Course / A2
Genitive
Say 'of', 'from' and 'without': amounts, ownership and the prepositions you use every day.
This unit hasn't been checked by a native speaker yet.
What the genitive does
The genitive answers 'of what?' and 'from what?'. You need it after words for amounts (a glass of water), after many everyday prepositions (without milk, from Prague, into the shop) and to say whose something is (Tomáš's car).
This unit covers the singular. The plural comes later.
- Káva bez mléka, prosím. Coffee without milk, please. (mléko → mléka)
- Jsem z Prahy. I am from Prague. (Praha → Prahy)
- To je auto Tomáše. That is Tomáš's car. (Tomáš → Tomáše)
Feminine nouns
Feminine nouns in -a change it to -y. Nouns in -e don't change. Nouns ending in a consonant add -i (or sometimes -e, which you learn with the word).
| Nominative | Genitive | English |
|---|---|---|
| káva | kávy | coffee |
| voda | vody | water |
| kniha | knihy | book |
| sestra | sestry | sister |
| pošta | pošty | post office |
| babička | babičky | grandmother |
| Nominative | Genitive | English |
|---|---|---|
| židle | židle | chair (no change) |
| ulice | ulice | street (no change) |
| práce | práce | work (no change) |
| noc | noci | night |
| věc | věci | thing |
- Dárek je od babičky. The present is from my grandmother.
- Hotel je vedle pošty. The hotel is next to the post office.
- Jdu z práce. I am coming from work.
Masculine things
Most masculine nouns for things take -u in the genitive. Soft stems take -e, and a few common words take -a. These last ones you learn with the word.
Some words also change their vowel: dům becomes domu, stůl becomes stolu.
| Nominative | Genitive | English |
|---|---|---|
| byt | bytu | apartment |
| hrad | hradu | castle |
| obchod | obchodu | shop |
| autobus | autobusu | bus |
| dům | domu | house (ů becomes o) |
| stůl | stolu | table (ů becomes o) |
| čaj | čaje | tea (soft stem) |
| pokoj | pokoje | room (soft stem) |
| chléb | chleba | bread (takes -a) |
| les | lesa | forest (takes -a) |
- Jdu do obchodu. I am going to the shop.
- Bydlím u nádraží. I live near the station.
Masculine people and animals
Good news: for masculine people and animals, the genitive is the same as the accusative you already know.
| Nominative | Genitive | English |
|---|---|---|
| bratr | bratra | brother |
| kamarád | kamaráda | friend |
| učitel | učitele | teacher |
| Tomáš | Tomáše | Tomáš |
| pes | psa | dog (the e drops out) |
| otec | otce | father (the e drops out) |
- To je kniha mého bratra. That is my brother's book.
Neuter nouns
Neuter nouns in -o change it to -a. Neuter nouns in -e, -ě and -í don't change.
| Nominative | Genitive | English |
|---|---|---|
| pivo | piva | beer |
| mléko | mléka | milk |
| jídlo | jídla | food |
| město | města | town |
| Brno | Brna | Brno |
| nádraží | nádraží | station (no change) |
| moře | moře | sea (no change) |
- Banka je blízko nádraží. The bank is near the station.
Adjectives
Adjectives agree with the noun. Masculine and neuter adjectives take -ého. Feminine adjectives take -é.
| Nominative | Genitive | English |
|---|---|---|
| dobrý čaj | dobrého čaje | good tea (masculine) |
| dobré pivo | dobrého piva | good beer (neuter) |
| čistá voda | čisté vody | clean water (feminine) |
| malá sestra | malé sestry | little sister (feminine) |
- Hrnek dobrého čaje. A cup of good tea.
- Sklenici čisté vody. A glass of clean water.
Pronouns
The genitive of the personal pronouns is mostly used after prepositions. After a preposition, on, ona and oni start with n-: bez něj (without him), od ní (from her), u nich (at their place).
| Nominative | Genitive (after a preposition) | English |
|---|---|---|
| já | mě | me |
| ty | tebe | you (informal) |
| on | něj | him |
| ona | ní | her |
| my | nás | us |
| vy | vás | you (formal, or plural) |
| oni | nich | them |
- Bez tebe nejdu. I'm not going without you.
- Dárek je od ní. The present is from her.
- Bydlím u nich. I live at their place.
Prepositions with the genitive
These prepositions are always followed by the genitive.
| Preposition | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| do | into, to | do obchodu |
| z | from, out of | z Prahy |
| od | from (a person) | od babičky |
| bez | without | bez mléka |
| u | at, by, at someone's place | u nádraží |
| vedle | next to | vedle pošty |
| blízko | near | blízko nádraží |
- Jdu do obchodu. I am going to the shop.
- Dárek je od mámy. The present is from mum.
- Hotel je vedle pošty. The hotel is next to the post office.
Amounts
Words for an amount or a container are followed by the genitive: a glass of water, a piece of bread. You will use this every time you order something.
Numbers from five up also take the genitive, but in the plural: 'deset korun' from unit 3 is an example. That comes in the plural units.
| Amount + genitive | English |
|---|---|
| sklenice vody | a glass of water |
| hrnek čaje | a cup of tea |
| láhev piva | a bottle of beer |
| kousek chleba | a piece of bread |
| trochu cukru | a little sugar |
| hodně času | a lot of time |
- Hrnek čaje, prosím. A cup of tea, please.
- Láhev piva, prosím. A bottle of beer, please.
- Kousek chleba, prosím. A piece of bread, please.
- Trochu cukru, prosím. A little sugar, please.
- Mám hodně času. I have a lot of time.
- Kolik času máš? How much time do you have?
Whose is it?
To say who owns something, put the owner after the thing, in the genitive. Czech has no 's: 'auto Tomáše' is literally 'the car of Tomáš'.
Possessive words agree with the owner: moje sestra (my sister) becomes mé sestry in the genitive, and můj bratr becomes mého bratra.
- To je auto Tomáše. That is Tomáš's car.
- To je kniha mé sestry. That is my sister's book.
- To je dům mé babičky. That is my grandmother's house.
Exercises
Sklenici , prosím.
A glass of water, please.
Vocabulary
| Czech | English | Example |
|---|---|---|
| do | into / to | Jdu do obchodu. I am going to the shop. |
| z | from / out of | Jsem z Prahy. I am from Prague. |
| od | from (a person) | Dárek je od babičky. The present is from my grandmother. |
| bez | without | Káva bez mléka, prosím. Coffee without milk, please. |
| u | at / by | Bydlím u nádraží. I live near the station. |
| vedle | next to | Hotel je vedle pošty. The hotel is next to the post office. |
| blízko | near | Banka je blízko nádraží. The bank is near the station. |
| obchod | shop | Obchod je zavřený. The shop is closed. |
| práce | work / job | Mám hodně práce. I have a lot of work. |
| město | town / city | Brno je velké město. Brno is a big city. |
| nádraží | (train) station | Kde je nádraží? Where is the station? |
| sklenice | glass | Sklenice je prázdná. The glass is empty. |
| hrnek | cup / mug | Hrnek čaje, prosím. A cup of tea, please. |
| láhev | bottle | Láhev piva, prosím. A bottle of beer, please. |
| kousek | piece | Kousek chleba, prosím. A piece of bread, please. |
| cukr | sugar | Trochu cukru, prosím. A little sugar, please. |
| čas | time | Mám hodně času. I have a lot of time. |
| hodně | a lot | Mám hodně práce. I have a lot of work. |
Practice
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