In Slovak grammar, we often practice various exercises related to articles. However, going through this exercise can be a bit of a surprise for new learners because, unlike in English, Slovak language does not possess definitive or indefinite articles like “the,” “a” or “an.” This significant grammatical difference will often mean learners will have to rewire their sentence construction habits when shifting from English to Slovak. Nonetheless, we practice exercises that help students understand when and where articles would typically be used in English, but they need to drop them in Slovak.

Furthermore, we discuss how this affects other parts of speech in Slovak, mainly adjectives and nouns, as adjective declination in Slovak grammar might incorporate certain traits of English articles. Strong emphasis is put on understanding the context, which largely determines noun usage in Slovak. Overall, mastering articles or the lack of them in Slovak poses a significant challenge and requires lots of practice.