Appendix:Slovene nouns/nouns that switch gender
In Slovene, it is a common phenomenon that some nouns switch gender either when declining or in all cases altogether, depending on the declension, dialect, and case. In formal contexts, the change occurs in plural, while the dialectal changes occur more sporadically.
Changes in Standard Slovene
[edit]First masculine declension
[edit]Some nouns of Latin origin can in plural alternatively change to neuter and follow first neuter declension, but these forms are of very high register and are not common in everyday use.
| First masculine declension (hard o-stem, inanimate) , fixed accent, changes to first neuter declension in plural | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| nom. sing. | abstrȃkt | ||
| gen. sing. | abstrȃkta | ||
| singular | dual | plural | |
| nominative imenovȃlnik |
abstrȃkt | abstrȃkta | abstrȃkta |
| genitive rodȋlnik |
abstrȃkta | abstrȃkt | abstrȃkt |
| dative dajȃlnik |
abstrȃktu, abstrȃkti | abstrȃktoma, abstrȃktama | abstrȃktom, abstrȃktam |
| accusative tožȋlnik |
abstrȃkt | abstrȃkti | abstrȃkta |
| locative mẹ̑stnik |
abstrȃktu, abstrȃkti | abstrȃktih, abstrȃktah | abstrȃktih, abstrȃktah |
| instrumental orọ̑dnik |
abstrȃktom | abstrȃktoma, abstrȃktama | abstrȃkti |
| (vocative) (ogȏvorni imenovȃlnik) |
abstrȃkt | abstrȃkta | abstrȃkta |
Second masculine declension
[edit]All nouns following second masculine declension are usually because of its similarity with first feminine declension feminized in dual and plural, but this is evident only in binding adjectives, numerals and pronouns as the endings and accents stay the same, i. e. tȋste vọ̑dje (feminized) vs. tȋsti vọ̑dje (masculine). Colloquially, they are also feminized in all cases except for nominative and vocative in singular, i. e. s tȋsto vọ̑djo (feminized) vs. s tȋstim vọ̑djo (masculine).
First neuter declension
[edit]Some mixed accented nouns following first neuter declension alternatively change to being masculine with -ov- infix in dual and plural:
| First neuter declension (hard o-stem) , long mixed accent, changes to first masculine declension in dual and plural with -ov- infix | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| nom. sing. | blagọ̑ | ||
| gen. sing. | blagȃ | ||
| singular | dual | plural | |
| nominative imenovȃlnik |
blagọ̑ | blagȏva | blagȏvi |
| genitive rodȋlnik |
blagȃ | blagóv | blagóv |
| dative dajȃlnik |
blȃgu, blȃgi | blagȏvoma, blagȏvama | blagȏvom, blagȏvam |
| accusative tožȋlnik |
blagọ̑ | blagȏva | blagȏve |
| locative mẹ̑stnik |
blȃgu, blȃgi | blagȏvih, blagȏvah | blagȏvih, blagȏvah |
| instrumental orọ̑dnik |
blȃgom | blagȏvoma, blagȏvama | blagȏvi |
| (vocative) (ogȏvorni imenovȃlnik) |
blagọ̑ | blagȏva | blagȏvi |
One case examples
[edit]- Noun okọ̑ when meaning 'eye' has plural očȋ, which further declines as a regular feminine i-stem noun with mixed accent.
- Noun pọ̄t has alternatively a stylistically marked plural and dual forms following neuter o-stem declension: pọ̑ti and pọ̑ta.
- Noun dnȍ has preferred masculine form in genitive dual/plural.
| First neuter declension (hard o-stem) , fixed accent, -s- infix, showing signs of Slavic first palatalization, change of -o to -e, in plural has form očȋ, following second feminine declension | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| nom. sing. | okọ̑ | ||
| gen. sing. | očẹ̑sa | ||
| singular | dual | plural | |
| nominative imenovȃlnik |
okọ̑ | očẹ̑si | očȋ |
| genitive rodȋlnik |
očẹ̑sa | očī | očī |
| dative dajȃlnik |
očẹ̑su, očẹ̑si | očẹ̑soma, očẹ̑sama | očẹ̄m |
| accusative tožȋlnik |
okọ̑ | očẹ̑si | očȋ |
| locative mẹ̑stnik |
očẹ̑su, očẹ̑si | očẹ́h | očẹ́h |
| instrumental orọ̑dnik |
očẹ̑som | očẹ̑soma, očẹ̑sama | očmí |
| (vocative) (ogȏvorni imenovȃlnik) |
okọ̑ | očẹ̑si | očȋ |
| First masculine declension (hard o-stem, inanimate) , fixed accent, following first neuter declension in dual and plural, except in genitive | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| nom. sing. | pọ̑t | ||
| gen. sing. | pọ̑ta | ||
| singular | dual | plural | |
| nominative imenovȃlnik |
pọ̑t | pọ̑ti | pọ̑ta |
| genitive rodȋlnik |
pọ̑ta | pọ̑tov | pọ̑tov |
| dative dajȃlnik |
pọ̑tu, pọ̑ti | pọ̑toma, pọ̑tama | pọ̑tom, pọ̑tam |
| accusative tožȋlnik |
pọ̑t | pọ̑ti | pọ̑ta |
| locative mẹ̑stnik |
pọ̑tu, pọ̑ti | pọ̑tih, pọ̑tah | pọ̑tih, pọ̑tah |
| instrumental orọ̑dnik |
pọ̑tom | pọ̑toma, pọ̑tama | pọ̑ti |
| (vocative) (ogȏvorni imenovȃlnik) |
pọ̑t | pọ̑ti | pọ̑ta |
| First neuter declension (hard o-stem) , short ending accent, genitive dual/plural dnȍv/dnóv, locative plural dnẹ́h or dnȉh, instrumental plural dní | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| nom. sing. | dnȍ | ||
| gen. sing. | dnȁ | ||
| singular | dual | plural | |
| nominative imenovȃlnik |
dnȍ | dnȉ | dnȁ |
| genitive rodȋlnik |
dnȁ | dnȍv, dnóv, dán | dnȍv, dnóv, dán |
| dative dajȃlnik |
dnȕ dnȉ | dnōma | dnȍm, dnȁm |
| accusative tožȋlnik |
dnȍ | dnȉ | dnȁ |
| locative mẹ̑stnik |
dnȕ, dnȉ | dnẹ́h, dnȉh | dnẹ́h, dnȉh |
| instrumental orọ̑dnik |
dnȍm | dnōma | dní |
| (vocative) (ogȏvorni imenovȃlnik) |
dnȍ | dnȉ | dnȁ |
Fourth feminine or fourth neutral declension
[edit]Some geographical names in -ski or -ški derived from adjectives can either be feminine or neuter (following the respective fourth declensions), however some form is generally preferred. In some common names, such as Dolẹ́njska, the usual form is feminine while other form Dolẹ̑njsko is used very rarely and is mostly limited to forms with preposition, e. g. na Dolẹ̑njskem.
Dialectal changes
[edit]In many dialects, neuter nouns are either feminized or masculinized. However, the full masculinization of feminization does not always occur and nouns often keep the neuter endings. These are not detailed on each entry separately, except for the noun deklȅ as it is mentioned in Slovenska Slovnica that the noun can be feminine in Standard Slovene. A separate entry and declension table is only added if the noun can be fully masculinized or feminized (e. g. mlék and píva (non-tonal diacritics), respectively).