Demonstratives — Czech Grammar

points at something. It has three genders in the singular, it declines through every case, and it is one of the most frequent words in the language - partly because Czech has no articles and often does the work English gives to the.

Ten dort stojí třicet dolarů.
That cake costs thirty dollars.
Ta kniha je stará.
That book is old.
To auto je malé.
That car is small.

Near and Far

Plain is neutral about distance. To make it definitely this, Czech adds to the end or uses the more formal . For something further off it puts in front.

, - this
- that one over there

Tohle je můj počítač.
This is my computer.
Tamten muž běží.
That man over there is running.

Declining It

The endings of are short and irregular enough to be learned as a list. The additions and ride along without changing anything: the core word declines and they stay put.

Znáš toho psa?
Do you know that dog?
Bydlím v tomhle domě.
I live in this house.

Standing Alone

A demonstrative does not need a noun after it. The neuter in particular stands for a whole situation and is the ordinary way to say it, this or that about something just mentioned.

Co to je?
What is it?
To je pravda.
That's true.

The Plural

In the plural the demonstrative splits masculine animate from the rest, exactly as adjectives do, and the same three forms cover every gender in the other cases.

, , ,

Tyhle lodě jsou velmi drahé.
These boats are very expensive.
Jak dlouhé jsou ty kalhoty?
How long are those trousers?

With an Adjective

A demonstrative comes before the adjective, and both agree with the noun, so a short Czech noun phrase can carry three matching endings in a row.

Ten mladý muž je tvůj manžel?
Is that young man your husband?

Doing the Work of the

Since there is no definite article, in front of a noun often just marks it as the one already known. It is not obligatory, and leaving it out changes nothing that English would notice.

Můžeš mi ukázat tu fotku?
Can you show me the photo?

In the course

Sentences from Lingora’s Czech course

112 of the course's 500 sentences use this, the first in lesson 2. A few of them, with the words “Demonstratives” is about in bold:

Tohle je moje kamarádka Anna. Studuje.
This is my friend, Anna. She is a student.
Lesson 2
Ta voda je studená. Ta voda je horká.
This water is cold. That water is hot.
Lesson 68
To je nesmysl. Oba se mýlíte.
How ridiculous. You are both wrong.
Lesson 163

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