Verbal Nouns

01

How It Is Made

Most verbs add -ní to the stem, lengthening an a in front of it. A smaller group, mostly short verbs, takes -tí instead.

• plavat - plavání (swimming)
• spát - spaní (sleeping)
• pít - pití (drinking)

• Všichni milují plavání.

  Everybody loves swimming.

02

After a Preposition

After a preposition, English often has -ing and Czech must have a noun, since a preposition cannot govern a verb. The verbal noun is what fills that gap, and it takes whatever case the preposition requires.

• Před spaním čtu.

  I read before sleeping.

03

Always Neuter

Every verbal noun is neuter, whatever the verb it came from, and every one of them declines the same way. That makes them the most predictable nouns in the language: learn one and you can handle them all.

• Před spaním si čistím zuby.

  I brush my teeth before bed.

04

Keeping the Verb's Aspect

Because it is built from a particular verb, a verbal noun keeps that verb's aspect. The imperfective one names the activity in general; the perfective one names the single completed act.

• psaní - writing
• napsání - the writing of, getting it written

• Psaní mě baví.

  I enjoy writing.

05

What Follows a Verbal Noun

The verb's object does not stay in the accusative when the verb becomes a noun. It moves into the genitive, as it would after any other noun.

• Čtení knihy mě baví.

  Reading a book is fun for me.

06

Nouns That Have Gone Their Own Way

Many verbal nouns have settled into a fixed, concrete meaning and are no longer felt as verbs at all. They are simply ordinary vocabulary now, and a dictionary treats them as such.

• zpoždění - a delay
• oblečení - clothes
• představení - a performance

• Autobus má zpoždění.

  The bus is delayed.

• Potřebuji nové oblečení.

  I need new clothes.