Ź The relations between present tense endings and infinitive:
Coursebooks for foreign learners mostly mention both the infinitive and the conjugation type. Dictionaries, however, usually present only the infinitive form.
For that reason, it is necessary to know the “regular“ relations between infinitive and the present tense conjugation. They can be summarized (in a rather simplified way) like this: Ɣ
Most verbs with the infinitive ending -AT
use the inflectional endings -ÁM, -ÁŠ, -Á, -ÁME, -ÁTE, -AJÍ . Examples:
infinitive dČlat Ĝíkat þekat hledat doufat
do, make say, tell wait look for, seek hope
já dČlám Ĝíkám þekám hledám doufám
ty dČláš Ĝíkáš þekáš hledáš doufáš
on, ona, ono dČlá Ĝíká þeká hledá doufá
my dČláme Ĝíkáme þekáme hledáme doufáme
vy dČláte Ĝíkáte þekáte hledáte doufáte
oni, ony, ona dČlají Ĝíkají þekají hledají doufají
A limited number of verbs with the infinitive ending -AT
use the inflectional endings -U, -EŠ, -E, -EME, -ETE, -OU . Examples:
infinitive plavat hrabat kašlat
swim rake cough
já plavu hrabu kašlu
ty plaveš hrabeš kašleš on, ona, ono plave hrabe kašle
my plaveme hrabeme kašleme
vy plavete hrabete kašlete oni, ony, ona plavou hrabou kašlou
ŹThe other verbs (with a few exceptions that are shown in chapter 18) follow one of the three regular patterns throughout the present tense conjugation:
já -ÁM -ÍM -U (-I )
ty -ÁŠ -ÍŠ -EŠ
on, ona, ono -Á -Í -E
my -ÁME -ÍME -EME
vy -ÁTE -ÍTE -ETE
Ɣ
Verbs with the infinitive endings -IT, -ċT, -ET
use the inflectional endings -ÍM, -ÍŠ, -Í, -ÍME, -ÍTE, -Í . Examples:
infinitive mluvit vidČt slyšet
speak see hear
já mluvím vidím slyším
ty mluvíš vidíš slyšíš
on, ona, ono mluví vidí slyší
my mluvíme vidíme slyšíme
vy mluvíte vidíte slyšíte
oni, ony, ona mluví vidí slyší
A few verbs use the 3rd person plural ending -Čjí / -ejí (frequently side by side with the ending -í) .
Examples:
infinitive rozumČt pĜemýšlet
understand think, meditate
já rozumím pĜemýšlím
ty rozumíš pĜemýšlíš
on, ona, ono rozumí pĜemýšlí
my rozumíme pĜemýšlíme
vy rozumíte pĜemýšlíte
Ɣ
Verbs wih the infinitive ending -OVAT
use the inflectional endings -I -(U), -EŠ, -E, -EME, -ETE, -Í (-OU) after replacing the infix “-OV-“ by the infix “-UJ-“ Examples:
infinitive pracovat opakovat potĜebovat
work repeat need
já pracuji (pracuju) opakuji (opakuju) potĜebuji (potĜebuju)
ty pracuješ opakuješ potĜebuješ
on, ona, ono pracuje opakuje potĜebuje
my pracujeme opakujeme potĜebujeme
vy pracujete opakujete potĜebujete
oni, ony, ona pracují (pracujou) opakují (opakujou) potĜebují (potĜebujou) The endings -U (1st person singular) and -OU (3rd person plural)
are usual in the informal style.
Ɣ Mind the important difference between the infinitive ending -at (dČlat – dČlám …)
-ovat (pracovat – pracuji / pracuju …). Ɣ
Verbs with the infinitive ending -NOUT
use the regular inflectional endings -U, -EŠ, -E, -EME, -ETE, -OU . Examples:
infinitive prominout sednout si všimnout si
excuse, forgive sit down take notice of
já prominu sednu si všimnu si
ty promineš sedneš si všimneš si
on, ona, ono promine sedne si všimne si
my promineme sedneme si všimneme si
vy prominete sednete si všimnete si
oni, ony, ona prominou sednou si všimnou si The verbs “sednout si“ and “všimnout si“ are reflexive. See chapter 50.
Ź Even verbs that have different infinitive endings follow one of the three conjugation paradigms. It is sufficient to learn 1st person singular so as to be able to conjugate the verb in all the other persons.
Examples:
infinitive mít znát stát psát þíst
have know stand write read
já mám znám stojím píšu þtu
ty máš znáš stojíš píšeš þteš
on, ona, ono má zná stojí píše þte
my máme známe stojíme píšeme þteme
vy máte znáte stojíte píšete þtete
oni, ony, ona mají znají stojí píšou þtou
Ź Personal pronouns may be left out with all verbs, in the same way as with the verb být. Presence or absence of personal pronouns is a matter of usage and balance. It doesn´t change the meaning.
Ź The NEGATIVE prefix ne- is written together with the verb: E.g.:
nedČlat nemluvit nestudovat neþíst
not to do not to speak not to study not to read
nedČlám nedČláš nedČlá nedČláme nedČláte nedČlají nemluvím nemluvíš nemluví nemluvíme nemluvíte nemluví nestuduji nestuduješ nestuduje nestudujeme nestudujete nestudují neþtu neþteš neþte neþteme neþtete neþtou I don´t do … I am not doing … I don´t speak … I am not speaking … I don´t study … I am not studying … I don´t read … I am not reading …
Ź THE QUESTION of “Yes – No“ type is mostly indicated by intonation only. E.g.: Declarative (Vy) Hledáte pana Nováka. You are looking for Mr.Novák
Interrogative (Vy) Hledáte pana Nováka? Are you looking for Mr.Novák?
Declarative Musíme þekat. We must wait.
Interrogative Musíme þekat? Must we wait?
If the subject is expressed in 3rd person, the question is formed by inverting the word order. E.g.:
Declarative Helena mluví þesky. Helen speaks Czech.
Interrogative Mluví Helena þesky? Does Helen speak Czech?
Declarative Pan Ĝeditel je v kanceláĜi.. The director is in the office.
VERBS: PAST TENSE Slovesa: minulý þas
Ź The structure of past tense can be illustrated by the following pattern:
1 2 3
Personal Pronoun Auxiliary Verb
- with 1st and 2nd person
Past Participle As an illustration, we can use the past tense of the verb BÝT (to be).
já jsem byl I was (male speaker)
já jsem byla I was (female speaker)
ty jsi byl you were (a male person addressed - “tykání“)
ty jsi byla you were (a female person addressed - “tykání“)
on byl he was (grammatical masculine)
ona byla she was (grammatical feminine)
ono / to bylo it was (grammatical neuter)
my jsme byli we were
vy jste byli you were (two or more persons addressed)
oni byli they were (masculine animate)
ony byly they were (masculine inanimate + feminine)
ona byla they were (neuter)
vy jste byl you were (one male person addressed - “vykání“)
vy jste byla you were (one female person addressed - “vykání“)
Comment:
x There is no auxiliary verb in 3rd person, either singular or plural.
x The auxiliary verb in 1st and 2nd person, both singular and plural, is always equal to the appropriate form of the present tense of the verb BÝT, i. e. jsem, jsi, jsme, jste. x Past Participle is formed from the infinitive of the verb in question. (See the paragraph
below.)
x The personal pronoun can be left out – in the same way as in the present tense. The absence of the personal pronoun does not change the meaning, but it has a strong impact on the word order. The auxiliary verb must always occupy the “second position“. See page 42.