Czech conjugation

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Czech conjugation is the system of conjugation (grammatically-determined modifications) of verbs in Czech.

Contents

Czech is a null-subject language, i.e. the subject (including personal pronouns) can be omitted if known from context. The person is expressed by the verb:

já dělám = dělám = I do
on dělal = dělal = he was doing

Infinitive

The infinitive is formed by the ending -t, formerly also -ti; on some words -ct (-ci):

t – to be, t – to go, ct – to bake

Somewhat archaically:

ti – to be, ti – to go, ci – to bake

Participles

Participles are used for forming the past tense, conditionals and the passive voice in Czech. They are related to the short forms of adjectives. Therefore unlike other verb forms, they also express gender which must correspond with the gender of the subject.

Past participle

The past participle (also known as the "active participle" or "l-participle") is used for forming the past tense and the conditionals.

SingularPluralEnglish
MasculineFeminineNeuterMasculine
animate
Masculine
inanimate
& feminine
Neuter
byl
dělal
byla
dělala
bylo
dělalo
byli
dělali
byly
dělaly
byla
dělala
was/were
did

Passive participle

The passive participle is also called "n/t-participle" and is used for forming the passive voice. There are two types of endings:

SingularPluralEnglish
MasculineFeminineNeuterMasculine
animate
Masculine
inanimate
& Feminine
Neuter
bit
dělán
bita
dělána
bito
děláno
biti
děláni
bity
dělány
bita
dělána
beaten, battered
done

Agreement between subject and predicate

The predicate must always be in accordance with the subject in the sentence – in number and person (personal pronouns), and with past and passive participles also in gender. This grammatical principle affects the orthography (see also Czech orthography) – it is especially important for the correct choice and writing of plural endings of participles.

Examples:

GenderSg.Pl.English
masculine animatepes byl koupenpsi byli koupenia dog was bought/dogs were bought
masculine inanimatehrad byl koupenhrady byly koupenya castle was bought/castles were bought
femininekočka byla koupenakočky byly koupenya cat was bought/cats were bought
neuterměsto bylo koupenoměsta byla koupenaa town was bought/towns were bought

The example mentioned shows both past (byl, byla ...) and passive (koupen, koupena ...) participles. The accordance in gender takes effect in the past tense and the passive voice, not in the present and future tenses in active voice.

If the complex subject is a combination of nouns of different genders, masculine animate gender is prior to others and the masculine inanimate and feminine genders are prior to the neuter gender. The neuter endings on the predicate are only used if all nouns in the subject are neuter and plural, otherwise the masculine inanimate/feminine forms are used. [1] [2]

Examples:

Priority of genders:

masculine animate > masculine inanimate & feminine > neuter

Transgressives

The transgressive (přechodník) expresses an action which happens coincidentally with or foregoing some other action.

The transgressive (přechodník) is an archaic form of the verb in Czech and Slovak. Nowadays, it is used only occasionally for artistic purposes or in unchanging expressions. Transgressives were still used quite widely in Czech literature in the beginning of the 20th century (not in the spoken language). For example, Jaroslav Hašek's The Good Soldier Švejk contains a lot of them.

Czech recognizes present and past transgressives. The present transgressive can express present or future action according to the aspect of the verb it is derived from. The past transgressive is usually derived from perfective verbs.

 masculinefeminine
+
neuter
plural
present
transgressive
–e
–a
–íc
–ouc
–íce
–ouce
past
transgressive
–v
–×
–vši
–ši
–vše
–še

Examples:

Aspect

Czech verbs are distinguished by aspect, they are either perfective or imperfective . Perfective verbs indicate the finality of the process. Therefore, they cannot express the present tense.

Perfective verbs are usually formed adding prefixes to imperfective verbs:

psát (imperf.) – to write, to be writing → napsat (perf.) – to write down

Some perfective verbs are not formally related to imperfective ones:

brát (imperf.) – to take, to be taking → vzít (perf.) – to take

Tenses

Czech verbs express three absolute tenses – past, present and future. Relativity can be expressed by the aspect, sentence constructions and participles.

The present tense can be expressed in imperfective verbs only.

Present tense

The present tense is formed by special endings:

PersonSingularPlural
1.-u/-i/-m-eme/-íme/-áme
2.-eš/-íš/-áš-ete/-íte/-áte
3.-e/-í/-á-ejí/-ějí/-í/-ou/-ají

Verbs are divided into 5 classes according to the way of forming the present tense. They are described in more detail below.

Past tense

The past tense is formed by the past participle (in a proper gender form) and present forms of the verb být (to be) which are omitted in the 3rd person. The following example is for the male gender (animate in plural):

PersonSingularPlural
1.dělal jsemdělali jsme
2.dělal jsidělali jste
3.dělaldělali

Dělat – to do

For the choice of past tense form when the number or gender of the subject may not be clear, see Czech declension § Gender and number of compound phrases.

Future tense

In imperfective verbs, it is formed by the future forms of the verb být (to be) and the infinitive:

PersonSingularPlural
1.budu dělatbudeme dělat
2.budeš dělatbudete dělat
3.bude dělatbudou dělat

Dělat – to do

Budu, budeš, ... with infinitive has the same meaning as "(I, you, ...) will" in English. If not followed by an infinitive, it means "(I, you, ...) will be" (i.e. I will be = budu, not budu být).

In some verbs of motion, the future tense is formed by adding the prefix po-/pů- to the present form:

jdu – I will go, ponesu – I will carry, povezu – I will transport (in a vehicle)

In perfective verbs, the present form expresses the future. Compare:

budu dělat – I will be doing
udělám – I will do, I will have done

Tenses in subordinate clauses

There is no sequence of tenses in Czech. The types of clauses like in the indirect speech use tenses that express the time which is spoken about. The tense of the subordinate clause is not shifted to the past even though there is the past tense in the main clause:

Říká, že nemá dost peněz. (present tense) – He says he doesn't have enough money.
Říkal, že nemá dost peněz. (present tense) – He said he didn't have enough money.
Říkal, že Petr přišel v pět hodin. (past tense) – He said Peter had come at five o'clock.
Říkal, že to udělá v pátek. (future tense) – He said he would do it on Friday.

Imperative

The imperative mood is formed for the 2nd person singular and plural and the 1st person plural.

In the 2nd person singular, it takes either null ending or -i/-ej ending, according to the verb class.

The 2nd person plural takes the ending -te/-ete/-ejte and the 1st person plural takes -me/-eme/-ejme.

Examples:

buď! buďte! (be!) buďme! (let's be!)
spi! spěte! (sleep!) spěme! (let's sleep!)
dělej! dělejte! (do!) dělejme! (let's do!)

Conditionals

The conditionals are formed by the past participle and special forms of the verb být (to be). Following example of the present conditional is for the male gender (animate in plural):

PersonSingularPlural
1.dělal bychdělali bychom
2.dělal bysdělali byste
3.dělal bydělali by

dělal bych – I would do

There is also the past conditional in Czech but it is usually replaced by the present conditional.

PersonSingularPlural
1.byl bych dělalbyli bychom dělali
2.byl bys dělalbyli byste dělali
3.byl by dělalbyli by dělali

byl bych dělal – I would have done

By also becomes a part of conjugations aby (so that) and kdyby (if). Therefore, these conjunctions take the same endings:

Kdybych nepracoval, nedostal bych výplatu. If I didn't work, I would get no wages.

Passive voice

There are two ways to form the passive voice in Czech:

1. By the verb být (to be) and the passive participle:

Město bylo založeno ve 14. století. The town was founded in the 14th century.

2. By adding the reflexive pronoun se:

Ono se to neudělalo. It has not been done.
To se vyrábí v Číně. It is produced in China.

However, the use of se is not exclusive to the passive voice.

Reflexive verbs

Reflexive pronouns se and si are components of reflexive verbs (se/si is not usually translated into English):

posadit se – to sit down
myslet si – to think, to suppose

Negation

Negation is formed by the prefix ne-. In the future tense and the passive voice it is added to the auxiliary verb být (to be), while in the past tense and in conditionals it is added to the participle.

nedělat – not to do
nedělám – I do not do
nedělej! do not do!
nedělal jsem – I did not do
nebudu dělat – I will not do
nedělal bych – I would not do
byl bych neudělal or nebyl bych udělal – I would not have done
není děláno – it is not done

Unlike English, a negative pronoun must be used with a negative verb (using a positive verb is ungrammatical) (double negative):

Nic nemám. – I have nothing. (literally I do not have nothing.)
Nikdy to nikomu neříkej. – Never say it to anybody. (literally Do not never say it to nobody.)

Verb classes

Class I

Infinitivenéstčístpécttřítbrátmazat
Englishcarryreadbakerubtakelubricate
Present
tense
nesu
neseš
nese

neseme
nesete
nesou

čtu
čteš
čte

čteme
čtete
čtou

peču
pečeš
peče

pečeme
pečete
pečou

třu
třeš
tře

třeme
třete
třou

beru
bereš
bere

bereme
berete
berou

mažu
mažeš
maže

mažeme
mažete
mažou

Past
participle
neslčetlpekltřelbralmazal
Passive
participle
nesenčtenpečentřenbránmazán
Imperativenes!
neste!
nesme!
čti!
čtěte!
čtěme!
peč!
pečte!
pečme!
tři!
třete!
třeme!
ber!
berte!
berme!
maž!
mažte!
mažme!
Present
transgressive
nesa
nesouc
nesouce
čta
čtouc
čtouce
peka/peče
pekouc/pečíc
pekouce/pečíce
tra
trouc
trouce
bera
berouc
berouce
maže
mažíc
mažíce
Past
transgressive
(do)nes
(do)nesši
(do)nesše
(pře)čet
(pře)četši
(pře)četše
(u)pek
(u)pekši
(u)pekše
(u)třev
(u)třevši
(u)třevše
(se)brav
(se)bravši
(se)bravše
(na)mazav
(na)mazavši
(na)mazavše

In imperative, 0/-te/-me endings are in most verbs, -i/-ete/-eme or -i/-ěte/-ěme if two consonants are at the end of the word-stem.

Class II

Infinitivetisknoutminoutzačíthnout
Englishprint, pressmissbeginmove
Present
tense
tisknu
tiskneš
tiskne

tiskneme
tisknete
tisknou

minu
mineš
mine

mineme
minete
minou

začnu
začneš
začne

začneme
začnete
začnou

hnu
hneš
hne

hneme
hnete
hnou

Past
participle
tisklminulzačalhnul
Passive
participle
tisknut/tištěnminutzačnuthnut
Imperativetiskni!
tiskněte!
tiskněme!
miň!
miňte!
miňme!
začni!
začněte!
začněme!
hni!
hněte!
hněme!
Present
transgressive
tiskna
tisknouc
tisknouce
mina
minouc
minouce
Past
transgressive
(při)tisknuv
(při)tisknuvši
(při)tisknuvše
minuv
minuvši
minuvše
začav
začavši
začavše
hnuv
hnuvši
hnuvše

Class III

Infinitivekrýtkupovat
Englishcoverbuy
Present
tense
kryji, kryju
kryješ
kryje

kryjeme
kryjete
kryjí, kryjou

kupuji, kupuju
kupuješ
kupuje

kupujeme
kupujete
kupují, kupujou

Past
participle
krylkupoval
Passive
participle
krytkupován
Imperativekryj!
kryjte!
kryjme!
kupuj!
kupujte!
kupujme!
Present
transgressive
kryje
kryjíc
kryjíce
kupujíce
kupujíc
kupujíce
Past
transgressive
(za)kryv
(za)kryvši
(za)kryvše
kupovav
kupovavši
kupovavše

Class IV

Infinitiveprositčistittrpětsázetbdít
Englishbegcleansufferbetwatch
Present
tense
prosím
prosíš
prosí

prosíme
prosíte
prosí

čistím
čistíš
čistí

čistíme
čistíte
čistí

trpím
trpíš
trpí

trpíme
trpíte
trpí

sázím
sázíš
sází

sázíme
sázíte
sázejí, sází

bdím
bdíš
bdí

bdíme
bdíte
bdí

Past
participle
prosilčistiltrpělsázelbděl
Passive
participle
prošenčištěntrpěnsázenbděn
Imperativepros!
proste!
prosme!
čisti!
čistěte!
čistěme!
trp!
trpte!
trpme!
sázej!
sázejte!
sázejme!
bdi!
bděte!
bděme!
Present
transgressive
prose
prosíc
prosíce
čistě
čistíc
čistíce
trpě
trpíc
trpíce
sázeje
sázejíc
sázejíce
bdě
bdíc
bdíce
Past
transgressive
prosiv
prosivši
prosivše
(vy)čistiv
(vy)čistivši
(vy)čistivše
(s)trpěv
(s)trpěvši
(s)trpěvše
(vy)sázev
(vy)sázevši
(vy)sázevše

In imperative, 0/-te/-me endings are in most verbs, -i/-ete/-eme or -i/-ěte/-ěme if two consonants are at the end of the word-stem.

Class V

Infinitivedělat
Englishdo
Present
tense
dělám
děláš
dělá

děláme
děláte
dělají

Past
participle
dělal
Passive
participle
dělán
Imperativedělej!
dělejte!
dělejme!
Present
transgressive
dělaje
dělajíc
dělajíce
Past
transgressive
dělav
dělavši
dělavše

Irregular verbs

Infinitivebýtjíst
sníst
vědětchtítmoct
Englishbeeat
eat up
knowwantbe able to
Present
tense
jsem
jsi
je/(obsolete)jest

jsme
jste
jsou

jím/sním
jíš/sníš
jí/sní

jíme/sníme
jíte/sníte
jedí/snědí

vím
víš

víme
víte
vědí

chci
chceš
chce

chceme
chcete
chtějí

mohu/můžu
můžeš
může

můžeme
můžete
mohou/můžou

Past
participle
byljedl, snědlvědělchtělmohl
Passive
participle
(-byt)jeden/snědenvěděnchtěn
Imperativebuď!
buďte!
buďme!
jez/sněz!
jezte/snězte!
jezme/snězme!
věz!
vězte!
vězme!
chtěj!
chtějte!
chtějme!
Present
transgressive
jsa
jsouc
jsouce
jeda
jedouc
jedouce
věda
vědouc
vědouce
chtě/chtěje
chtíc/chtějíc
chtíce/chtějíce
moha
mohouc
mohouce
Past
transgressive
byv
byvši
byvše
(vy)jed, sněd
(vy)jedši, snědši
(vy)jedše, snědše
(z)věděv
(z)věděvši
(z)věděvše
chtěv
chtěvši
chtěvše

Irregular future tense:

Irregular negation:

See also

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References

  1. "Shoda přísudku s podmětem". Internet linguistic manual of Institute of the Czech Language . Retrieved 23 September 2021.
  2. "PRAVIDLA – Shoda přísudku s podmětem". Pravopisné. Retrieved 23 September 2021.