The 7 cases at a glance
What each case does, the question it answers and when you need it.
In Czech, nouns (and the adjectives and pronouns that go with them) change their ending depending on the job they're doing in the sentence. These forms are called cases (pády). There are seven of them, and Czechs simply number them from 1 to 7 in this order.
| # | Case | Question | Main use | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nominative | kdo? co? | subject, dictionary form | To je žena. |
| 2 | Genitive | koho? čeho? | "of", quantities, after do, z, bez, u… | Jdu do školy. |
| 3 | Dative | komu? čemu? | "to/for someone", after k, kvůli, díky… | Dám to ženě. |
| 4 | Accusative | koho? co? | direct object, direction after na, pro, za… | Vidím ženu. |
| 5 | Vocative | (none) | addressing someone | Ahoj, Jano! |
| 6 | Locative | o kom? o čem? | place, "about"; always with a preposition | Mluvíme o ženě. |
| 7 | Instrumental | kým? čím? | "with", means, after před, za, nad, pod… | Jdu tam s ženou. |
So which case do I need?
- Is there a preposition? Great, then it decides for you: do means genitive, k means dative, s means instrumental. The full list is in Prepositions and cases.
- No preposition? Then look at the verb. Most verbs take the accusative (mám, vidím, chci), but some take the dative (pomáhat, volat, rozumět) or the genitive (bát se, ptát se).
- Talking to someone directly? That's the vocative.
The questions in the table are exactly how Czech kids learn the cases at school. Give it a go: ask komu? (to whom?) and the answer will be in the dative.