Czech declension

Czech declension is a complex system of grammatically determined modifications of nouns, adjectives, pronouns and numerals in Czech, one of the Slavic languages. Czech has seven cases: nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, vocative, locative and instrumental, partly inherited from Proto-Indo-European and Proto-Slavic. Some forms of words match in more than one place in each paradigm.

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.
In Czech the letters d, h, ch, k, n, r and t are considered 'hard' consonants and č, ř, š, ž, c, j, ď, ť, and ň are considered 'soft'. Others are ambiguous, so nouns ending in b, f, l, m, p, s, v and z may take either form.
For nouns in which the stem ends with a consonant group, a floating e is usually inserted between the last two consonants in cases with no ending. Examples:
Consonant or vowel alternations in the word-stem are also obvious in some cases, e.g. zámek → zámcích, Věra → Věře, kniha → knize, moucha → mouše, hoch → hoši, kluk → kluci, bůh → bozích, kolega → kolezích, moucha → much, smlouva → smluv, díra → děr, víra → věr, kráva → krav, dvůr → dvora, hnůj → hnoje, sůl → soli, lest → lsti, čest → cti, křest → křtu, mistr → mistře, švec → ševce. See Czech phonology for more details.

Masculine animate

''pán – sir, lord; kluk – boy; host – guest; manžel – husband; muž – man; kůň – horse; učitel – teacher; otec – father; předseda – chairman; turista – tourist; cyklista – cyclist; kolega – colleague; soudce – judge; mluvčí -speaker, spokesman''

Masculine inanimate

		Hard	Soft
Sg.	Nominative	hrad	stroj
Sg.	Genitive	hradu lesa	stroje
Sg.	Dative	hradu	stroji
Sg.	Accusative	hrad	stroj
Sg.	Vocative	hrade! zámku!	stroji!
Sg.	Locative	hradu, hradě lese	stroji
Sg.	Instrumental	hradem	strojem
Pl.	Nominative	hrady	stroje
Pl.	Genitive	hradů	strojů
Pl.	Dative	hradům	strojům
Pl.	Accusative	hrady	stroje
Pl.	Vocative	hrady!	stroje!
Pl.	Locative	hradech zámcích	strojích
Pl.	Instrumental	hrady	stroji

hrad – castle; les – forest; zámek – chateau, lock; stroj – machine
Latin words ending -us are declined according to the paradigm pán or hrad as if there were no -us ending in the nominative: Brutus, Bruta, Brutovi, Bruta, Brute, Brutovi, Brut'''em'''

Feminine

''žena – woman; škola – school; husa – goose; ulice – street; růže – rose; píseň – song; postel – bed; dveře – door; kost – bone; ves – village''

Neuter

		Hard	Soft	Mixed suffix	Long i-stem
Sg.	Nominative	město	moře	kuře	stavení
Sg.	Genitive	města	moře	kuřete	stavení
Sg.	Dative	městu	moři	kuřeti	stavení
Sg.	Accusative	město	moře	kuře	stavení
Sg.	Vocative	město!	moře!	kuře!	stavení!
Sg.	Locative	městě, městu	moři	kuřeti	stavení
Sg.	Instrumental	městem	mořem	kuřetem	stavením
Pl.	Nominative	města	moře	kuřata	stavení
Pl.	Genitive	měst	moří	kuřat	stavení
Pl.	Dative	městům	mořím	kuřatům	stavením
Pl.	Accusative	města	moře	kuřata	stavení
Pl.	Vocative	města!	moře!	kuřata!	stavení!
Pl.	Locative	městech jablkách, jablcích	mořích	kuřatech	staveních
Pl.	Instrumental	městy	moři	kuřaty	staveními

město – town; jablko – apple; moře – sea; kuře – chicken; stavení – building, house; Latin words ending -um are declined according to the paradigm město'': muzeum, muzea, muzeu, muzeum...''

Irregular nouns

The parts of the body have irregular, originally dual, declension, especially in the plural forms, but only when used to refer to the parts of the body and not in metaphorical contexts. For example, when "noha" is used to refer to the part of the body, it declines as below, but when used to refer to a leg on a chair or table, it declines regularly.

Sg.	Nominative	oko	ucho	rameno	koleno	ruka	noha
Sg.	Genitive	oka	ucha	ramena ramene	kolena kolene	ruky	nohy
Sg.	Dative	oku	uchu	ramenu rameni	kolenu koleni	ruce	noze
Sg.	Accusative	oko	ucho	rameno	koleno	ruku	nohu
Sg.	Vocative	oko!	ucho!	rameno!	koleno!	ruko!	noho!
Sg.	Locative	oku	uchu	ramenu rameni rameně	kolenu koleni koleně	ruce	noze
Sg.	Instrumental	okem	uchem	ramenem	kolenem	rukou	nohou
Pl.	Nominative	oči	uši	ramena	kolena	ruce	nohy
Pl.	Genitive	očí	uší	ramenou ramen	kolenou kolen	rukou	nohou
Pl.	Dative	očím	uším	ramenům	kolenům	rukám	nohám
Pl.	Accusative	oči	uši	ramena	kolena	ruce	nohy
Pl.	Vocative	oči!	uši!	ramena!	kolena!	ruce!	nohy!
Pl.	Locative	očích	uších	ramenou ramenech	kolenou kolenech	rukou rukách	nohou nohách
Pl.	Instrumental	očima	ušima	rameny	koleny	rukama	nohama

oko – eye, ucho – ear, rameno – shoulder, koleno – knee, ruka – hand/arm, noha – foot/leg.

Sg.	Nominative	bůh	člověk	obyvatel	přítel
Sg.	Genitive	boha	člověka	obyvatele	přítele
Sg.	Dative	bohu bohovi	člověku člověkovi	obyvateli obyvatelovi	příteli přítelovi
Sg.	Accusative	boha	člověka	obyvatele	přítele
Sg.	Vocative	bože!	člověče!	obyvateli!	příteli!
Sg.	Locative	bohu bohovi	člověku člověkovi	obyvateli obyvatelovi	příteli přítelovi
Sg.	Instrumental	bohem	člověkem	obyvatelem	přítelem
Pl.	Nominative	bohové bozi	lidé	obyvatelé	přátelé
Pl.	Genitive	bohů	lidí	obyvatelů obyvatel	přátel
Pl.	Dative	bohům	lidem	obyvatelům	přátelům
Pl.	Accusative	bohy	lidi	obyvatele	přátele
Pl.	Vocative	bohové! bozi!	lidé!	obyvatelé!	přátelé!
Pl.	Locative	bozích	lidech	obyvatelích	přátelích
Pl.	Instrumental	bohy	lidmi	obyvateli	přáteli

bůh – god, člověk – person, lidé – people, obyvatel – resident, přítel – friend
Submodels of feminine declension

Sg.	Nominative	dcera	ulice
Sg.	Genitive	dcery	ulice
Sg.	Dative	dceři	ulici
Sg.	Accusative	dceru	ulici
Sg.	Vocative	dcero!	ulice!
Sg.	Locative	dceři	ulici
Sg.	Instrumental	dcerou	ulicí
Pl.	Nominative	dcery	ulice
Pl.	Genitive	dcer	ulic
Pl.	Dative	dcerám	ulicím
Pl.	Accusative	dcery	ulice
Pl.	Vocative	dcery!	ulice!
Pl.	Locative	dcerách	ulicích
Pl.	Instrumental	dcerami	ulicemi

dcera – daughter, ulice – street
Submodels of neuter declension

Sg.	Nominative	vejce	letiště
Sg.	Genitive	vejce	letiště
Sg.	Dative	vejci	letišti
Sg.	Accusative	vejce	letiště
Sg.	Vocative	vejce!	letiště!
Sg.	Locative	vejci	letišti
Sg.	Instrumental	vejcem	letištěm
Pl.	Nominative	vejce	letiště
Pl.	Genitive	vajec	letišť
Pl.	Dative	vejcím	letištím
Pl.	Accusative	vejce	letiště
Pl.	Vocative	vejce!	letiště!
Pl.	Locative	vejcích	letištích
Pl.	Instrumental	vejci	letišti

vejce – egg, letiště – airport
Other cases of special inflection

Sg.	Nominative	loket	dvůr	čest	zeď	loď
Sg.	Genitive	lokte loktu	dvoru dvora	cti	zdi	lodi lodě
Sg.	Dative	lokti loktu	dvoru	cti	zdi	lodi
Sg.	Accusative	loket	dvůr	čest	zeď	loď
Sg.	Vocative	lokte! lokti	dvore!	cti!	zdi!	lodi!
Sg.	Locative	lokti loktu loktě	dvoru dvoře	cti	zdi	lodi
Sg.	Instrumental	loktem	dvorem	ctí	zdí	lodí
Pl.	Nominative	lokty	dvory	cti	zdi	lodi lodě
Pl.	Genitive	loktů	dvorů	ctí	zdí	lodí
Pl.	Dative	loktům	dvorům	ctem	zdem zdím	lodím
Pl.	Accusative	lokty	dvory	cti	zdi	lodi lodě
Pl.	Vocative	lokty!	dvory!	cti	zdi	lodi lodě
Pl.	Locative	loktech	dvorech	ctech	zdech zdích	lodích
Pl.	Instrumental	lokty	dvory	ctmi	zdmi	loďmi loděmi

''loket – elbow, dvůr – courtyard, čest – honour, zeď – wall, loď – boat''

Adjective

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

Hard declension

''mladý – young''

Soft declension

''jarní – spring, vernal''

Possessive adjectives

Possessive adjectives are formed from animate singular nouns :
Examples:
Possessive adjectives are often used in the names of streets, squares, buildings, etc.:
but:

Comparisons

The comparative is formed by the suffix -ejší, -ější, -ší, or -í.
The superlative is formed by adding the prefix nej- to the comparative.
Examples:
The comparative and the superlative can be also formed by the words více /méně and nejvíce /nejméně :
'''Irregular comparisons:'''

Short forms

There are also short forms in some adjectives. They are used in the nominative and are regarded as literary in the contemporary language. They are related to active and passive participles.
Example:
Rád is used in a short form only: ''Jsem rád, že jste přišli.''

Pronouns

Pronoun declension is complicated, some are declined 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:
In 3rd person j-forms are used without prepositions, n-forms are used after prepositions:
Accusative forms jej, je, ně 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.

Nominative	----
Genitive	sebe
Dative	sobě, si
Accusative	sebe, se
Locative	sobě
Instrumental	sebou

Example:
Short form se and si are again clitics; often they are a part of reflexive verbs and as such are not usually translated into English explicitly:

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
The reflexive possessive pronoun is used when the possessor is also the subject. It is identical for all persons.
Examples:
Compare:

Demonstrative pronouns

Ten – the, this, that
Tenhle, tahle, tohle/'tento, tato, toto and tamten, tamta, tamto are declined as ten + to, resp. tam + ten.
Onen, ona, ono is declined as ten.
To' is often used as personal pronoun instead of ono :
"To je/jsou" means "this is/these are" and is used for all genders and both numbers:

Interrogative and relative pronouns

Kdo – who
Co – what

Nominative	kdo	co
Genitive	koho	čeho
Dative	komu	čemu
Accusative	koho	co
Locative	kom	čem
Instrumental	kým	čím

Který – which, who

declined as mladý
Jaký – what, what kind, what type

declined as mladý
Compare:
Čí – whose

declined as jarní
Jenž – which, who
Jenž is not an interrogative pronoun, it is equivalent to který :

Indefinite and negative pronouns

někdo, kdos – somebody, someone

nikdo – nobody, no one

kdokoli – anyone

leckdo, ledakdo, kdekdo – many people, frequently/commonly someone

declined like kdo
něco – something

nic – nothing

cokoli – anything

lecco, ledaco, ledaco, kdeco – many things, frequently/commonly something

declined like co
každý – each, each one

nějaký – some, one, a

některý – some, particular, selected

kterýsi, jakýsi – some, someone

žádný – none, no

nijaký – no whatsoever; of no properties

jakýkoli, kterýkoli – any

lecjaký, ledajaký, kdejaký, kdekterý – frequently/commonly some, whichever

všelijaký – getting many forms, various

veškerý – entire, total, all

declined like mladý
něčí, čísi – belonging to someone or something

ničí – belonging to no one or nothing

číkoli – belonging to any one or anything

lecčí, ledačí, kdečí – belonging to many or frequent/common number of owners, whosever

declined like jarní
Czech grammar allows more than one negative word to exist in a sentence. For example: „Tady nikde nikdy nikdo nijak odnikud nikam nepostoupí.‟, standing for: "Anywhere around here, no one will ever progress from any place anywhere in any way.", uses six negatives in adverbs and pronouns and one at verb while still being grammatically correct. It uses negative form in questions, expressing doubts, wishes, asking for favours, etc. like, for example: „Neměl bys být už ve škole?!‟ ; „Neměl byste na mě pár minut čas?‟ ; „Nemáš náhodou papír a tužku?‟ ; ''„Přišel jsem se tě zeptat, jestli bychom si nemohli vyměnit směny.‟''

Prepositions with certain cases

Czech prepositions are matched with certain cases of nouns. They are usually not matched with the nominative case, which is primarily used as the subject in sentences. However, there are some exceptions to this rule: foreign prepositions are matched with the nominative, but their use is very rare. No prepositions are matched with the vocative, because it is used for addressing people only.
Genitive:
Dative:
Accusative:
Locative:
'''Instrumental:'''

Plural forms

Like other Slavic languages, Czech distinguishes two different plural forms in the nominative case. For numbers 2 to 4 or in cases where the quantity of the plural noun is not defined in any way, the nominative plural form is used. For higher numbers or when used with a quantifying adjective, the genitive form is used, and any following verb will be neuter singular. This declension applies to nouns and adjectives.

Singular nominative	1 dlouhá hodina
Nominative plural	2 dlouhé hodiny
Genitive plural	5 dlouhých hodin; pár hodin

Gender and number of compound phrases

In the case of a compound noun phrase, of the form "X and Y", "X, Y and Z", etc., the following rules for gender and number apply:

When any of the components is masculine animate, the whole compound is masculine animate plural.
If every component is neuter plural, the whole compound is neuter plural.
In other cases, the whole compound is feminine/masculine inanimate plural.

However:

If the verb precedes the compound subject, it may agree either with the subject as a whole or with the first component of the subject.
When the compound is formed using s rather than a, the verb or predicate may agree with the first component or with the subject as a whole.
When coordinated adjectives are applied to a singular noun, the whole may be treated as either singular or plural.

For further description and example sentences, see the Institute of the Czech Language source listed below.