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Describe Something
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Language Czech
Skills 91
Skill No. 6
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Describe Something is the 5th skill of the Czech language tree.

Grammar Notes[]

Singular forms of "to be"[]

  • (Já) jsem = I am
  • (Ty) jsi = informal You are
  • (On/Ona/Ono) je = He/She/It is

The subject pronouns Já, Ty and so on may be omitted. If included, it would be interpreted (with some exceptions) as adding emphasis.

Pronoun "to"[]

"To" has several functions:

  • a definite article or demonstrative adjective "that" for singular neuter nouns
    • To zvíře je staré. (The/that animal is old.)
  • As demonstrative attached to singular nouns
    • To je dobré/nové. (It/that is good/new.)
  • As a stand-alone subject of a sentence with a noun in the predicate. The noun can be any gender, not necessarily neuter.
    • To je nový stroj. (It/that is a new machine.)
    • Je to mladá žena. (She is a young woman.)
    • Je to malé dítě. (It is a little child.)
  • As a stand-alone subject of a sentence without a noun in the adjectival predicate. Here the pronoun must agree in number and gender with the adjective:
    • Ta je nová. (That [one] is new.)
    • Ten je nový.
    • To je nové.

Negation[]

  • (Já) nejsem (I am not)
  • (Ty) nejsi (informal You are not)
  • (On/Ona/Ono) není (He/She/It is not)

Czech verbs can usually be negated by adding ne in front but není is one of the rare exceptions.

Yes/no questions[]

Questions inviting a yes/no answer are like statements, with a question mark at the end. In speech, the question is indicated by a rising tone.

Informal vs formal You[]

The ty form is the informal singular. Czech also has a formal you form to be introduced later.

Lessons[]

Lesson 1[]

  • pero = pen
  • strom = tree
  • Je to džus. = It is juice.
  • Je ten strom starý? = Is that tree old?
  • Ano a ne. = Yes and no.
  • Je to myš. = It is a mouse.
  • Ten muž je vysoký. = That man is tall.
  • Ten strom je vysoký. = That tree is tall.
  • Žofie je mladá a vysoká. = Žofie is young and tall.
  • Ty jsi Jakub? = Are you Jakub?
  • Ty jsi Žofie? = Are you Žofie?
  • Ty jsi mladá. = You are young.
  • To dítě je vysoké. = That child is tall.
  • Ten strom je velký a starý. = That tree is big and old.
  • Je to nové pero. = It is a new pen.
  • Kde je to nové pero? = Where is the new pen?
  • To nové pero je tady. = The new pen is here.
  • Ne, to není strom. = No, that is not a tree.
  • Ale to není strom. = But that is not a tree.
  • Je to vysoký strom. = It is a tall tree.
  • Jsi velký kluk. = You are a big boy.
  • Ne, nejsi stará. = No, you are not old.
  • František je vysoký muž. = František is a tall man.
  • Dítě je velké a žena malá. = The child is big and the woman is small.
  • á é ě í ó ú Ú ů ý č Č ň ř Ř š Š ť ž Ž

Lesson 2[]

  • učitel = teacher (male)
  • had = snake
  • cizinec = foreigner
  • Je to had? = Is it a snake?
  • Nejsem dítě. = I am not a child.
  • Ty jsi Čech? = You are Czech?
  • Já nejsem Čech. = I am not Czech.
  • Je Matěj Čech? = Is Matěj Czech?
  • Ten mladý Čech je vysoký. = That young Czech is tall.
  • Je to malý muž. = He is a small man.
  • To není muž ale kluk. = That is not a man but a boy.
  • Je to učitel. = He is a teacher.
  • Je to dobrý učitel. = He is a good teacher.
  • Ten učitel není dobrý. = That teacher is not good.
  • Ty jsi cizinec? = Are you a foreigner?
  • Je to dlouhý had. = It is a long snake.
  • Je to dlouhý banán. = It is a long banana.
  • To slovo je nové. = The word is new.
  • To slovo je dlouhé. = That word is long.
  • Kde ta stará cizinka jí? = Where does the old foreigner eat?
  • Kde je ten had? = Where is that snake?
  • Ne, já nejsem cizinec. = No, I am not a foreigner.
  • á é ě í ó ú Ú ů ý č Č ň ř Ř š Š ť ž Ž

Lesson 3[]

  • ovce = sheep
  • Jsi ovce? = Are you a sheep?
  • To není velká ovce. = That is not a big sheep.
  • Ta ovce je stará. = That sheep is old.
  • Ne, není. = No, it is not.
  • On není mladý. = He is not young.
  • František není učitel. = František is not a teacher.
  • Máma je Češka. = Mom is Czech.
  • Je to Češka. = She is Czech.
  • Je Žofie Češka? = Is Žofie Czech?
  • Ta holka není Češka. = That girl is not Czech.
  • Máma je cizinka. = Mom is a foreigner.
  • Je to cizinka. = She is a foreigner.
  • Není velká, ale malá. = She is not big, but small.
  • Ta nová košile je velká. = The new shirt is large.
  • Velké mléko prosím. = Large milk please.
  • To zvíře je mladé, ale velké. = The animal is young, but big.
  • Ten strom není malý, ale velký. = The tree is not small, but big.
  • To je učilteka. = She is a teacher.
  • Ta vysoká cizinka je učilteka. = The tall foreigner is a teacher.
  • Velké mléko, prosím. = A large milk, please.
  • To velké zvíře není koza. = that big animal is not a goat.
  • á é ě í ó ú Ú ů ý č Č ň ř Ř š Š ť ž Ž

Lesson 4[]

  • voda = water
  • pták = bird
  • rajče = tomato
  • tričko = T-shirt
  • pes = dog
  • kočka = cat
  • koza = goat
  • Je to malý pták. = It is a small bird.
  • Je to velký pták. = It is a large bird.
  • Je to rajče? = Is it a tomato?
  • To není pes. = That is not a dog.
  • To není kočka. = That is not a cat.
  • To není voda. = That is not water.
  • Je to nové tričko. = It is a new T-shirt.
  • Kde je ta koza? = Where is that goat?
  • Ta koza je tady. = The goat is here.
  • Je to mladá koza. = It is a young goat.
  • Kde je čistá voda? = Where is the clean water?
  • Je ta voda čistá? = Is that water clean?
  • Je ten pes čistý? = Is that dog clean?
  • Ta kočka je čistá. = That cat is clean.
  • To tričko je čisté. = That T-shirt is clean.
  • To tričko je dlouhé. = That T-shirt is long.
  • Je to dlouhé zvíře pes? = Is that long animal a dog?
  • Ten pták není malý. = That bird is not small.
  • Je to mladá koza. = It is a young goat.
  • Záchod není čistý. = The restroom is not clean.
  • Je to stará kočka. = It is an old cat.
  • Ten pes je velký. = That dog is big.
  • Je to velký dům. = It is a large house.
  • á é ě í ó ú Ú ů ý č Č ň ř Ř š Š ť ž Ž

References[]