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Cases overview

pády

Six active cases change word endings according to their role.

What changes

  1. Cases change noun endings according to the noun's role in a sentence.

  2. Begin by recognizing subjects in nominative and direct objects in accusative. Add other cases through common phrases.

The six cases

Learn the nominative first. Use the remaining rows as a map of common roles, then open each case for examples.

  1. Nominative Subject

    Kto? Čo? · Who? What?

    Names the person, thing, or idea doing the action. In Peter číta knihu, Peter is nominative.
  2. Genitive Possession or source

    Koho? Čoho? · Whose? Of what?

    Marks possession, amounts, absence, and phrases after z, od, do, or bez.
  3. Dative Recipient

    Komu? Čomu? · To whom? To what?

    Marks the person or thing receiving or benefiting from an action.
  4. Accusative Direct object

    Koho? Čo? · Whom? What?

    Marks the person or thing directly affected by an action.
  5. Locative Location or topic

    O kom? O čom? · About whom? About what?

    Appears after selected prepositions for location and topics, such as v, na, and o.
  6. Instrumental Company or tool

    S kým? S čím? · With whom? With what?

    Marks company, tools, and means, especially after s or so.

Reference

Jazykovedný ústav Ľudovíta Štúra SAV ↗

Full attribution on References.