- - The seven Cases - - Sedm Pádů - -
- 1st - 2nd - 3rd - 4th - 5th - 6th - 7th - Czech Language Hp

1. Nominative Case [ 1st case - první pád ]: case of the subject of the sentence, of the predicate nominative (after the verb "to be"), and of a noun standing alone (unless in direct address or understood as part of an incomplete sentence): Answers the questions
   • KDO? - or who? is the doer of, or subjected to, some action.
     • Kdo tam chodí? Karel tam jde.
     • Who is writing a letter? -- Kdo píše dopis?
     • Father is writing a letter. -- Otec píše dopis.
       The word "otec" is in the 1st case as it is the answer to "who".
   • CO?- or what? something is said about.
     • Co se tam deje? Schůze se tam koná.
     • What is there: -- Co je tam?
     • There is a forest there. -- Tam je les.
       The work "les" is in the 1st case as it is the answer to "what".

2. Genitive case (2nd case - druhý pád; Possessive case), similar to English possessive case (My friend's home).
   • A word is in the 2nd case when it answers the question "whose" or "of whom", Čí, or "of what:, Čeho (second case of Co.)

     Čeho barva je hnědá? The color of what is brown?	Barva stolu je hnědá The color of the table is brown.	Z čeho je to výraběne. Ze železa a z litiny. Čí je to pučík? Je to pučík mého otce.
     Čí je to svetr?	Je to svetr mého bratra

   • This case is used to indiate the relation of "belonging to", which sometimes amounts to actual possession,
   • while in other instances it expresses the quality, quantity or size of a person or thing.
     

     mnoho papíru

     much paper

   • The genitive case corresponds to English 'of' or [-'s].
     It is also used in certain time phrases and after certain prepositions, e.g.,

     do	into	Jdu do divadla	Jdu do města. -- Dávám dopis do obálky
     z	out of, from within	Jdu z divadla	Jedu z Prahy (I come from Prague) Čtu z knihy I am reading from a book. --- To je ze skla. It is (made) of glass.
     s	down from
     od	from, away from (in which one has not been inside)	Jdo od bratra	Jdu od Prahy I am traveling in a direction away from Prague Dostal jsem dopis od otce. I have received a letter from my father Od začátku do konce -- From beginning to end.
     u	near, by, at the house/place of	Bydlím u kostela -- Sedím u stolu --- Vycházejí z domu
     vedle	beside, next to	Seděl jsem vedle děvčete -- I sat beside a (young) girl
     bez	without	Nemohu to jíste bez lžíce -- I cannot eat it without a spoon.
     Kolem		Mam šátek kolem krku - I have a scarf (shaw) round (my) neck.
     w
     Místo	Instead of	Místo čaje budu dnes píti kávu = Instead of tea I will drink coffee today.
     Podle	according to	Podle dopisu, který jsem dostata, je matka zase zdráva. - According to the letter (which) I have received mother is feeling well again.

   • use adjectives in the genitive case after co, něco, and nic: něco důležitého - "something important"; nic sladkého - "nothing sweet"

3. Dative case. [3rd case - -třetí pád] [n1, p41]
   • The dative case is the case of the indirect object. It tells for whose benefit the action is performed. It is used to express the indirect object of a verb; e.g., giving or saying "to", doing "for", taking "to" or "from". Supplies an answer to the question "to whom?" (komu?)[and ocassionally "for whom" or "to what?"(čemu?). Note that the prepositions "to" and "for" are not always expressed in English:

     Dávám bratrovi knihu	I give my brother a book ( i.e., to my brother.)
     Komu píšeš To whom are you writing?	Píšu bratovi I am writing to my brother
     Komu píšeš?	Píšu domu tatinkovi
     Komu píšete To whom are you writing?	Píši panu Novákovi I am writing to Mr. Novák
     Čemu posloucháš?	Poslouchám vysilácí stanici.
     Ke komu jdete? To whom are you going?	Jdu k řezníkovi I am going to the butcher's

   • A word is in the 3rd case when it follows a verb that expresses "giving" or any other act directed to the object of a sentence. It is used after a verb like giving [to give - dávati], sending, saying [to say - říkati], answering [to answer - odpovídati], writing something to someone. Others verbs include pomáhat, věřit, radit, závidět, vyhýbat se, rozumět.
   • The dative is also after certain prepositions, notably
     
     • k (ke before words beginning with a group of consonants: ku before the labials p, b, m followed by a second consonant.) K means towards, to the vicinity of, in the direction of, to the house (office, store, etc,) of. Thus, its use corresponds to that of u and od with the genitive.

       Jdu k bratrovi	I go to Brother (Brother's)	dative
       Jsem u bratra	I am at brother's.	genitive
       Jdu od bratra	I come from Brother (Brother's)	genitive
       Jedu k městu	I go towards the city (but not into it)	dative
       Jsem u města	I am near the city	genitive
       Jedu od města	I come away from the city (but have not been it it)	genitive

     • In espressions of time, k means towards:
       • k večeru towards evening.
     • It is also used after other prepositions:
       • proti - against, opposite; versus, contra
         proti čemu - contrary to
         proti dokumentům - against documents
         proti mě - against me
         proti nim - against them
         proti všemu očekávání - against all the odds
         
       • kvůli - for the sake of; about; because
         kvůli jeho - because of his
         kvůli jejich - because of their
         kvůli nim - because of them
       • díky - thanks to, due to; by virtue of;
         díky Bohu - thank heavens, thank God
         díky bohu - thank goodness
         díky moc - thanks a lot
         díky za - thanks for

4. Accusative Case. [4th case - čtvrtý pád] Accusative case is used for
   • the direct object of transitive verbs, that is , it tells what person is directly affected by the action of the verb. (direct object case which marks the receiver of the action or the thing acted upon by the subject). It answers the questions Whom? What? [Hledám Janu. Jana is nominative],

     Koho vidí Hoch Whom does the boy see?	Hoch vidí pána The boy sees a gentleman
     Co nese listonoš? What does the postman carry	Listonoš nese balík. The postman carries a parcel.

   • after some prepostions (e.g., na on to, for, přes, across, pro for, on behalf of) [Čekám na Janu., Jana i snominative case],
   • and in phrases of time duration [Čekám celý den.].
   • The acusative is also used when asking for something: [Tužku, prosím.]

   Co tam vidíš?	Vidím tam matku.	Matka (f) is the nominative case
   Koho jsi tam viděl?	Viděl jsem matku. or Viděl jsem tam přítele.	matka (f) is nominative case přítel (m) is nominative case
   Koho's tam viděl?	Vidél jsem tam mého přítele.

5. Vokativ Páde! (Vocative case), [or 5th case - pátý pád ] , is used
   • to address [Otče náš. Teto má.]
   • or call a person [Nováku, pojdte jsem. Novák is nonimative and ends in k.]
   • Milena: Ahoj, Mileno! = Hi, Milena!
   • Katka: Nazdar, Katko! = Hi, Katka!
   • Julie: Ahoj, Julie! =
   • Marie: Čau, Marie!
   • Milan - - Milane!
   • ludvík - - Ludvíku!
   • Bedřidh - - Bedřichu!
   • Miloš -- Miloši
   • Tomáš - - Tomáši!
   • Bratře Novátku!
   • Otče můj!
   • Matko má!

6. Locative case [or prepositional], [ or 6th case - šestý pád ], is always/only used with/after perpositions v (ve) 'in", na "on", o "about", po "after", pří "beside".

   v (ve)	in (=inside whom? what?) [not "into" for indicating direction] v kom? v čem? inanimate maculines, with some exceptions, have -ě after labials and dentals (p,b, m, v, t, d,n), otherwise -2; But those which have stems ending in - r or velar sounds (spelt, -h, -ch, -k) usually add -u. les - v lese; obchod - v obchodě; kábat - v kábatě; dům - v domě; park - v parku; vzduch - ve vzduchu; divadlo - v divadle; město - v městě; kino - v kině; okno - v okně; slovenslo = na slovensku; jezero - v jezeru	Je v Praze He is in Prague
   na	on, upon (whom? what) na kom? na čem	Leži na podlazae. He is lying on the floor.
   	Kde je Marie? Sedí na schodech.
   o	of or about (whom? what") o kom? o čem? mostly used after the verbs mluviti (o kom? o čem?) = to speak of or about slyšeti (o kom? o čem?)= to hear of or about (whom? what?) věděti (o kom? o čem?) =to know of or about (whom" what?) and other similar verbs.. It also means: at (what time?)	Mluví o Praze. He is talking about Prague.
   	O kom mluvíš? Mluvím o tetičce.
   	O čem se jednalo? Jednalo se o různých bodech.
   po	after (i.e., following whom" what?) po kom? po čem	Po oběd spí. After lunch he sleeps.
   pří	at, by=near (whom? what?) pří kom? pří čem	Sedí pří okní He is sitting by/at/beside the window

7. Instrumental. [7th case - sedmý pád ]
   • The instrumental is used to express the means, instrument, or agent by which an action is performed.

     Žák píše tužkou.	The pupil writes with a pencil.	Autem nebo vlakem? - By car of train?
     Jedeme autem to Prahy.	We are going by car to Prague.	Proč píšeš tím špatným pérem? - Why are you writing with this bad pen?
     Bratr kývá hlavou.	Brother nods (with) his head.	Kterou cestou jsi šel do města - How=by what way?
     Praha mne překvapila svou vanoční náladou. - Pague surprised by with its Christmas spirit.
     Čim jel do Ameriky? Letěl letadlem.
     S kým jsi letěl? Letěl jsem se setrou Anču.

   • Place of motion. when motion occurrs in, on, or through a certain place, the noun denoting that place is often put into the instrumental.
   • The instrumental, or 7th case, is used after the following Prepostions:

     s, se	s kým? s čím? =with (whom? what?)	Píše s Janu dopis. He is writing a letter with Jana. with (in company with) Prosím vás, pane profesore, mohu s vámi mluvit?
     mezi	mezi kým? mezi čím? =between (whom? what?)
     nad	nad kým? nad čím? =above, over (whom? what?)	Letadlo kroužilo nad naším městem. The aeroplane circled over the town.
     pod	pod kým? pod čím? =under, underneath, below, beneath (whom? what?)	Pod stromem leželo mnoho jablek.
     před	před kým? před čím? =before (whom? what?)	Vaclav na nás čekal před Národním divadlem.
     za	za kým? za čím? =behind (whom? what?)	Sedí za oknem. He/she is sitting behind the window. Za tím lesem je hluboké jezero.

     Note: when mezi, nad, pod, před, za used with a sense of motion the accusative case is used.
     The demonstrative adjective is tím: to péro - tím pérem.

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Declension of the feminie adjective, singular 1 pád: To je dobrá matka, růže, noc. 2 pád: To je jméno dobré matky, růže, noci. 3 pád: Půjdu k dobré matce, růži, noci. 4 pád: Vidím dobrou matku, růži, noc. 5 pád: Voláme: dobrá matko, růže, noc. 6 pád: Mluvímé o dobre matce, růži, noci. 7 pád: Šel jsem za dobrou matkou, růží, nocí.

Declension of the feminie adjective, singular 1 pád: "hrad" Hrad je starý - The castle is old. 2 pád: "hradu" Z hradu vycházejí lidé - People are coming out of the castle. 3 pád: "hradu" Cesta vede ke gradu - The road leads to the castle. 4 pád: "hrad" Vidím hrad. I see a castle. 5 pád: The vocative is used only for calling/addressing someone or something. 6 pád: "hradu" Mluvím o hradu - I am talking about a castle 7 pád: "hradem" Za hradem je les. - There is a forest behind the castle

áÁ č Č (d')ď Ď éÉ ěĚ Íí (n)ňŇ Óó řŘšŠ (t')ť ÚúŮ ů ýÝ žŽ

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1. Colloquial Czech, James Naughton; 1987