Prepositions and Their Cases

01

One Case Each

These are fixed: the preposition brings its case with it, and no context can change which one it takes.

• genitive: do, z, od, bez, u, vedle
• dative: k, proti, díky
• locative: o, po, při
• instrumental: s

• Káva bez cukru.

  Coffee without sugar.

• Jdu k doktorovi.

  I'm going to the doctor.

• Jdu s bratrem.

  I'm going with my brother.

02

Two Cases, Two Meanings

V and na take the accusative for movement towards something and the locative for being there. Za, pod, nad, před and mezi do the same with the accusative and the instrumental. The preposition is unchanged and the ending carries the whole difference.

• Jdu na trh.

  I'm going to the market.

• Jsem na trhu.

  I'm at the market.

03

The Extra -e

A preposition of a single consonant grows an -e when the next word would be hard to say after it. This is a matter of sound, not of grammar, and it changes nothing else.

• v becomes ve before f, v and consonant clusters
• s becomes se, k becomes ke, z becomes ze

• Jsem ve škole.

  I'm at school.

• Prochází se se svým psem.

  She's walking with her dog.

04

Pronouns After a Preposition

A preposition takes the long form of a pronoun, and in the third person a form beginning with n-. A short pronoun can never follow one.

• Bez tebe nepůjdu.

  I won't go without you.

• Zapomeň na ně.

  Forget about them.

05

Time

Prepositions carry most time expressions, and the case is not always what the place-meaning would suggest. Days take the accusative after v, months and years the locative, and a period ahead takes za with the accusative.

• V pátek mám čas.

  I have time on Friday.

• V listopadu bude zima.

  It will be cold in November.

• Za pět minut bude deset.

  In five minutes it will be ten.

06

Two Nouns, One Preposition

A preposition governs everything in the phrase after it, so an adjective takes the same case as its noun and the two stay together under the one preposition.

• Jezdí ve velmi malém autě.

  He drives a very small car.

• Bydlím v této zoologické zahradě.

  I live in this zoo.

07

They Come With the Verb

Many verbs demand a particular preposition, and the pairing rarely matches the English one. Learn the verb and its preposition together.

• Čekám na autobus.

  I'm waiting for the bus.

• Mám alergii na arašídy.

  I'm allergic to peanuts.