
| to take | zobrať | brať |
| to learn | naučiť sa | učiť sa |
Exercises
- Drag the text exercise on perfective and imperfective verbs
- Fill in the blanks exercise on conjugation of perfective and imperfective verbs
Drag the text exercise on perfective and imperfective verbs
Fill in the blanks exercise on conjugation of perfective and imperfective verbs
Exercises
- Drag the text exercise on perfective and imperfective verbs
- Fill in the blanks exercise on conjugation of perfective and imperfective verbs
Drag the text exercise on perfective and imperfective verbs
Fill in the blanks exercise on conjugation of perfective and imperfective verbs
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I am a qualified, experienced teacher of Slovak for foreigners. I have master´s degree in teaching and I´ve been teaching Slovak both in person and online for 10 years. I prepare unique lessons for every student according to their level, needs, goals and preferences. I offer free trial lesson where we assess student´s level, discuss goals and make a plan of lessons. We also set our schedule and student gets a chance to see my teaching style and methods. .
So, if you like to explore the beauty of my mother language, I will be pleased to assist you! Looking forward to meeting you soon online!
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Imperativ is difficult because there are some irregular verbs which Libi included in the exercise for practice
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Hi there! Do you want to dive into the beauty of Slovak and / or English language? Then let's do it together!
My name is Katarína and I am here to help you with any aspect of the language - grammar, speaking, conversations...
Thanks to my experience as a teacher at language school, I gave lessons to individuals, groups of various ages, children... I always try to personalize my lessons and concentrate on those areas that are important for you.
Do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions. Have a great day!
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