Beginner`s Guide to Czech Language - AFS-USA

Beginner`s Guide to Czech Language - AFS-USA

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Beginner’
to
Guide
age
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g
n
a
L
h
c
Cze
Basic vocab
ulary & gra
mmar
for AFS-stu
dents in CZ
E
Table of Contents
Introduction ................................................................................................................................3!
Pronounciation............................................................................................................................4!
Vowels.....................................................................................................................................4!
Consonants .............................................................................................................................4!
Vocabulary ..................................................................................................................................5!
Home ......................................................................................................................................5!
Family .....................................................................................................................................5!
Personal data ...........................................................................................................................6!
School & work .........................................................................................................................6!
Free time .................................................................................................................................7!
Places & getting around ............................................................................................................7!
Time .......................................................................................................................................8!
Food .......................................................................................................................................9!
Nature .....................................................................................................................................9!
Verbs ..................................................................................................................................... 10!
Adjectives .............................................................................................................................. 11!
Nouns ................................................................................................................................... 12!
Question words ...................................................................................................................... 13!
Prepositions ........................................................................................................................... 13!
Conjunctions ......................................................................................................................... 13!
Numbers ............................................................................................................................... 13!
Quantities .............................................................................................................................. 14!
Personal pronouns ................................................................................................................. 14!
Miscellaneous ........................................................................................................................ 14!
To like & to love .................................................................................................................... 14!
Grammar .................................................................................................................................. 15!
Adjectives .............................................................................................................................. 15!
Possesive pronouns ................................................................................................................ 15!
Demonstrative pronouns ........................................................................................................ 15!
Use of personal pronouns ....................................................................................................... 15!
Verbs ..................................................................................................................................... 16!
Cases..................................................................................................................................... 18!
Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................... 19!
Notes ........................................................................................................................................ 20!
2
Introduction
This booklet can help you to learn Czech language during the first months of your stay. The sooner
you start learning our language, the sooner you’ll be able to get around by yourself, make new
friends, discover new activities… Using this “beginner’s guide” is a first step towards a more
interesting life in the Czech Republic, so make the most of it!
The first part explains basic pronounciation rules. Of course it’s quite hard to explain
pronounciation in a written text, but at least it’s a start. If you’re having doubts, just go online and
try to find some recordings of Czech words.
The second part is a mini-dictionary. The words you’ll need in daily life are arranged by a couple of
themes, like “school”, “food”, “family”… You can try to learn a couple of words every day. Decide
for yourself which ones are most useful for you to know and start with those.
In the third part we’ve included an introduction to some grammar rules. Depending on your native
language, some things may seem quite complicated, or fairly easy. Don’t worry too much about it
though. It’s just some basics, the real language you’ll learn by practising.
We truly hope this will help you to understand and speak Czech more easily. It might seem very
hard sometimes, but remember that many students succeeded in the past, and so can you! Just try a
little bit every day and practise, practise, practise…
3
Pronounciation
Vowels
Short vowels
a
e
i
o
u
y
u in but, a in father
e in ten
y in happy
o in hot, but more rounded
u in put
y in happy
Long vowels
In general these sounds are the same as the short vowels but pronounced about 1,75 times as long.
Long vowels are marked by an „accent“ (čárka). This does NOT indicate that the syllable is
stressed, only that the sound of the vowel is longer. The meaning of the word can be different
depending on the length of the vowel, so try to pronounce the difference between a long and a short
vowel clearly.
á
é
í
ó
ú ů (same sound as ú) ý
Special vowel
ě
ye in yes
Diphthongs
ou
au
ow in show
ow in now
Consonants
Same as in English
The following consonants have the same sound as the ones in English:
b
d
f
g
l
m
n
s
v
z
The following consonants have sounds that also exist in English, but are represented by different
letters:
c
ts in bits
j
y in yes
č
ch in church
š
sh in shock
Similar to English
k, p, t
h
ž
r
never aspirated!
always voiced, as in ham
similar to s in vision
rolled, like in Spanish
Non-existent in English
ď
ch
ň
ř
ť
almost d in dune, there should be a soft y-sound (as in yes) following the sound of d
ch in loch (Scottish) or Bach (German)
almost n in new, there should be a soft y-sound (as in yes) following the sound of n
combine the sound of a (rolling) r and sh at the same time
almost t in tune, there should be a soft y-sound (as in yes) following the sound of t
4
Vocabulary
When speaking Czech, you’ll notice it’s important to know whether a noun is masculine, feminine
or neutral. To make it easier for you, we’ll be using colours to indicate the grammatical gender of
the word. When you arrive to the Czech Republic, AFS will provide you with a textbook, which
uses the same system to indicate the type of the words.
Masculine (animate)
dark blue
Masculine (inanimate) light blue
Feminine
orange
Neutral
green
All other types of words (adjectives, verbs, adverbs…) are simply printed in black.
Home
floor
terrace
Buildings & rooms
house
apartment
balcony
bathroom
kitchen
dining room
room
building
stairs
garage
garden
wall
hall
living room
toilet
basement
podlaha
terasa
dům
byt
balkon
koupelna
kuchyň
jídelna
pokoj
budova
schody (plural)
garáž
zahrada
stěna
chodba
obývák
záchod
sklep
plant
door
television
window
clock
toothbrush
toothpaste
hair dryer
towel
lamp
bed
drawer
chair
shelf
rostlina
dveře (plural)
televize
okno
hodiny (plural)
zubní kartáček
zubní pasta
fén
ručník
lampa
postel
šuplík
židle
polička
rodina
dědeček, děda
babička
bratr
sestra
matka
otec
maminka, máma
tatínek, táta
strýc
aunt
husband
wife
son
daughter
cousin
parents
nephew
niece
marital status
teta
manžel
manželka
syn
dcera
bratranec, sestřenice
rodiče (plural)
synovec
neteř
rodinný stav
Things
Family
family
grandfather
grandmother
brother
sister
mother (formal)
father (formal)
mother (informal)
father (informal)
uncle
5
married (man)
ženatý (muž)
married (woman) vdaná (žena)
divorced
single
rozvedený/rozvedená
svobodný/svobodná
first
second
third
point
residence
telephone
první
druhý
třetí
tečka
bydliště
telefon
blackboard
chair
tabule
židle
Personal data
personal data
@
postal code
electronic mail
number
floor
osobní údaje (plural)
zavináč
poštovní směrovací číslo
elektronická pošta
číslo
patro
School & work
Subjects in school
subject
biology
phys. education
physics
geography
informatic
literature
math
chemistry
break
religion
předmět
biologie
tělesná výchova
fyzika
zeměpis
informatika
literatura
matematika
chemie
přestávka
náboženství
Professions
profession
lawyer
actor
architect
waiter
singer
chef
dentist
electrician
businessman
doctor
model
musician
laborer
painter
policeman
assistant
taxi driver
salesman
Things
thing, things
high school
school
library
pen
eraser
class
notebook
dictionary
pencil case
pencil
book
map
table
backpack
computer
paper
trash bin
věc, věci
gymnázium
škola
knihovna
propiska
guma
třída
sešit
slovník
penál
tužka
kniha, knížka
mapa
stůl
batoh
počítač
papír
odpadkový koš
povolání
právník, právnička
herec, herečka
architekt, architektka
číšník, servírka
zpěvák, zpěvačka
kuchař, kuchařka
zubař, zubařka
elektrikář
podnikatel
lékař/doktor, lékařka
model, modelka
hudebník, hudebnice
dělník, dělnice
malíř, malířka
policista, policistka
asistent, asistentka
taxikář, taxikářka
prodavač, prodavačka
Workplace
workplace
clinic
company
studio
fabric
hospital
office
shop
6
pracoviště
klinika
firma
studio, ateliér
továrna
nemocnice
kancelář
obchod
Free time
to stand up
to dance
to take a bath
to walk
to have a rest
to do sports
to take pictures
to play
to swim
to travel
to ski
to exercise
to ride (bicycle)
to go out
to drive
Basics
activity
free time
cinema
concert
culture
sport
style
exhibition
favorite
gym
music
nature
movie
theater
martial arts
dance
aktivita
volný čas
kino
koncert
kultura
sport
styl
výstava
oblíbený
posilovna
hudba
příroda
film
divadlo
bojová umění
tanec
Events
event
championship
race
contest
festival
party
fireworks
orchestra
course
Activities
to go lay down
to have breakfast
to have lunch
to have dinner
to drink
to eat
to buy
to sleep
vstávat
tancovat
vykoupat se
chodit, jít
odpočívat
sportovat
fotit
hrát
plavat
cestovat
lyžovat
cvičit
jezdit (na kole)
vyjít si, jít ven
řídit
jít spát
snídat
obědvat
večeřet
pít
jíst
nakupovat , koupit
spát
událost
turnaj, mistrovství
závod
soutěž
festival
slavnost
ohňostroj
orchestr
kurz, workshop
Places & getting around
Places
place
bar
house
cottage
center
city
town
village
hotel
monument
pool
restaurant
square, place
corner
Shops
shop
butcher’s
fruit shop
delicatessen
market
bakery
fish shop
supermarket
vegetables shop
drugstore
drugstore (pills)
open
closed
místo
bar, hospoda
dům
chalupa, chata
centrum
město
malé město
vesnice
hotel
památka
bazén
restaurace
náměstí
roh
7
obchod
řeznictví
ovoce
uzenářství
trh, tržiště
pekárna
rybárna
supermarket
zelenina
drogérie
lékárna
otevřeno
zavřeno
Transportation
transport
by foot
metro
stop (place)
port, harbour
tram
train
to get (to a place)
bank
atm
football field
castle
cathedral
mall
cybercafé
police station
ice cream shop
church
postal office
park
doprava
pěšky
metro
zastávka
přístav
tramvaj
vlak
přijít, přijet
City life
in the city
ve městě
banka
bankomat
fotbalové hřiště
hrad
katedrála
obchodní centrum
internetová kavárna
policejní stanice
zmrzlinárna
kostel
pošta
park
Time
Basics
time
when?
now
day
night
tomorrow
today
yesterday
2 days ago
morning
noon
afternoon
evening
soon
late
last night
hour
minute
Months
month
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
year
čas
kdy?
teď
den
noc
zítra
dnes, dneska
včera
předevčírem
ráno, dopoledne
poledne
odpoledne
večer
brzy
pozdě
včera večer
hodina
minuta
Frequency
how often?
always
often
usually
sometimes
seldom
never
already
Days
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
weekend
week
měsíc
leden
únor
březen
duben
květen
červen
červenec
srpen
září
říjen
listopad
prosinec
rok
pondělí
úterý
středa
čtvrtek
pátek
sobota
neděle
víkend
týden
jak často?
vždy
často
většinou
někdy, občas
málokdy
nikdy
už
Others
in/at the end
last time
after (time)
early
8
nakonec
naposled, posledně
potom, pak
časně
Food
bread
baguette
cheese
pasta
yogurt
Fruit & vegetables
fruit
strawberry
apple
orange
banana
vegetable
garlic
onion
lettuce
potato
cucumber
paprika
tomato
ovoce
jahoda
jablko
pomeranč
banán
zelenina
česnek
cibule
ledový salát
brambora
okurka
paprika
rajče
Drinks
drink
water
alcohol
beer
coffee
wine
tea
expensive
quarter
gram
kilogram
can
liter
half
offer
to pay
pack
more
ryba
tuňák
kreveta
mořské plody (plural)
treska
losos
maso
vepřové maso
telecí maso
hovězí maso
šunka
kuře
drahý
čtvrt
gram
kilo
plechovka
litr
půl
akce, nabídka
platit
balík, balení
víc
Restaurant
sladkosti (plural)
cukr
čokoláda
zmrzlina
dort, koláč, buchta
olivový olej
rýže
cereálie (plural)
vejce
mléko
restaurant
bill
salad
fried
macaronis
menu
to order
plate
dessert
tip
to serve
to drink
restaurace
účet
salát
smažený
makarony (plural)
menu, jídelní lístek
objednat
talíř
dezert, zákusek
spropitné
servírovat, podávat
pít
zvíře
dog
cat
monkey
pes
kočka
opice
Sweets & others
sweets
sugar
chocolate
ice cream
cake
olive oil
rice
cereal
egg
milk
nápoj
voda
alkohol
pivo
káva, kafe
víno
čaj
Buying food
Meat & fish
fish
tuna
shrimps
seafood
hake
salmon
meat
pork
veal
beef
ham
chicken
chléb, chleba
bageta
sýr
těstoviny (plural)
jogurt
Nature
Animals
animal
9
turtle
fish
ant
bee
dinosaur
bird
snake
horse
cow
butterfly
squirrel
sheep
chicken
shark
pet
penguin
worm
sun
wind
želva
ryba
mravenec
včela
dinosaurus
pták
had
kůň
kráva
motýl
veverka
ovce
kuře
žralok
domácí mazlíček
tučňák
červ
Seasons
season
winter
autumn
spring
summer
roční období
zima
podzim
jaro
léto
Others
Weather
weather
hot
cold
degree
to rain
to snow
cloudy
slunce
vítr
počasí
teplo
zima
stupeň
pršet
sněžit
zataženo
nature
east
north
west
south
landscape
region
forest
coast
lake
mountain
beach
river
sea
příroda
východ
sever
západ
jih
krajina
oblast, region
les
pobřeží
jezero
hora
pláž
řeka
moře
to say
to speak
to fall in love
to be
to do, to make
to go
to watch
to prefer
to want
říkat
mluvit
zamilovat se
být
dělat
jít, jet
dívat se
mít radši
chtít
Verbs
Basic conjugated verbs
I am
I want
I can
I must
I have to
I have got
jsem
chci
můžu
musím
musím
mám
Verbs I
to sing
to listen
to write
to be
to read
to ask
to have
to see
to be bored
to think
Verbs II
zpívat
poslouchat
psát
být
číst
ptát se
mít
vidět
nudit se
myslet si
to act
to fix
to help
to cook
to know
to take care
to teach
to paint
to work
10
hrát, vystupovat
opravovat
pomáhat
vařit
znát, poznat
starat se
učit
malovat
pracovat
to sell
to live (somewhere)
to live (be alive)
to open
to rent
to go downstairs
to start
to invite
to call
to close
to finish
to pass
to use
to drink
to say
to carry
to construct
to feel
to shave
to kill
to destruct
to take
to translate
prodávat
bydlet
žít
otevřít
pronajmout
jít dolů
začít
pozvat
zavolat
zavřít
skončit
vstoupit
používat
pít
říkat
Verbs IV
to drink
pít
to look for
hledat
to change
změnit, vyměnit
to eat
jíst
to complete
doplnit, dokončit
to buy
koupit, nakupovat
to must
muset
to have fun
bavit se
to sleep
spát
to last
trvat
to elaborate
vyrobit
to find
najít
to write
psát
to work (function) fungovat
to like
líbit se
to do, make
dělat
to go away
odejít
to read
číst
to fight
bojovat
to need
potřebovat
to hate
nenávidět
to recommend
doporučovat, doporučit
Verbs III
to leave, to let
to smoke
to put
to produce
to approve
to agree
to dive
to find
to surf
to watch out
to forget
to lose
to receive
to remember
to go upstairs
nosit
stavět
(po)cítit
oholit
zabít
ničit
vzít
překládat, přeložit
nechat
kouřit
dát (něco někam), položit
vyrábět
schválit
souhlasit
potápět se
najít
surfovat
pozorovat
zapomenout
ztratit
dostat
vzpomenout, pamatovat
jít nahoru
Adjectives
boring
beautiful
short
difficult
fun
easy
ugly
big
new
long
small
old
young
Colours
colour
yellow
blue
white
brown
black
red
green
barva
žlutý
modrý
bílý
hnědý
černý
červený
zelený
Basic adjectives
good
bad
dobrý
špatný
11
nudný
hezký, krásný
krátký
těžký
zábavný
lehký
ošklivý
velký
nový
dlouhý
malý
starý
mladý
Characteristics
character
happy
kind
good person
sweet
cute
mean
talkative
intelligent
bad
nervous
weird
serious
sociable
nice
dumb
lazy
incredible
better
best
worse
worst
povaha
veselý
milý
hodný
sladký
roztomilý
sobecký
upovídaný
inteligentní
zlý
nervózní
zvláštní, divný
vážný
společenský
sympatický
hloupý
líný
More adjectives
Experiences, opinions
awesome
fantastic
fatal
great
terrible
neuvěřitelný
lepší
nejlepší
horší
nejhorší
báječný
úžasný
hrozný
skvělý
hrůzný
same
different
older
younger
pleasant
hot
comfortable
cold
forbidden
alike
healthy
complicated
valuable
clueless
important
organized
last
previous, last
fake
stejný
jiný
starší
mladší
příjemný
teplý, horký
pohodlný
studený
zakázaný
podobný
zdravý
komplikovaný
cenný
zmatený
důležitý
uspořádaný, organizovaný
poslední
minulý
falešný
mobil
mustache
neighbour
noise
pants
postcard
poster
product
purse
radio
schedule
shirt
shoes
soul
suitcase
swimsuit
ticket
turist
vacation
mobil
knír
soused, sousedka
hluk
kalhoty (plural)
pohled
plakát
výrobek
kabelka
rádio
rozvrh
tričko
boty (plural)
duše
kufr
plavky (plural)
lístek
turista
prázdniny (plural)
Nouns
age
beard
birthday
bottle
bus
camera
car
cd
death
eye
fear
football
force
friend
gift
hair
health
kind, sort
magazine
message
věk
vousy (plural)
narozeniny (plural)
láhev
autobus
foťák
auto
cd
smrt
oko
obava, strach
fotbal
síla
kamarád
dárek
vlasy (plural)
zdraví
druh
časopis
sms, vzkaz
12
Beginner’s Guide to Czech Language
Question words
how many?
how much?
why?
where to?
where?
which?
how?
whose?
what?
who?
when?
jak?
koho?, čí?
co?
kdo?
kdy?
since, from
from
in front of
between
down
up
below, under
inside
behind
above
od
z
naproti
mezi
dole
nahoře
pod
v
za
nad
a
nebo
ale
proto
because
if
than
that
protože
jestli (simple conditional)
než (comparison)
že (connecting sentences)
jeden, jedna, jedno
dva, dvě, dvě
tři
čtyři
pět
šest
sedm
osm
devět
deset
jedenáct
dvanáct
třináct
čtrnáct
patnáct
šestnáct
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
1000
sedmnáct
osmnáct
devatenáct
dvacet
dvacet jedna
dvacet dva
dvacet tři
třicet
čtyřicet
padesát
šedesát
sedmdesát
osmdesát
devadesát
sto
tisíc
kolik?
kolik?
proč?
kam?
kde?
jaký?
Prepositions
in
on
to, towards
near to
far from
with
without
after
next to
before
v, na
na
do
blízko
daleko
s
bez
po
vedle
před
Conjunctions
and
or
but
that’s why
Numbers
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
13
first
second
third
fourth
fifth
první
druhý
třetí
čtvrtý
pátý
sixth
seventh
eighth
ninth
tenth
šestý
sedmý
osmý
devátý
desátý
množství
málo, trochu
některý
nějaký
skoro, téměř
hodně, moc
dost
příliš
každý
none
nobody
nothing
somebody
something
everything
everybody
žádný
nikdo
nic
někdo
něco
všechno
všichni
it
we
you (plural)
they
ono
my
vy
oni
at/to the left
which, that
just, only
like this
alone
nalevo/doleva
který
jenom
takhle
sám, sama
Quantities
quantity
a little/few
some
any, some
almost
a lot
enough
too much
each, every
Personal pronouns
I
you (singular)
you (formal)
he
she
já
ty
vy
on
ona
Miscellaneous
this
too
neither
here
there
at/to the right
tento, tato, toto
také, taky
také ne
tady
tam
napravo/doprava
To like & to love
There are 4 different ways of expressing you like or love something:
• chutnat
to like the taste of something
o Chutná mi zmrzlina
I like ice cream
• líbit se
to like something, usually for a specific time, not as a habit
o Libí se mi Praha
I like Prague
• mít rád
to like or love something or someone, for a longer period of time
o Mám rád kamarády
I like friends
• milovat
to love something or someone, strong and serious feeling
o Miluju tě
I love you
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Grammar
Adjectives
The ending of an adjective changes depending on the grammatical gender of the noun it’s
describing. There are two types of adjectives. If the basic masculine ending is –ý, then the basic
feminine ending is –á and the basic neutral ending is –é. If the basic masculine ending is –í, then the
basic feminine and the basic neutral ending are also –í.
Masculine (animate)
Masculine (inanimate)
Feminine
Neutral
ý
ý
á
é
dobrý student
dobrý banán
dobrá káva
dobré auto
í
í
í
í
kvalitní student
kvalitní banán
kvalitní káva
kvalitní auto
Possesive pronouns
Like adjectives, possesive pronouns also adapt themselves to the gender of the noun they’re with. In
the following table you’ll find all the basic forms:
Masculine Masculine
Feminine Neutral
(animate) (inanimate)
my
můj
můj
moje
moje
your (singular)
tvůj
tvůj
tvoje
tvoje
his, its
jeho
jeho
jeho
jeho
her
její
její
její
její
our
náš
náš
naše
naše
your (plural)
váš
váš
vaše
vaše
their
jejich
jejich
jejich
jejich
Demonstrative pronouns
Again, demonstrative pronouns (this, that, these) change according to the gender of the noun:
Masculine Masculine
Feminine Neutral
(animate) (inanimate)
that
ten
ten
ta
to
this
tenhle
tenhle
tahle
tohle
Use of personal pronouns
In Czech, pronouns are only used when you want to put a stress on who is doing the action. This
means that usually, you’ll hear people say “dělám” instead of “já dělám”; or “chceš” instead of “ty
chceš”. But when you want to draw attention to the fact that a certain person is doing something,
you can add the appropiate pronoun.
15
Verbs
Present tense
Czech verbs have to be conjugated. This means the ending of the verbs changes according to the
person. As in most languages, there are regular verbs, which follow basic rules, and irregular verbs,
which need to be memorized. In the following table, you can find the basic rules for three types of
regular verbs:
OVAT
Á
Í
Infinitive ends with -ovat
-at (mostly)
-it, et, ět (mostly)
Word Stem =
infinitive without -ovat infinitive without -at infinitive without -it, -et, -ět
já
ty
on, ona, ono
my
vy
oni
Example
-uju
-uješ
-uje
-ujeme
-ujete
-uji
milovat
já miluju
Conjugation = Word Stem +
-ám
-áš
-á
-áme
-áte
-ají
dělat
ty děláš
-ím
-íš
-í
-íme
-íte
-í
mluvit
on mluví
There are also a lot of irregular verbs. Here are some of the most important ones:
já
ty
on, ona, ono
my
vy
oni
být
jsem
jsi
je
jsme
jste
jsou
chtít
chci
chceš
chce
chceme
chcete
chtějí
mít
mám
máš
má
máme
máte
mají
jít
jdu
jdeš
jde
jdeme
jdete
jdou
Future tense
The future tense is made as follows:
já
ty
on, ona, ono
my
vy
oni
Examples:
I will love
She will talk
We will have
budu
budeš
bude
budeme
budete
budou
budu milovat
bude mluvit
budeme mít
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+ infinitive
moct
můžu
můžeš
může
můžeme
můžete
můžou
There are a few exceptions that have a form of their own, without using the infinitive:
já
ty
on, ona, ono
my
vy
oni
být
budu
budeš
bude
budeme
budete
budou
jít
půjdu
půjdeš
půjde
půjdeme
půjdete
půjdou
jet
pojedu
pojedeš
pojede
pojedeme
pojedete
pojedou
Past tense
To use the past tense, you need the “l-form” of the verb.
The l-form is made as follows:
• take the infinitive
dělat
milovat
• eliminate the end –t
děla
milova
• add an –l at the end
dělal
miloval
Some exceptions of the l-form:
být
byl
mít
měl
chtít
chtěl
číst
četl
jíst
jít
moct
pít
mluvit
mluvi
mluvil
jedl
šel (šla, šli)
mohl
pil
psát
spát
umřít
psal
spal
umřel
Then the ending of the l-form has to be adapted to the gender of the subject (similar to an
adjective):
Masculine singular
dělal
Feminine singular a dělala
Neutral singular
o dělalo
Plural
i dělali
Once you have the right l-form, you can create the past tense as follows:
já
ty
on, ona, ono
my
vy
oni
Examples:
I loved
She talked
We had
jsem
jsi
the right
l-form
miloval jsem
mluvila
měli jsme
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jsme
jste
Negation
To make a verb negative, you just add ne-:
• Present tense add ne- before the conjugated form of the verb.
• Future tense add ne- before the conjugated form of the future tense of být (budu, budeš...)
• Past tense
add ne- before the l-form (NOT before the conjugated form of být!)
Examples:
I don’t love
She will not talk
We didn’t have
nemiluju
nebude mluvit
neměli jsme
Imperfective & perfective verbs
Czech language has two types of verbs: imperfective and perfective verbs. Imperfective verbs
describe an action like a video, like an ongoing thing and concentrate on the action itself. Perfective
verbs describe an action more like a picture, like something that happened at a certain time and
concentrate on the result. This means that most verbs come in pairs:
to read čist - přečíst
to eat
jíst - sníst
to do
dělat - udělat
to paint malovat - namalovat
to buy nakupovat - koupit
to sell
prodávat - prodat
to teach učit - naučit
to give dávat - dát
to cook vařit - uvařit
to write psát - napsat
to repair opravovat - opravit
to wash mýt - umýt
In the beginning, you don’t need to worry about using the right type of verb to express what you
mean. People will understand you. But it’s nice for you to know, so you don’t get confused; for
example when you have learnt that “to write” is “psát” and then somebody is telling you it’s
“napsat”… It’s both! Later, when you’ll be used to hearing more Czech around you, you’ll also
develop the skills to know which type you should use in which circumstances.
Cases
You might already know that Czech uses “cases”, like German or Latin. This means that depending
on the function of the word in a sentence, or which preposition it follows, the ending of the word
changes. Again, this is something you don’t need to worry about when you start speaking Czech.
You can just make sentences without caring about the cases and people should understand what
you mean. Once you have some basic vocabulary and you’re comfortable with conjugating verbs,
you can move on to learning the cases as well. Here too, you’ll benefit enormously from hearing
Czech every day.
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Acknowledgements
First of all, we’d like to thank Juan Hernández, AFS-student from Venezuela in 2011-2012. He’s
the one who first started to make a personal dictionary, who organised all the new words he was
learning into categories, who added some basic grammar rules and who was so kind to share all of
his work with us, so we could make it into the guide it is now. Juan is an excellent example to show
that it is truly possible for AFS-students to learn Czech.
Next, we’re also grateful for the help of Petra Ferjenčíková, volunteer for AFS Czech Republic, as
she devoted her time to check all of Juan’s work and to correct the mistakes.
Another “thank you” goes to Martje Calliauw, EVS-volunteer at the AFS office in Prague, for
compiling everything Juan sent us and working on the final lay-out of this guide.
Finally, a word of appreciation to Monika Nikolová, program director of AFS Czech Republic, who
did the last check-up of everything and corrected the last bits and pieces.
The colour-system used to indicate the grammatical gender of the nouns is based on the textbook
“New Czech Step by Step” by Lída Holá. This book was also an inspiration to explain some of the
grammar issues. The basics about Czech pronounciation were mainly taken from the unilangwebsite (http://www.unilang.org/wiki/index.php/Czech_pronunciation).
If you would have any comments or suggestions to improve this guide, please let us know. Together
we can try to make it as useful as possible for future AFS-students. Thanks in advance for your
feedback!
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Notes
This page you can use to make some notes or add new words you’re learning…
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