| To Be (singular) | |
|---|---|
| Language | Czech |
| Skills | 91 |
| Skill No. | 10 |
| Previous skill | Use the Plural |
| Next skill | To Be (plural) |
To Be (singular) is the 5th skill (assuming read left to right) of the Czech language tree. It has 4 lessons which teach you how to use pronouns, and form "I am x" and "I am not x" sentences.
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[]
- já = I
- jsem = I am, am I?
Lesson 2[]
- ty = you (sg.)
- jsi = you (sg.) are, are you (sg.)?
Lesson 3[]
- slovo = word (neuter)
- je = is
- ona = she
- on = he
- ono = it
Lesson 4[]
- ale = but/however
- nejsem = I am not
- není = (he/she/it) is not
- nejsi = you (sg.) are not
References[]