Verb + infinitive
Level A1 · Unit 5: Food and café · Lesson 4: Want, can, must
The first verb is conjugated; the second stays in the infinitive:
- Hočem jesti. I want to eat.
- Moram delati. I have to work.
- Znam kuhati. I know how to cook.
- Želimo plačati. We'd like to pay. (polite)
Lahko works differently. It never changes, and the main verb is conjugated:
- Lahko kuham. I can cook.
- Lahko plačamo s kartico? Can we pay by card?
| Meaning | Positive | Negative |
|---|---|---|
| want | hočem jesti | nočem jesti |
| can | lahko pridem | ne morem priti |
| must | moram delati | – ("don't have to" comes in Unit 10) |
| know how | znam plavati | ne znam plavati |
Practise this in the free course
This explanation comes from Unit 5, Lesson 4 of Slovenim, a free Slovenian course with dialogues, audio and exercises that check your answers.