Word order/clitics in Slovene

All those short grammar words like si, se, ga, je are clitics. Slovene as a slavic language has sometimes! flexible word order but it is not this case😊 The table shows correct word order of clitics probably the most complex part of the language.

As I see it, there is difference between word order in a usual sentence and in a short answer to a question. And of course! the table below doesn’t show it. Let’s start with a traditional and a short answer to a past question.

A si naredila pire krompir? Did you make mashed potatoes?

Ja, jaz sem ga naredila./ Naredila sem ga.

Here, traditional word order according to the table below, but there are two options to answer this pire krompir🥔 question. The natural one, I guess, is the shortest Naredila sem ga. There, the only difference we put a verb before the rest.

To answer the same question with negation it becomes interesting🔮

A si naredila pire krompir? Did you make mashed potatoes?

Ne, jaz ga nisem naredila./ Ne, nisem ga naredila.

The second, shortest answer contradicts the rule🤴 of the table. Negative parts go last, right before the main verb. Here, it goes first. But short answers are the exception👍It just sounds better this way😁

Let’s do future tense.

A se boš udeležil dogodka? Will you attend the event?

Ja, jaz se ga bom udeležil./ Udeležil se ga bom.

Here is ok. The verb in the short form is in the beginning, the same as in the pire krompir🥔 past example.

Let’s look at the negative answer:

A se boš udeležil dogodka? Will you attend the event?

Ne, jaz se ga ne bom udeležil./ Ne, ne bom se ga udeležil.

As we see, in the case of negative short answers (Ne, ne bom se ga udeležil/Ne, nisem ga naredila), the negative thing(s) nisem, ne bom go in the beginning.

For sure, it is not everything🌎 about word order in Slovene, but we will do it gradually, step by step 🙂 For additional information about word order in Slovene refer to my digital neighbor’s blog Anna 🇸🇮👈