Czech declension describes the declension, or system of grammatically-determined modifications, in nouns, adjectives, pronouns and numerals in the Czech language. There is a system of 7 cases (nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, vocative, locative and instrumental) in Czech. Notice that no word has the maximum of 14 potential forms in singular and plural. Some forms are the same in more than one place in each paradigm. This is a list of cases as they are used by various inflectional languages that have declension. ... In linguistics, abessive (abbreviated ABESS, from Latin abesse to be distant), caritive and privative (abbreviated PRIV) are names for a grammatical case expressing the lack or absence of the marked noun. ... For the physical process, see ablation. ... In ergative-absolutive languages, the absolutive is the grammatical case used to mark both the subject of an intransitive verb and the object of a transitive verb. ... The accusative case of a noun is the grammatical case used to mark the direct object of a verb. ... In the Finnish language, Estonian language and Hungarian language the adessive case (from Latin adesse to be present) is the fourth of the locative cases with the basic meaning of on. For example, Estonian laud (table) and laual (on the table), Hungarian asztal and asztalon (on the table). ... The adverbial case is a noun case in the Abkhaz language and Georgian language that has function similar to the translative and essive cases. ... In the Finnish language, the Allative case is the fifth of the locative cases, with the basic meaning of onto. Its ending is -lle, for example pöytä (table) and pöydälle (onto the top of the table). ... The aversive case is a grammatical case found in Australian languages that indicates that the marked noun is avoided or feared. ... The benefactive case is a case used where English would use for, for the benefit of, or intended for. ... In linguistics, abessive (abbreviated ABESS, from Latin abesse to be distant), caritive and privative (abbreviated PRIV) are names for a grammatical case expressing the lack or absence of the marked noun. ... The causal or causative case (abbreviated CAUS) is a grammatical case that indicates that the marked noun is the cause or reason for something. ... This case in Hungarian language combines the Causal case and the Final case: it can express the cause of emotions (eg. ... The Comitative case is used where English would use in company with or together with. It, and many other cases, are found in the Finnish language, the Hungarian language, and the Estonian language. ... The dative case is a grammatical case generally used to indicate the noun to whom something is given. ... The delative case (from Latin deferre to bear or bring away or down) in the Hungarian language can originally express the movement from the surface of something (eg. ... In Indo-Aryan languages, the direct case is the name given to a grammatical case used with all three core relations: the agent of transitive verbs, the patient of transitive verbs, and the experiencer of intransitive verbs. ... This case in Hungarian language can express the manner when something happens to each member of a set one by one (eg. ... This case in Hungarian language can express how often something happens (eg. ... See Elative for disambiguation. ... The essive or similaris case carries the meaning of a temporary state of being, often equivalent to the English as a. ... In Hungarian language this case combines the Essive case and the Formal case, and it can express the position, task, state (eg. ... This case in Hungarian language can express the state, capacity, task in which somebody is or which somebody has (Essive case, eg. ... Equative is a case with the meaning of comparison, or likening. ... The aversive case is a grammatical case found in Australian languages that indicates that the marked noun is avoided or feared. ... The excessive case is a grammatical case, which denotes a transition away from a state. ... The genitive case is a grammatical case that indicates a relationship, primarily one of possession, between the noun in the genitive case and another noun. ... Illative case in the Finno-Ugric languages Illative (from Latin inferre to bring in) is, in the Finnish language, Estonian language and the Hungarian language, the third of the locative cases with the basic meaning of into (the inside of). An example from Hungarian would be a házba (into... Inessive case (from Latin inesse to be in or at) is a locative grammatical case. ... In the Finnish language, the instructive case has the basic meaning of by means of. It is a comparatively rarely used case, though it is found in some commonly used expressions, such as omin silmin -> with ones own eyes. In modern Finnish, many of its instrumental uses are being... In linguistics, the instrumental case (also called the eighth case) indicates that a noun is the instrument or means by which the subject achieves or accomplishes an action. ... Lative is a case which indicates motion to a location. ... Locative is a case which indicates a location. ... An oblique case (Latin: ) in linguistics is a noun case of analytic languages that is used generally when a noun is the predicate of a sentence or a preposition. ... An objective pronoun functions as the target of a verb, as distinguished from a subjective pronoun, which is the initiator of a verb. ... The basic meaning of the Partitive case is partialness, without result or without specifying identity. In the Finnish language, its used to express unknown identities and irresultative actions. ... Possessive case is a case that exists in some languages used for possession. ... In a passive sentence, when we want to say when or where something happens, we use a phrase that asks for details about the action. ... Prepositional case is a grammatical case that marks prepositions. ... In linguistics, abessive (abbreviated ABESS, from Latin abesse to be distant), caritive and privative (abbreviated PRIV) are names for a grammatical case expressing the lack or absence of the marked noun. ... The prolative case is a declension of a noun or pronoun that has the basic meaning of by way of. The prolative is widely used in Estonian. ... The prosecutive case is a declension found in Tundra Nenets language. ... This case in Hungarian language can express the person in whose company (cf. ... The subessive case is a case indicating location under or below. ... This case in Hungarian language can express the destination of the movement, originally to the surface of something (eg. ... The Superessive case is a grammatical declension indicating location on top of something. ... The temporal case in morphology is used to indicate a time. ... In morphology, the terminative case is a case that indicates to what point; where something ends. ... This declension (case) indicates a change in state of a noun, with the general sense of becoming X or change to X. In the Finnish language, this is the counterpart of the Essive case, with the basic meaning of a change of state. ... The vialis case is found in Eskimo languages. ... The vocative case is the case used for a noun identifying the person (animal, object, etc. ... In linguistics, morphosyntactic alignment is the system used to distinguish between the arguments of transitive verbs and intransitive verbs. ... In ergative-absolutive languages, the absolutive is the grammatical case used to mark both the subject of an intransitive verb and the object of a transitive verb. ... The accusative case of a noun is the grammatical case used to mark the direct object of a verb. ... In ergative-absolutive languages, the ergative case identifies the subject of a transitive verb. ... In linguistics, the instrumental case (also called the eighth case) indicates that a noun is the instrument or means by which the subject achieves or accomplishes an action. ... This case in Hungarian language contains the Instrumental case and the Comitative case at the same time. ... The tone of this article is inappropriate for an encyclopedia article. ... The nominative case is a grammatical case for a noun, which generally marks the subject of a verb, as opposed to its object or other verb arguments. ... In linguistics, the Pegative case is used for a case marking that a noun is an agent of an action that has a dative-like undergoer argument. ... In linguistics, declension is a paradigm of inflected nouns and adjectives. ... The English language once had an extensive declension system similar to modern German or Icelandic. ... German declension is the declensional system of the German language. ... Latin is an inflected language, and as such its nouns, pronouns, and adjectives must be declined in order to serve a grammatical function. ... See also: Slovak language. ... In linguistics, declension is a paradigm of inflected nouns and adjectives. ... A noun, or noun substantive, is a part of speech which can co-occur with (in)definite articles and attributive adjectives, and function as the head of a noun phrase. ... An adjective is a part of speech which modifies a noun, usually describing it or making its meaning more specific. ... In linguistics and grammar, a pronoun is a pro-form that substitutes for a noun phrase. ... A numeral is a symbol or group of symbols that represents a number. ... Czech (čeÅ¡tina []) is one of the West Slavic languages, along with Slovak, Polish, Pomeranian (Kashubian), and Lusatian Sorbian. ... In linguistics, declension is a feature of inflected languages: generally, the alteration of a noun to indicate its grammatical role. ... The nominative case is a grammatical case for a noun, which generally marks the subject of a verb, as opposed to its object or other verb arguments. ... The genitive case is a grammatical case that indicates a relationship, primarily one of possession, between the noun in the genitive case and another noun. ... The dative case is a grammatical case generally used to indicate the noun to whom something is given. ... The accusative case of a noun is the grammatical case used to mark the direct object of a verb. ... The vocative case is the case used for a noun identifying the person (animal, object, etc. ... Locative is a case which indicates a location. ... In linguistics, the instrumental case (also called the eighth case) indicates that a noun is the instrument or means by which the subject achieves or accomplishes an action. ... An inflectional paradigm is a table illustrating the forms of an inflected word. ...

Nouns

There are 14 paradigms of noun declension. The paradigm of nominal declension depends on the gender and the ending in the nominative of the noun. Since the late 1960s, the word paradigm (IPA: ) has referred to a thought pattern in any scientific discipline or other epistemological context. ... It has been suggested that natural gender be merged into this article or section. ... Look up affix in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The nominative case is a grammatical case for a noun, which generally marks the subject of a verb, as opposed to its object or other verb arguments. ...

For nouns in which the stem ends with a consonant group, floating e is usually inserted between last two consonants in cases with no ending. Examples: This article is in need of attention. ... In articulatory phonetics, a consonant is a sound in spoken language that is characterized by a closure or stricture of the vocal tract sufficient to cause audible turbulence. ...

zámek (N sg, A sg), zámku (G sg, D sg, V sg, L sg), zámkem (I sg), etc. (chateau; lock) - paradigm hrad

karta (N sg), ..., karet (G pl) (card) - paradigm žena

Consonant alternations at the end of the word-stem are also obvious in some cases, e.g. zámek (N sg) -> zámcích (L pl), Věra (N sg) -> Věře (D sg). The rule is complicated to describe. This article is in need of attention. ...

Masculine animate

pán - sir, lord; muž - man; předseda - chairman; soudce - judge; soudruh - mate, comrade

Masculine inanimate

hrad - castle; stroj - engine; les - forest; zámek - chateau, lock

Latin words ending -us are declined according to the paradigm pán (animate) or hrad (inanimate) as if there were no -us ending in the nominative: Brutus, Bruta, Brutovi, Bruta, Brute, Brutovi, Brutem Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in Latium, the region immediately surrounding Rome. ...

Feminine

žena - woman; růže - rose; píseň - song; kost - bone

Neuter

město - town; moře - sea; kuře - chicken; stavení - building, house

Latin words ending -um are declined according to the paradigm město: muzeum, muzea, muzeu, muzeum ... Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in Latium, the region immediately surrounding Rome. ...

Adjective

Adjective declension varies according to the gender of the noun which they are related to:

mladý muž (male) - young man

mladá žena (female) - young woman

mladé víno (neuter) - new wine, stum

Hard declension

mladý - young

Soft declension

jarní - spring, vernal

Possessive adjectives

Possessive adjectives are formed from animate singular nouns (masculine and feminine):

otec (father) -> otcův (father's)

matka (mother) -> matčin (mother's)

Examples:

otcův dům - father's house

matčino auto - mother's car

Possessive adjectives are often used in the names of streets, squares, buildins, etc.:

Neruda -> Nerudova ulice (Neruda street)

but:

Jan Neruda -> ulice Jana Nerudy (noun genitive)

partyzáni (partisans, guerilla) -> ulice Partyzánů

Comparisons

The comparative is formed by the suffix -ejší, -ější (most abundant), -ší or -í (there is no simple rule which suffix should be used). In grammar the comparative is the form of an adjective or adverb which denotes the degree or grade by which a person, thing, or other entity has a property or quality greater or less in extent than that of another. ... Suffix has meanings in linguistics, nomenclature and computer science. ...

The superlative is formed by adding the prefix nej- to the comparative. In grammar the superlative of an adjective or adverb is a form of adjective or adverb which indicates that something has some feature to a greater degree than anything it is being compared to in a given context. ...

Examples:

krásný - krásnější - nejkrásnější (beutiful - more beautiful - the most beautiful)

hladký - hladší - nejhladší (soft - softer - the softest)

The comparative and the superlative can be also formed by the words více (more)/méně (less) and nejvíce (most)/nejméně (least):

spokojený - více/méně spokojený - nejvíce/nejméně spokojený (satisfied - more/less satisfied - the most/least satisfied)

Irregular comparisons:

dobrý - lepší - nejlepší (good - better - the best)

zlý/špatný - horší - nejhorší (ill/bad - worse - the worst)

velký - větší - největší (big - bigger - the biggest)

malý - menší - nejmenší (small/little - smaller/less - the smallest/least)

Pronouns

Pronoun conjugation is complicated, some are conjugated according to adjective paradigms, some are irregular.

Personal pronouns

In some singular cases, short forms of pronouns are possible, which are clitics. They cannot be used with prepositions. They are unstressed, therefore they cannot be the first words in sentences. Usually they appear in second place in a sentence or clause, obeying Wackernagel's Law. Examples: This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Jacob Wackernagel (also Jakob, 1853–1938) was an Indo-Europeanist and scholar of Sanskrit. ...

Nedávej mi to. Don't give it to me.

Mně to nedávej. Don't give it to me. (emphasizing mně)

Přijď ke mně. Come to me.

In 3rd person (singular and plural) j-forms are used without prepositions, n-forms are used after prepositions:

Ukaž mu to. or Ukaž to jemu. (emphasizing jemu) Show it to him.

Přišla k němu. She came to him.

Accusative forms jej (on), je, ně (ono) are usually regarded as archaic.

They: oni - masculine animate gender, ony - masculine inanimate and feminine genders, ona - neuter gender

Reflexive personal pronoun

Reflexive personal pronoun is used when the object is identical to the subject. It has no nominative form and it is the same for all persons and numbers. It is translated into English as myself, yourself, himself, etc.

Example:

Vidím se (sebe) v zrcadle. I see myself in the mirror.

Short form se and si are a part of reflexive verbs, they are not usually translated into English: This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ...

Posaď se./Sedni si. Sit down.

Possessive pronouns

Můj - my Tvůj - your

Jeho - his, its
This pronoun is indeclinable.

Její - her

Náš - our Váš - your

Jejich - their
This pronoun is indeclinable.

Reflexive possessive pronoun

Reflexive possessive pronoun is used when possessing to the subject. It is identical for all persons.

Examples:

Vidím svého otce. I see my father.

Vidíš svého otce. You see your father.

Compare:

On vidí svého otce. He sees his father. (his own father)

On vidí jeho otce. He sees his father. (the father of someone else)

Demonstrative pronouns

Ten - the, this, that

Tento, tato, toto (this) and tamten, tamta, tamto (that) are declined as ten + to (tento, tohoto, tomuto ...), resp. tam + ten (tamten, tamtoho, tamtomu ...).
Onen, ona, ono (that - not to be confused with personal pronouns) is declined as ten (onen, onoho, onomu ...).

To is often used as personal pronoun instead of ono (it):

Dej mi to. Give it to me.

"To je/jsou" means "this is/these are" and is used for all genders and both numbers:

To je můj přítel. This is my friend. (Přítel is masculine.)

To jsou mí přátelé. These are my friends.

Interrogative and relative pronouns

Kdo - who Co - what

Který - which, who
declined as mladý

Jaký - what
declined as mladý

Compare:

Co je to? What is it/this?

Jaké je to? What is it like?

Čí - whose
declined as jarní

Jenž - which, who

Jež is not an interrogative pronoun, it is equivalent to který (as a relative pronoun):

Vidím muže, který/jenž právě přichází. I can see a man who is just coming.

Indefinite and negative pronouns

Někdo - somebody, someone
Nikdo - nobody, no one
declined like kdo (někdo, někoho, někomu, ...; nikdo, nikoho, nikomu, ...)

Něco - something
Nic - nothing
declined like co (něco, něčeho, něčemu, ...; nic, ničeho, ničemu, ...)

Každý - every, each
Nějaký, některý - some, one, a(n)
Žádný, nijaký - no (as in "no man has ever been there")
declined like mladý

See also

• Czech language
• Czech alphabet
• Czech name
• Czech orthography
• Czech verb