Czech Skill:Relative

Relative is the 65th skill (assuming read left to right) of the Czech language tree. This skill introduces the construction of relative clauses using relative pronouns as the connector.

Grammar Notes[]

Relative pronoun který[]

Relative clauses are clauses which either:

define the topic in the main clause (called a restrictive or defining clause. E.g. "The girl that I marry....")
give more information about the topic in the main clause (non-restrictive, non defining. E.g. "The girl, whose name was Mary..."

Relative clauses are joined to the main clause by a relative pronoun such as "which", "whose" etc. In Czech a typical relative pronoun is který which can be translated as "which", "who" etc depending on context. The is the same který which is an interrogative pronoun "which" used in questions.

Relative pronouns in Czech

are always set off by a comma (unlike English)
cannot be omitted
may or may not been preceded by a preposition
they have a declension. The case is determined by the subordinate clause and the number/gender matches the topic which the main clause refers to.

který declension singular:

	Masc. animate	Masc. inanimate	Feminine	Neuter
nominative	který	který	která	které
genitive	kterého	kterého	které	kterého
dative	kterému	kterému	které	kterému
accusative	kterého	který	kterou	které
locative	kterém	kterém	které	kterém
instrumental	kterým	kterým	kterou	kterým

který declension plural:

	Masc. animate	Masc. inanimate	Feminine	Neuter
nominative	kteří	které	které	která
genitive	kterých	kterých	kterých	kterých
dative	kterým	kterým	kterým	kterým
accusative	které	které	které	která
locative	kterých	kterých	kterých	kterých
instrumental	kterými	kterými	kterými	kterými

Examples:

Tohle je ten dům, který se líbí Žofii. = This is the house which Zofie likes. (sing. masc. inanimate
Vzal si dívku, u které každé ráno kupoval mléko. = He married the girl from whom he bought milk each morning. (sing. feminine "the girl", genitive "u" goes with genitive)

Relative pronoun jenž[]

In formal contexts, "jenž" can be used in place of "který".

jenž declension singular:

	Masc. animate	Masc. inanimate	Feminine	Neuter
nominative	jenž	jenž	jež	jež
genitive	jehož, jejž, něhož, nějž	jehož, jejž, něhož, nějž	jíž, níž	jehož, jejž, něhož, nějž
dative	jemuž, němuž	jemuž, němuž	jíž, níž	jemuž, němuž
accusative	jehož, jejž, něhož, nějž	jejž, nějž	již, niž	jež, něž
locative	němž	němž	níž	němž
instrumental	jímž, nímž	jímž, nímž	jíž, níž	jímž, nímž

jenž declension plural:

	Masc. animate	Masc. inanimate	Feminine	Neuter
nominative	již	jež	jež	jež
genitive	jichž, nichž	jichž, nichž	jichž, nichž	jichž, nichž
dative	jimž, nimž	jimž, nimž	jimž, nimž	jimž, nimž
accusative	jež, něž	jež, něž	jež, něž	jež, něž
locative	nichž	nichž	nichž	nichž
instrumental	jimiž, nimiž	jimiž, nimiž	jimiž, nimiž	jimiž, nimiž

Relative clause in mid sentence[]

A relative clause can occur in mid sentence, interposed within the main clause. Usually this is in order to define the element or topic of the main clause. For example:

Dívku, u které/níž každé ráno kupoval mléko, si vzal. = (literal) The girl, from whom he bought milk each morning, he married.
Těm myším, jež byly v koupelně, se něco stalo. = (literal) The mice, who were in the toilet, something happened to them.

Note the position of the reflexive "se" which must always occupy the second grammatical position in the sentence. Here the relative clause is needed to completed the meaning of the main subject, and so it is the first grammatical unit of meaning and occupies the first position. The "se" therefore comes after it but before the main verb.

Lessons[]

Lesson 1[]

Examples of relative pronouns , singular or plural in the nominative case

Znám tři lidi, kteří.... = I know three people who.... (plural masc.)
Tohle je ten dům, který.... = This is the house which.... (sing. masc. inam.)
Hledáme automobil, jenž.... = We are looking for the car which.... (sing. masc. inam.)
Psal o ptácích, již.... = He wrote about birds which.... (plural masc.)
Ukradli všechno, co.... = They stole everything which.... (sing. acc.)
Kde je ta dívka, která.... = Where is the girl who was.... (sing. fem.)
Slyším to, co jiní neslyší = I hear what/that which others do not hear
Našli jsme toho psa, jenž.... = We found the dog which/who.... (sing. masc.)
Dělá jen to, co chce = She only does what/that which she wants
František udělal všechno, co.... = František did everything which....

Lesson 2[]

...jména všech dívek, jež.... = ...names of all the girls who,,,, (plural, neuter. nom.)
...v těch dopisech, jež.... = ...in those letters which.... (plural, masc. inam. nom.)
...ta děvčata, jež.... = ...the girls who.... (plural, fem. nom.)
...z vesnice, jež.... = from a village which.... (singular, fem. nom.)
...to rádio, jež.... = the radio which.... (singular, neuter, nom.)
...věci, jež.... = the things which.... (plural, fem. nom.)
...mezi talíři, jež byly v.... = between the plates which were in (plural, masc. inam. nom.)
...zvířata, jež mají.... = animals which have (plural, neuter, nom.)
Těm myším, jež byly v.... = Those mice which were in.... (plural, fem. nom.)

Lesson 3[]

Kde je to auto, které jsme ukradli? = Where is the car which we stole (sing. neuter, acc. Relative clause is "We stole the car", so car is accusative)
To není ten Matěj, jehož si bere Žofie. = This is not the Matěj whom Žofie is marrying. (sing. masc. anim. acc.)
Co bylo v tom kufru, jejž František zapomněl? = What was in the suitcase which František forgot? (sing. masc. inam. acc.)
Je to kniha o muži, na něhož všichni zapomněli. = Is the book about a man whom everyone forgot? (sing. masc. acc. with preposition)
To je ten podnikatel, pro něhož pracuji. = This is the businessman for whom I work. (sing. masc. acc. with preposition)
Dívku, kterou tehdy miloval, už nepoznává. = The girl, whom he loved then, he no longer recognises. (sing. fem. acc.)
Je to ten muž, kterého jsme vzali.... = Is this the man, whom we took.... (sing. masc. acc.)
Nevím o tom klukovi, jejž jsem ráno našla.... = I do not know about the boy whom I found in the morning.... (sing. masc. acc.)
Co si myslíš o tom chlapci, na nějž se díváš? = What do you think about the boy whom you are looking at? (sing. masc. acc.)
Co bylo v posledním dopise, jejž ti napsala? = What was in the last letter which she wrote to you? (sing. masc. inam. acc.)
Něco o tom hochovi, pro nějž máme koupit.... = About the boy, for whom we are buying.... (sing. masc. acc. with preposition)
...ten vlak, na nějž čekáme? = ...that train which we are waiting for (sing. masc. inam. acc. with preposition)

Lesson 4[]

..., jež jsem v sobotu umyl = which I washed on saturday (sing. neuter acc.)
..., na něž se těším = which I am not looking forward to (plural, all genders, acc.)
..., jež chtěl Matěj = which Matej wanted (sing. neuter acc.)
..., již jsme koupili = which we bought (sing. fem. acc.)
..., o niž se dobře stará = which he takes good care of (sing. fem. prep)
..., jež vyrábíme my = which we manufacture (plural fem. acc.)
..., na něž jste čekal = which you were waiting for (sing. neuter acc. prep)
..., o niž se Matěj zajímá = which Matej is interested in (sing. fem. acc. prep)

Lesson 5[]

...psa, jejž se František bojí = dog which Frantisek is afraid of (sing. masc. genitive)
...dveře, u kterých jsem stál = door at which I was standing (plural fem. genitive)
...talíř, z něhož jsem jedl = plate from which I was eating (sing. masc. inam. genitive with prepostion)
...místo, z něhož pocházím = place from which I come (sing. neuter, genitive with preposition)
...zvířata, bez kterých.... = animals without which.... (plural neuter genitive)
...jeho matka, jíž se všichni báli = his mother whom everyone is afraid of (sing. fem. genitive)
...ženy, jichž si Matěj váží = women whom Matej respects (plural fem. genitive)
...děvčeti, jehož jsem se zeptal.... = child whom I asked.... (sing. neuter, genitive)
...soused, od něhož jsme koupili.... = neighbour from whom we bought (sing. masc. genitive with preposition)
...tramvaj, do níž nastoupil.... = tram onto which he boarded (sing. fem. genitive with preposition)
...letadlo, z něhož jsme vystoupili.... = airplane from which we disembarked (sing. neuter, genitive with preposition)
Strom, z něhož.... = The tree from which (sing. masc. inam. genitive with preposition)

Lesson 6[]

Examples of relative pronouns in the locative case

...náměstí, na kterém stojíme = the square on which we stand (sing. neuter)
...ženu, o níž nic nevěděl = woman about whom he knew nothing (sing. fem.)
...dům, v němž bydlí Matěj = house in which Matej lives (sing. masc. inam.)
...dopis, v němž si na tebe stěžovaly = letter in which they complained against you (sing. masc inam.)
...muže, o němž nic nevěděla = man about whom she knew nothing (sing. masc.)
...pohovka, na níž sedíme = sofa on which we sit (sing. fem.)
...kolo, na němž jezdím = bicycle on which I ride (sing. neuter)
...triko, v němž spala = tee-shirt in which she slept (sing. neuter)
...bratranec, o němž jsem ti psal = cousin whom I wrote to you about (sing. masc.)
...hotel, v němž jste bydleli = hotel in which you stayed (sing. masc. inam.)
...kůň, na němž jezdí = horse on which they ride (sing. masc.)
...řeka, po níž cestujeme = river along which we travel (sing. fem.)
...o věcech, o nichž nic nevíš = about things you know nothing about (plural, fem.)

Lesson 7[]

Mainly examples with relative pronoun in the instrumental case

lidé, s nimiž jsi čekal = people with whom you are waiting (plural, masc. with preposition)
slovo, jímž jsem ji zranil = word with which I hurt her (sing. neuter)
Restaurace, před níž čekal = The restaurant in front of which he waited (sing. fem. with preposition)
názory, s nimiž nesouhlasím = opinion with which I disagree (plural, masc. inam. with preposition)
nádraží, před nímž čekáš = station in front of which you are waiting (sing. neuter with preposition)
ten nůž, kterým ji zabil = the knife he killed her with (sing. masc. inam.)
stolu, pod nímž spaly tři kočky = table under which three cats were sleeping (sing. masc. inam. with preposition)
v kabátu, pod nímž měla = in a coat under which she had (sing. masc. inam. with preposition)
do restaurace, s níž nebyl spokojený = to the restaurant with which he was dissatisfied (sing. fem. with preposition)
Auto, jímž jezdí do školy = car he drives to school with (sing. neuter)
jazyk, jímž mluví její dcera = language which her daughther speaks (masc. inam.)
ten hoch, s nímž jsi mluvila = the boy with whom you were speaking (sing. masc. with preposition)
ulice, pod níž jsme = the street we are under (sing. fem. with preposition)
ten student, s nímž čekáš dítě = the student with whom you are expecting a child (sing. masc. with preposition)

Lesson 8[]

Practice in various cases

Její oči, kvůli nimž.... = her eyes, because of which
Náš nejmladší syn, jemuž je osmnáct = Our youngest son, who is eighteen
Náš nejmladší syn, kterému je osmnác = Our youngest son, who is eighteen
má nejlepší přítelkyně, jíž říkám = my best friend, whom I tell
tým, proti němuž = a team against which
můj nejlepší přítel, kterému říkám = my best friend whom I tell
Moji rodiče, jimž pivo nechutná = My parents, who do not like beer
triko, v němž spala = the tee-shirt which she slept in
v růžovém triku, díky němuž = in a pink tee-shirt, thanks to which
Existuje sýr, k němuž = Does there exist cheese with which
ten kolega, kvůli němuž = the colleague thanks to whom
teta, jíž bude osmdesát = aunt, who will be eighty
své tělo, díky němuž = her body, thanks to which