Understanding Slovenščina Adjective Agreement
In Slovenian, adjectives are words that describe nouns. They must match or agree with the noun they describe in gender, number, and case. This means adjectives change their endings depending on the noun.
Important Points
- Gender: Slovenian nouns can be masculine, feminine, or neuter. Adjectives change to match the gender of the noun.
- Number: Nouns can be singular or plural. Adjectives change to match the number of the noun.
- Case: Slovenian has six cases (nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, locative, and instrumental) that affect the adjective's ending.
Let's look at how adjectives change with different genders. For example, the word 'lep' means 'beautiful'.
Examples
- Lep fant (A beautiful boy) - masculine singular
- Lepa punca (A beautiful girl) - feminine singular
- Lepo drevo (A beautiful tree) - neuter singular
Adjectives also change for plural nouns. Here is how 'lep' changes when describing more than one noun.
Examples
- Lepi fantje (Beautiful boys) - masculine plural
- Lepa dekleta (Beautiful girls) - feminine plural
- Lepa drevesa (Beautiful trees) - neuter plural
Adjectives change according to the case of the noun. Here are some examples with different cases.
Examples
- Nominative: Lep fant (A beautiful boy)
- Genitive: Lepega fanta (Of a beautiful boy)
- Dative: Lepemu fantu (To a beautiful boy)
By understanding these rules, you can use adjectives correctly in Slovenian to make your sentences more descriptive and accurate.