Slovak: repeating sa

[Tisztul_A_Visztula]

Let me ask whether one is obliged to use “sa” as many times as the number of reflexive verbs is in a list.

Options:

A) Tu sa oholím, osprchujem sa, poutieram sa a učesem sa.

B) Tu sa oholím, osprchujem sa, poutieram a učesem sa.

C) Tu sa oholím, osprchujem, poutieram a učesem sa.

D) Tu sa oholím, osprchujem sa, poutieram a učesem.

E) Tu sa oholím, osprchujem, poutieram a učesem.

A) seems to be pretty disciplined.
B) may be still OK, because “a” meaning “and” connects the last two verbs stronger than a normal comma.
C) and D) are quite minimalist, but keeps a second “sa”, just because “tu” requires “sa” be before the verb, while the other three verbs require “sa” be after the verb.
E) is the real minimalist version with the highest chance to be incorrect.

And now let’s listen to a real Slovak gentle(wo)man about which ones are correct and why.

Thanks as always.

 

[Panceltic]

Very interesting question! I want to know this as well. In Slovenian it’s definitely E):

Tu se obrijem, oprham, obrišem in počešem.

 

[numerator]

I would say (E) sounds the best in Slovak as well, with "sa" being factored out, so to speak.
Especially since these are related activities and it's the same kind of "sa" (true reflexives - activities performed on myself).

In a more loosely related list it may be better to repeat "sa": "Obujem sa a ponáhľam sa preč".

 

[Tisztul_A_Visztula]

Can I say E is the best, but all of the other versions can be used without getting a frown from the listener?

Btw I met B in my book and that implied my question.

 

[francisgranada]

Can I say E is the best, but all of the other versions can be used without getting a frown from the listener?

Perhaps E is "the best", but it depends on the concrete situation and on which of the actions you "put together" (or what you want to emphasize). For illustration, see the following example:

Teraz sa oholím a osprchujem, potom sa poutieram a učešem.