Core Prepositions and Case Governance in Slovak

In Slovak grammar, *Prepositions (Predložky)* are strictly bound to specific grammatical cases. Unlike English prepositions which govern unmarked noun forms, Slovak prepositions demand precise case endings on nouns, adjectives, and pronouns:

1. Primary Prepositions Grouped by Case: - *With Genitive (2. pád - Odkiaľ? Kam? Bez koho?): - od (from), do (to/into), z/zo (out of), bez (without), u (at/by), počas (during), blízko (near), vedľa (beside): Idem do školy, čaj bez cukru. - With Dative (3. pád - Ku komu?): - k / ku (towards/to a person): Idem k lekárovi, proti vetru (against the wind), vďaka pomoci (thanks to help). - With Accusative (4. pád - Kam? Pre koho?): - pre (for), cez (through/across): darček pre mamu, cesta cez les. - Motion with na, v, pod, nad, za, pred: Daj to na stôl (Put it onto the table). - With Locative (6. pád - Exclusively Prepositional - Kde? O čom?): - v/vo (in), na (on), o (about), po (after/along), pri (at/near): Bývam v meste, hovoríme o filme. - With Instrumental (7. pád - S kým? S čím?): - s / so (with companion/accompaniment): káva s mliekom, idem s bratom. - Static position with pod, nad, za, pred, medzi: Pes leží pod stolom* (The dog lies under the table).

*2. Vocalization of Prepositions (Vokalizácia predložiek): To facilitate smooth pronunciation before difficult consonant clusters (especially identical or phonetically similar sounds), prepositions add vowel -o / -u: - v → vo (vo vnútri, vo vlaku), z → zo (zo stola, zo školy), s → so (so sestrou, so psom), k → ku (ku komu, ku mne*).