[1]

JAROSLAV VICTOR NIGRIN, A. M.
HARRISON TECHNICAL HIGH SCHOOL, CHICAGO.

Bohemian Literary Society, Chicago.

[2]

Copyright, 1918, by the Slavie Publishing Co.,
Chicago, IL.

“Slavie” Publishing Company 465 2544 S. Millard Ave., Chicago.

[3]

To
CHARLES R. CRANE
a genuine and wise friend of the Slavs
this work is dedicated

J. V. N.

Chicago, July 14, 1917

[4]

[5]

In preparing this work, I aimed to provide English-speaking people with a practical textbook on the Bohemian language that is written in a modern style, explaining the grammatical principles and offering enough exercises to illustrate them. As far as I know, there are only two other books published in English on the same topic: Chas. Jonáš's “Bohemian Made Easy,” which is based on a conversational method, and W. Morfill's Grammar of the Bohemian Language, a very brief work intended for philologists rather than general students. Since Jonáš’s book is out of print and there is a significant demand for a practical textbook of Bohemian among businesspeople and students—Bohemian is currently taught at several universities and high schools in the United States—this work was created.

The foundation of this work was “Mluvnice česká” by Dr. Jan Gebauer, which is the official Bohemian Grammar approved by the University of Prague. My job was to organize and present the language facts provided by Gebauer in a way that makes studying them easy, practical, and enjoyable. To achieve this goal, I've used my own experience and also incorporated suggestions from various methods used in teaching modern languages, so that the book can be helpful not just in a classroom but also for self-study.

[6]

It’s probably unnecessary to mention that the first part, which focuses on phonetics, is very important because if the student gets correct pronunciation from the start, they will have made significant progress in understanding and being understood. It’s also advised that the oral exercises be practiced out loud—eventually by the whole class together. Learn the language with your ears and eyes! The exercises from Bohemian to English will soon include small articles, fables, stories, and poems, which connect the student with the living language instead of just prepared grammatical examples. Learning correct Bohemian is definitely easier and more reliable by reading and hearing as much quality Bohemian as possible rather than translating from English to Bohemian. That’s why there are more exercises in Bohemian than in English. Repetition leads to mastery, and I didn’t hesitate to repeat a point that I thought was important, and the student should revisit sections that are more challenging and also more significant.

Bohemian is a language with complex inflections and a wide variety of forms. I aimed to simplify the study of this diversity by organizing, connecting, and merging similar forms, while gradually introducing the concepts of declension and verb conjugations. The section on idiomatic expressions and syntax isn’t as thorough because I didn’t have enough material available. This work is somewhat pioneering and, as such, has faced challenges that couldn’t be resolved quickly or with limited resources. The book was written during the Great War, when it was impossible to get support from experts in Bohemia. Nonetheless, I want to acknowledge my reliance on the following works that I consulted: Rádce správné češtiny by Peter Zenkl; Škola českého jazyka by Říha and Heyduk, alongside the works of Gebauer, Morfill, and Jonáš that I already mentioned. I also want to sincerely thank the following helpful individuals: my colleague Boh. Kral, Mr. Josef Mach, Dr. J. E. S. Vojan, and Miss Marie Novak who[7] assisted in compiling the dictionary, and especially Miss Katherine Kiely for her thorough revision and help with proofreading.

I hope the included paper by Mr. A. R. Nykl, on “Slav Nations and their languages,” sparks interest in Slavic philology. It will also demonstrate that by studying Bohemian—a language spoken by 10 million people, about a million of whom live in the United States—we are actually engaging with a population of nearly 150 million people, a group that is relatively young in the context of human history and definitely a group with a promising future.

I genuinely hope that this current work will encourage the study of Bohemian and spark interest in the literature and culture of my homeland.

Chicago, August 18, 1917.

Jaroslav Victor Nigrin.

The Slavs are part of the Aryan or Indo-European group of races.

As the original home of the Slavic people, most scholars point to the area between the Carpathians and the Baltic Sea, along the Elbe, Vistula, and Dnieper rivers. It’s generally believed that during the massive migration of nations in the first few centuries AD, various Slavic tribes left their original common home and moved west and south, forming distinct groups that over time developed unique religious, climatic, and linguistic traits. This theory is seen as the most historically plausible, although it isn’t fully supported by archaeological research.

[8]

The NAME SLAVS (Slověne) has been interpreted in various ways, either coming from “slavný” (glorious) or “slovo” (word, speech, sermon). It's believed that the Slavs referred to themselves this way because they could understand each other, while they called their neighbors, the Germans, whose language was unclear to them, “Němtsy” (ně-umtsy), meaning people who can't speak properly. Another theory is that the name Slověne was first used by a Slav tribe near Saloniki, which had been converted to Christianity by Sts. Cyril and Methodius and had also learned to write, wanting to be recognized as a more educated people compared to other, still illiterate tribes. Their language has survived in the Orthodox church liturgy and is called Old Slavonic. As Christianity and writing gradually spread to other Slav tribes, the distinct name Slověne was also adopted by them and eventually became synonymous with the entire race.

Originally, the entire area east of the Elbe River, which included parts of Western Saxony, Bohemia, Moravia, Hungary, and Illyria, was inhabited by Slavs. The Germans gradually pushed the Slavs eastward from their settlements along the Elbe, and in Hungary, they were forced out of the plains into the mountains, specifically the Carpathians, Tatra, the Alps, and the Carso. In the Balkan Peninsula, they were surrounded by the Greeks and later by the Turks. In Russia, they faced multiple invasions by Asian races. They tenaciously defended their territory as protectors of Europe against Asian domination, especially their Eastern and Southern groups. These ongoing struggles have somewhat hindered their intellectual and economic progress, but their underlying strength will undoubtedly lead them to the rightful place they deserve in the world's history.

According to where they currently live, the Slavs can be divided into three groups:

I. NORTHWESTERN, consisting of the Bohemians[9] (Czechs), Slovaks, Lusatian Serbs (Wends), Poles, and Kashubes.

II. EASTERN, including Russians, i.e. Great Russians, Little Russians (Ruthenians, Ugro-Russians), and White Russians.

III. SOUTHERN, including the Slovenians, Serbo-Croatians, and Bulgarians.

THE NUMERICAL STRENGTH of the Slavic nations is estimated to be between 140 and 150 million, distributed approximately as follows:

THE MUTUAL RESEMBLANCE of the Slavonic languages is quite substantial, especially in syntax and grammatical structure. For instance, if a Czech learns Russian well, he can understand and translate the other Slavonic languages with a significant level of accuracy.

One can best assess the similarity of the Slavic languages by comparing the following examples, which are translations of the first four verses of the Lord’s Prayer:

Bohemian (Czech)

Otče náš, který jsi v nebesích, posvěť se tvé jméno. Přiď tvé království; buď tvá vůle, jako v nebi, tak i na zemi.

Old Church Slavonic

Otče náš, který jsi na nebesích! ať se posvěcuje jméno Tvé, ať přijde království Tvé: ať se stane vůle Tvá, jako v nebi, tak i na zemi.

[10]

Bulgarian

Tatko, who is in heaven, let your name be honored; let your kingdom come; let your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian:

Oče naš koji si na nebesima, neka bude sveto ime tvoje; neka dođe kraljevstvo tvoje; neka bude volja tvoja, na zemlji kao na nebu.

Slovenian

Oče naš, ki si v nebesih, posvečeno bodi ime tvoje. Pridi kraljevstvo tvoje. Zgodi se volja tvoja, kakor v nebesih, tako na zemlji.

Lusatian Serbian

Wôče naš, kiž sy w njebjesach; swječene budž twoje mjeno; přindž k nam twoje kralestwo; twoja wola so staň kaž na njebju, tak tež na zemi.

Polish:

Ojcze nasz, który jesteś w niebie, niech będzie uświęcone imię Twoje, przyjdź królestwo Twoje, bądź wola Twoja, jak w niebie, tak i na ziemi.

Ukrainian:

Otče náš, který jsi na nebi! Ať se posvětí tvé jméno. Ať přijde tvé království. Ať se stane tvá vůle jako v nebi, tak i na zemi.

Russian

Otče náš, který jsi na nebesích; ať se posvěcuje jméno tvé, ať přijde království tvé, ať se děje vůle tvá jako v nebi, tak i na zemi.

WRITING:

The creation of the earliest Slavic script, the glagolitsa, is commonly credited to the two apostles, Cyril and Methodius, but it appears that this writing was already in use before they arrived. It comes from the ancient Greek alphabet, to[11] which new letters were added to represent sounds not found in Greek, such as št, šč, š, č, jer, jery, and jať. From the somewhat cumbersome letters of the glagolitsa, a more flexible script, the kyrillitsa, developed, which is now used in Russian Orthodox church texts. The modern Russian alphabet, the graždanka, is a simplified version of kyrillitsa and was first introduced by Peter the Great of Russia. It is utilized by all Orthodox Slavs: Russians, Ukrainians, Bulgarians, and Serbs. Those Slavic tribes that fell under the influence of the Roman Catholic Church, like the Czechs, Slovaks, Lusatian Serbs, Slovenes, Croatians, and Poles, have adopted the Latin alphabet.

OLD SLAVONIC, also known as Church Slavonic, was originally spoken around Saloniki and was the first literary language of the Slavs. The old Bulgarian language is the one that's most closely related to it. Its structure and vocabulary serve as a foundation for comparative philology.

BOHEMIAN (Czech) and SLOVAK have been discussed in detail in the previous pages.

BULGARIAN is spoken by a group of Ugro-Finnish origin that migrated from Northern Russia to the Balkans and adopted the language of the Slavic tribes they conquered. A key feature of the language is the use of definite articles at the end of nouns, such as car-at, zemja-ta, nebe-to. Its older literature showcases many excellent examples of Slavic poetry. (There are three main dialects spoken in Bulgaria: the Danubian, the Thracian, and the Macedonian, which serve as a bridge between Russian and Serbo-Croatian.)

SERBO-CROATIAN is spoken in Serbia, Croatia-Slavonia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Dalmatia, the Adriatic islands, and Southern Hungary (Bacska, Sirmia, and Banat). (There are[12] four main dialects: čakavština, štokavština, kajkavština, and cvrližština.) The only difference between Serbs and Croats is that Serbs are mostly Orthodox and partly Muslim and use the Russian alphabet, while Croats are mainly Roman Catholics and use the Latin alphabet. The greatest literary treasures of this language are the national epics (narodne pjesme), featuring national heroes who fell in the significant battle of Kosovo Polje. The main characteristic of this language is that it is spelled entirely phonetically.

SLOVENE is spoken in Southern Styria, Carinthia, Carniola, Istria, Gorizia, Trieste, and in several areas near Udine in Italy. It is closely related to Serbo-Croatian and has only slight differences in syntax and structure.

WEND or LUSATIAN SERBIAN is spoken in some areas of Upper and Lower Lusatia and serves as a link between the Bohemian and Polish languages. The heart of this community, now completely surrounded by Germans, is the town of Bautzen (Budyšín).

POLISH is the language most similar to Slovak after Bohemian. Different sounds that use diacritical marks in Bohemian, like š, ř, č, are represented as sz, rz, cz in Polish. There’s also a distinction made between the soft and hard l, similar to Russian. The language has also retained the old Slavonic nasal sounds ą (on) and ę (en). A rich national history and impressive literature belong to the Polish nation, making the language truly worth studying.

The KASHUBE is a dialect spoken in Pomerania, near Gdańsk, by about 200,000 people. However, the Kashubes mainly see themselves as Poles.

LITTLE RUSSIAN, also known as Ruthenian or Ukrainian, is spoken in Eastern Galicia, in the Carpathians from Uzhorod to Munkács, Northern Bukowina, and Southern Russia, along the Black Sea and the rivers Dniester, Dnieper, and Don. It is rich[13] in national poetry and, like Serbo-Croatian, has preserved some of the purest characteristics of the Slavic race. It serves as a bridge between Polish and Russian, being somewhat of a mix of the two languages. Its main differences from Russian are in the pronunciation of jery, jať, e, o, and u, for example, dilo (Russ. djelo), buv (Russ. byl), dovg (Russ. dolg), ridny (Russ. rodnoj), vže (Russ. uže), usjaki (Russ. vsjaki).

RUSSIAN, also known as Great Russian, is the official language of the Russian Empire. It is the most significant of all the Slavic languages, and every Bohemian should learn it, especially since it's much easier for them to pick up compared to non-Slavic nationalities. By learning it, you also gain access to all other Slavic languages, allowing you to learn any of them in under six months.

The grammar and structure of Russian are more refined and complex than any other Slavic language. Understanding Russian opens up a vast world of literature, which has only been partially explored in America so far. Bohemians in America should focus on learning the Russian language and its culture because Russia has a bright future ahead, and friendly relations between Russia and the United States should be fostered.

Among the extinct Slavic languages, the Polabian language stands out. It was spoken by Slavic tribes living along the Elbe River, such as the Vagri in Lauenburg and Holstein, the Bodrici in Mecklenburg, and the Lutici (Veleti) in Brandenburg, as recently as the late 18th century.

[14]

The Bohemian alphabet—abeceda—(named after the first four letters a, b, c, d) has 39 letters—písmen.

To these letters correspond individual sounds—hlásky—that create Bohemian words. The Bohemian language is almost entirely phonetic, meaning that each sound has a corresponding letter, or in other words, the spelling of words matches the pronunciation. These sounds are divided into: vowels—samohlásky—and consonants—souhlásky.

The vowels are the sounds used to build words. Every vowel (and every consonant) has just one, consistent pronunciation. The vowels are:

The vowels a, e, i, o, u, y mentioned above are called short—krátké—and they are pronounced short. However, the same vowels can be long—dlouhé—and in that case, they are marked with a long sign—čárka—and are pronounced long.

Long vowels: á, é, í, ó, ú, ý

Most of the consonants in Bohemian sound the same as they do in English. We'll cover these first.

[15]

The following consonants are pronounced the same in Bohemian as they are in English:

b, d, f, h, l, m, p, r, t, v, z. The letter s is always pronounced like the s in side; never like the s in nose (which sounds like z).

In Bohemian, the emphasis is on the first syllable. If the word has multiple syllables, a secondary and lighter emphasis falls on the odd syllables (meaning the third or fifth). Since the emphasis is consistent, there's no need to mark it.

Note.—Distinguish between a long syllable and an accented one! Examples: Voda (water). In this case, both syllables are short, but the first one is accented; pátá (the fifth); here both syllables are long, with the first one accented. Kámen (the stone); in this instance, the first syllable is long and accented; malá (small); here the first syllable is short but accented, while the second is long and unaccented. The accent refers to the emphasis in voice, while a long syllable simply means a longer sound. Beginners are encouraged to pronounce long syllables noticeably long for practice purposes.

The negative form of the verb is created by simply adding the prefix—ne—to the verb. Examples: neznám—I don’t know; nemáme—we do not have, etc.

We start with the nouns from the first declension. They end with a consonant in the nominative singular. In the objective (accusative) case, they add -a; in the objective plural, they change -a to -y.

Understood! Please provide the phrases you would like me to modernize.

Article.—There is no article, definite or indefinite, in Bohemian.

Use of the cases.—The subject of a sentence is in the nominative case (the case that identifies the person or thing). The object of the verb is in the objective case.

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Pán volá hocha.—The man calls the boy.

Who is calling? The gentleman is calling.—The gentleman is the subject of the sentence and is in the nominative case. Whom does the gentleman call? The gentleman calls the boy.—The gentleman is calling the boy. The boy is the object of the verb "calls" and is in the objective case.

Since Bohemian is a highly inflected language, it's really important to get familiar with the case forms and their meanings early on.

Please provide the text you would like me to modernize.

Mám bratra. Máme bratry. Znám ptáka. Voláme sedláky. Bratr volá hocha. Sedlák má syna. Pán volá bratra. Sedlák nezná pána. Hoch nemá ptáka. Bratr nevolá hocha. Neznám pána. Nevolám sedláka. (The article and auxiliary do, does, are not translated).

Translate into Bohemian:

The farmer knows the guy. We have a brother. The guy has a bird. The farmer doesn’t know the kid. We know the farmer. The guy doesn’t call the kids. The farmer has sons. The brother knows the kids. I know the kid. I don’t know the guy.

c pronounced like ts, noc the night, celý whole.

j is pronounced like y in "you," já means "I," and voják means "the soldier."

ch is pronounced like kh (more specifically like the German ch in machen)—chudý, meaning poor.

When the Latin script was adopted for the Bohemian language, there weren't enough letters for some of the Bohemian sounds. In the early days, groups of letters were used to represent those sounds. Long vowels were indicated by doubling them. For example, Pán was written as paan, and the current letter š (which is like our sh in shoe) was written as ss, sh, or sch. In the 15th century, the Bohemian reformer John Hus proposed a spelling reform by creating simple marks over related Latin letters to represent sounds that had no Latin counterparts. Today, hooks are used to mark these unique consonants.

[17]

It’s impossible to show the exact pronunciation of the letters ď, ť, and ř. The best way to learn how to say them is by copying native Bohemians. The following phonetic descriptions of the more challenging sounds may be helpful.

ď, ť, ň are palatal dentals. They are created when the tip of the tongue is near the junction of the palate and front teeth.

ž, š, č are palatal sibilants, the tongue is positioned in the middle of the mouth, the teeth are almost closed, and hissing sounds are produced.

ř, the tongue is positioned as in the previous section, but the tip is slightly raised and it produces a trilling sound when ř is pronounced.

h, ch, gutturals, are made in the throat.

Syllables di, ti, ni are pronounced like ďi, ťi, ňi, and the omission of the “v” hook is a writing exception.

Distinguish carefully in writing and speaking the syllables di, ti, ni, from dy, ty, ny. This is very important!

Examples:—zvony, bells; zvoní, rings; u vody, by the water; vodí, leads; letí, flies; tety, aunts; noviny, newspaper; nic, nothing; ticho, silence; boty, boots; vždy, always; divadlo, theater.

The second person singular jsi, máš, voláš etc. corresponds to our: you are, you have, you call etc. These forms, however, are outdated in English and therefore the Bohemian forms should be translated as you are, you have, you call etc.

In Bohemian, the singular forms jsi, máš, etc. are used in a casual way when speaking to close friends, kids, or family members. The plural forms, jste, máte, etc. are the polite forms to be used with strangers.

[18]

The nominative plural of first declension nouns ends in -i.

Please provide the text you would like me to modernize.

Jsem žák. Jsme žáci. Nejsem voják. Nejsme vojáci. Žák má bratra. Žáci mají bratry. Voják volá sedláka. Sedlák je tady. Nejsem sedlák, jsem žák. Bratr je doma. Kluci jsou doma. Kluk má holuba. Voláme pány. Voláš pána. Máte holuby. Jste tady. Neznáme kluky. Ona je doma.

Translate into Bohemian:

I am here. The boy is home. The farmer has a pigeon. The farmers have pigeons. You don’t know the man. The soldier has a brother. We are soldiers. The man has a son. You call the boy. We know the man. The birds are here. She is home. He is here.

Lev spal. Malá myška mu skočila na záda. Lev se probudil a chytil myš do svých drápů. Ulekaná myš prosila lva: "Pusť mě, jednou se ti odvděčím." Lev se tomu zasmál, že mu malá myška slibuje odplatu, ale pustil ji na svobodu.

Za rok lovci chytili lva a přivázali ke stromu provazem. Myška uslyšela řvaní lva, přišla, přehryzla provaz a řekla: Vidíš, smál jsi se, že bych ti nemohla pomoci, ale teď vidíš, že i malá myška může hodně dokázat.

The two vowels i and y are pronounced a little differently. See Lesson I.. I is known as měkké i (soft i), while y is called tvrdé y. The difference between these two letters is very important.

h, ch, k, d, t, n, r are called tvrdé souhlásky—hard consonants and they are followed by y or ý.

ž, š, č, c, ď, ť, ň, ř, j, are called měkké souhlásky—soft consonants and are followed by i, or í.

Memorize each group of consonants and keep in mind the basic difference between them.

[19]

ou is the only diphthong in Bohemian. It is pronounced like o in low. Koule, a ball; louka, a meadow.

ú, ů. When the long u appears at the beginning of words, a simple long mark ´ is used; úkol, lesson; úterý, Tuesday. When the long u appears in the middle or at the end of words, a small circle mark ů is used to indicate the length, růže, rose; dolů, down; kůže, leather.

Where we have ů now, the old Bohemian had ó, bóh o. B. (bůh), stól o. B. (stůl), table etc.

ě appears in these syllables:

Syllables dě, tě, ně are pronounced like ďe, ťe, ňe. Both di, ti, ni and dě, tě, ně are unique ways of writing.

Distinguish carefully between: dě, tě, ně, and de, te, ne; mě, bě, pě, vě, fě, and me, be, pe, ve, fe.

Lead, you, body, art, something, things, don't do, fist, ice, torments, rods, runs away, now, by the tub, smells.

There is no progressive form of the verb in Bohemian, so slyším can also be translated as I am hearing; voláme, we are calling, etc. The following verbs are conjugated in the same way as slyším. Only the first person is given: vidím, I see; nosím, I carry; chodím, I walk; mluvím, I speak; chválím, I praise.

The possessive case of first declension nouns ends in -a in the singular and in -ů in the plural.

[20]

The nouns of the first declension are all masculine. They are split into two groups: the first refers to living things only, while the second refers to non-living beings. The second group, which includes the inanimate nouns, is declined as follows:

As we've seen, we don't need to use personal pronouns with the Bohemian verb to indicate person and number. The verb endings make that clear enough.

The interrogative form is shown by the question mark in writing and the right intonation in speaking, e.g.

Please provide the text you'd like me to modernize or translate.

Kdo má kabát? Já mám kabát. My máme kabáty. Koho voláte? Volám bratra a vojáka. Tady je kabát kluka. Vidíte strom? Ano, vidím strom. Ne, nevidím strom. Máš chléb? Ano, mám chléb. Žák má klobouk a kabát. Koho slyšíte? Slyším kluka. Koho chválíte? Chválíme žáka. Pán má obraz. Rám obrazu. Chléb sedláků.

Translate into Bohemian:

The man has a picture. Who do you hear? I hear the soldiers. We talk. Do you know the farmer? Yes, I know the farmer. Who do you call? I call the brother. We praise the farmers. What do you hear? Do you see the boy and the soldier?

[21]

There are some words in Bohemian that have no vowels; for example, vlk means wolf, and prst means finger.… In these words, the consonants l and r function as vowels; they take on a softer sound and are called semivowels (Pronounce them as if there’s a slight e before l or r. Vlk sounds like velk, and prst sounds like perst).

Examples:—Stick your finger through your neck. Drn, pln, slz, brk, vlna.—Some consonants that come together can be tricky for new learners. So, a lot of practice is needed to develop a good pronunciation from the start.

anger, anger; read, read; walls, walls; happiness, happiness; prey, prey; bell, bell; cellar, cellar.

Šla Prokopka pro Prokopa, Prokope, dej trochu oukropa. Třiatřicet křepelek letělo přes třiatřicet stříbrných střech.

a, á, b, c, č, d, ď, e, é, é, ě, f, g, h, ch, i, í, j, k, l, m, n, ň, o, ó, p, r, ř, s, š, t, ť, u, ú, ů, v, y, ý, z, ž.

The letters q, x, w only appear in words borrowed from other languages.

The vowels a, e, i, o, u, y have a full vocal sound. Consonants are split into voiceless sounds ch, k, t, ť, p, s, c, š, č, f. They have a dull sound and no vocal tone, while voiced sounds h, g, d, ď, b, z, ž, v have a clear sound and a light vocal tone.—When a voiceless sound follows a voiced sound or vice versa, whether in the same word or in two adjacent words, either the voiceless sound changes into a voiced sound or the voiced sound into a voiceless one, so that both are of the same type.

No examples provided.

When a vowel comes after the consonant, it will maintain its full sound; lvi, lions; ve sněhu, in the snow; lezu, I crawl; běžím, I run; lodě, ships.

Prepositions v, in; k, to, towards; s, with, are words. They should be separated from the words that follow them, but when speaking, they combine with the next word and are pronounced as one. For example: v lese, in the forest, say vlese; k bratru, to the brother, say kbratru; s pánem, with the gentleman, say spánem.

Notice that, while in English the plural of all three he, she, and it is they, each of these has its own plural form in Bohemian.

We have had two types of verbs so far and the auxiliary verb to be, býti.

The personal pronoun is usually left out, except in emphatic statements. The third person plural of the verbs from the first lessons: mají, they have, znají, they know (just like volají) and jsou, they are.

All nouns in Bohemian are categorized as masculine, feminine, or neuter. Jsou buď rodu mužského, ženského nebo středního. This classification is referred to as grammatical gender. Nouns that end in the nominative singular with a are feminine.

Declension of feminine nouns ending in -a.

[23]

Feminine nouns in this declension:

At school, in the school (locative case).

Please provide the short piece of text you'd like me to modernize.

Kdo je ve škole? My jsme ve škole. Pán je doma. Kde jsou vojáci? Oni jsou tady. Mám knihu. Má sestra má knihy. Neslyším sestry. Sestry volají kluka. Kde je kluk? Kluk je ve škole. Voláme tetu, ona je doma. Knihu žáka má voják. Vidím dům sedláka. Chválíte žáky? Ano, chválíme žáky.

Below is a short piece of text (5 words or fewer). Modernize it into contemporary English if there's enough context, but do not add or omit any information. If context is insufficient, return it unchanged. Do not add commentary, and do not modify any placeholders. If you see placeholders of the form __A_TAG_PLACEHOLDER_x__, you must keep them exactly as-is so they can be replaced with links.

Kde jest sestra? Máte knihy? Slyšíte pána, znáte vojáky? Kde jest hoch? Co má ona? Koho volají ony? Vidíte stromy?

Translate into Boho:

We can’t hear the guy. She has an aunt. The students are in school. Where is the soldier’s sister? The farmer’s bread is here. She can’t hear. They (male) can’t hear. They (female) can’t see. What do you see? I have books. We have books at school.

Vowels.

Consonants. — Souhlásky.

The remaining consonants: b, p, v, l, m, s, z, f, are known as neutral consonants—obojetné souhlásky. These consonants can be hard or soft in specific cases or verb endings, as will be explained in the grammar, or they may be soft or hard in certain words that will be discussed later. The correct use of y or i after neutral consonants is one of the challenges of Bohemian grammar.

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Long vowels—long vowels.—It’s very important to use the long mark ´ over long vowels and to pronounce them with the right length. Beginners especially should extend these sounds to develop the habit. Many similar-sounding words are differentiated by the length sign: for example, pata, heel, pátá, fifth, peče, bakes, péče, care, pára, steam, párá, ripping, psi, dogs, psí, of the dog, kůl, post, pillar, kul, forged.

The indirect object is shown by the dative case. It answers the question to whom? Komu?

I give a book to the boy.—I give a book to the boy.

I give what? The book. The book is the direct object.

To whom should I give the book? To the boy, hochovi. The boy is the indirect object expressed in Czech by the dative case. The preposition k, meaning to or toward, (ke or ku before words starting with k, b, v, p) is used only to indicate direction when the verb suggests motion. Jdu ke stolu. I'm going to (toward) the table.

The dative case forms.

In Bohemian, adjectives agree with the nouns they modify in gender, number, and case.

Nominative singular and plural of the masculine and feminine forms of the adjectives.

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The adjective ends in the nominative singular for the masculine as -ý.

The adjective ends in the nominative singular for the feminine in -á.

The adjective ends in the nominative plural for the masculine animate in -í.

The adjective ends in the nominative plural for the masculine inanimate in -é.

The adjective ends in the nominative plural for the feminine with -é.

Sure! Please provide the text you would like me to modernize.

Hodný sedlák dal hochovi knihu. Hodní sedláci dali hochům knihy. Stromy jsou zelené. Malý žák je ve škole. Kde je hodný hoch? Hodný hoch je doma. Pán dal hochovi klobouk. Slyším sestru. Je žák hodný? Ano, žák je hodný. Je kniha stará? Ne, kniha není stará, kniha je nová. Sedlák dal chleba pánovi. Starý pán je doma. Hodná matka je zde. Starý dům je veliký. Kabát hocha je nový.

Translate into Bohemian:

The old man knows the boy. The old men know the boys. Is the little boy at school? Yes, he is at school. No, he is not at school; he is at home. The coat is old. Where is the tall soldier? We have coats and hats. The good students are at school. Where is the big sister? The aunt is nice. The tree is big and green.

Kmotr Matěj went to visit godfather Jíra. Not far from the farm, he met the godfather's boy.

“What's Dad doing, Joseph?” she asks him.

“Just as he wanted to eat, but when he saw you coming, he stood up and left the food alone,” replied the truthful boy.

"And why is that?"

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“Inu, Dad said you ate a lot, and Mom had to put everything away from the table.”

“A kam pak to schovala, Josífku?”

“Husa, pečená s játry, kýta na kamnech, klobásy se zelím v troubě, buchty na polici a dva džbány piva pod lavicí.”

Kmotr se už dál neptal, usmál se a okamžitě vešel přes práh ke kmotrovi.

“God greet you!” welcomed him godfather Jira. “If only you had come a little earlier, you could have eaten with us; today we have nothing left from the meal to honor you.”

“Sorry, dear godfather, I couldn’t arrive sooner; something unexpected happened on my way.”

"Hey, tell me!"

“Zabil jsem ti hada, a ten had měl hlavu tak velkou jako ta kýta, co máte na kamnech, tlustý byl jako ta husa, co je na pícce, bílé masíčko měl jako ty buchty, co jsou na polici, dlouhý pak byl jako ty klobásy, co leží otočené na zelí v troubě, krve ale bylo, co piva v těch dvou džbánech, co tamto pod lavicí stojí.”

Dobře to Matěj udělal. Kmotr Jíra se za svou neochotu cítí trapně, žena musela jídlo a pití na stůl dát, a oba teprve teď hosta obsluhovali.

Božena Němcová.

It was stated in Lesson III. that the plural form of masculine animate nouns and their adjectives ends in -i—měkké i. Since i, měkké, cannot follow a hard consonant, this must soften, meaning it changes to the corresponding soft consonant. In softening, při měkčení

d, t, n automatically soften when you add i—di, ti, ni.

Neutral consonants just add -i.

This change, known as softening, is very important; it also happens after ě.

After the prepositions: o, about, v (ve), in, po, following, after, the locative case is used in Bohemian.

After the prepositions: s (se), with, za, behind, further where in English we use the preposition by to indicate instrumentality to some action, the instrumental case is used in Bohemian.

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Note.—Prepositions s, with; v, in; k, to, towards, add -e for the sake of smoothness, (k before k, b, v, p, v before v, f, s before s, z, š, ž).

Locative case.

Instrumental case.

Mluvím o klukovi. I’m talking about the boy. Locative case.

Mluvím s chlapcem. I speak with the boy. Instrumental case.

The following verbs form their present indicative like jdu: nesu, I carry, čtu, I read, beru, I take.

I'm going with the gentleman. I go with the gentleman, you go with the gentleman, he goes with the gentleman, she goes with the gentleman. We go with the gentleman, you all go with the gentleman, they go with the gentleman, they (females) go with the gentleman.

Continue speaking as shown in the example above for all three persons, both singular and plural:

Do (preposition) is followed by the possessive case.

Please provide the text you would like me to modernize or translate into English.

Jdu do školy. Máš klobouk a kabát. Ta dívka je Češka. Je ten voják Čech? Ne, on není Čech, je Američan. Jdu do lesa. V lese[28] jsou stromy. Pták zpívá v lese. Kdo mluví o škole? Hoch sedláka mluví o škole. Koho volá sestra? Sestra volá tetu. Co čte bratr? Bratr čte knihu. Co nese starý sedlák? Starý sedlák nese knihu. Ten sedlák je Čech.

Change the sentences in Exercise II. into plural (in Bohemian).

Translate into Bohemian:

A good student goes to school. She brings bread. They hear the soldiers. What are you carrying? The nice aunt has a garden. An older sister reads a book. A man walks with the soldier. Behind the soldier is a tree. The big building is the school. Where are you going? I'm going home. We talk about school.

Ve škole jsou studenti a učitel. Mají knihy. Učí se pilně. Sedí v lavicích. Učitel je u stolu. Na stole má velkou knihu. Jeden student stojí a čte, ostatní dávají pozor.

Jsme ve škole a učíme se. Jsme studenti. Sedíme v lavicích. Máme knihy a papír.

The vocative case is used in Bohemian for direct address, when calling someone, and in making appeals. For example, Pane! dej mi chléb. Sir, give me bread.

Declension of holub, charted.

Single.

Plural.

Holub is the root—kmen.—The different cases are created by adding inflectional endings to the root.

Holub is the example—vzor—for the declension of masculine nouns animate that end in a hard consonant. (Here, the neutral consonant is regarded as hard). If we substitute the stem with a line, the case endings will become clearer.

Remarks on this declension. A.) In the singular, the objective and possessive cases end in —a, the dative and locative end in —u, or —ovi.

B.) In the plural, the Nominative and Vocative cases end in —i; the Objective and Instrumental cases end in —y. An exception is the nominative plural učitelé, meaning teachers, and andělé, meaning angels.

C.) If the stem vowel is ů, e.g. bůh, this ů changes to o in all oblique cases (all cases except the nominative singular), bozi, nominative plural, boha, of the god, etc.

D. Hard consonants need to soften before i or í (locative plural), see lesson VI. for the required change.

E.) In the vocative case, the stem vowel shortens in pane! Sir! The hard consonants soften before -e, for example: bože! God!, bratře! brother! For many nouns ending in ch, h, and k, the vocative singular ends in -u: hochu! vojáku! synu!

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F.) e before the last consonant is removed in the oblique cases, Ex. pes, dog, psi, psu, etc. Orel, eagle, orla, orli; Turek, Turk, Turka.

Almost all Bohemian verbs end in the infinitive of -ti. The masculine participle is commonly formed by changing the infinitive ending -ti to -l. The past participle adds -i for masculine plural, -a for feminine singular, and -y for feminine plural.

The pupil spoke. The pupil spoke. The pupils spoke. The pupils spoke. The sister spoke. The sister spoke. The sisters spoke. The sisters spoke.

Masculine form.

There is no progressive form in Bohemian, so mluvím means both I speak and I am speaking, and the same applies to other tenses.

The female versions.

The past tense in Bohemian is made from the past participle and the present tense of the auxiliary býti, which means to be (jsem, jsi, jsme, jste). The auxiliary is dropped in the third person. On mluvil. Oni mluvili.

When the personal pronoun is omitted, which is common, the auxiliary verb is placed after the participle: já jsem mluvil, or mluvil jsem, my jsme mluvili, or mluvili jsme.

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Whenever the subject of the verb is masculine, the past participle is in the masculine form; if the subject is feminine, the past participle is in the feminine form.

Continue in all three persons, singular and plural, (follow the example in the Lesson VI):

Please provide the text you'd like me to translate or modernize.

Nemluvil jsem s tetou. Učitel mluví s bratrem. Učitel mluvil s bratry. Znal jsem vojáka? Sestra chválila tetu. Kdo chodil do školy? Já jsem chodil do školy. Matka dala hochovi chleba. Koho jsi slyšel mluvit? Slyšel jsem mluvit pána o vojácích. Komu jsi dal knihu? Co jsi hledal? Hledal jsem psa. Tady je pes. Kdo to udělal? Malý kluk to udělal.

Translate into Boho:

The teacher is at school with the students. What are you looking for? I'm looking for my book. Where is the tall boy? The tall boy is on the street. Who was complimenting the boy? The teacher was complimenting the boy. Brother is walking with the dog. I see birds. The pigeons are birds. We called the soldiers and gentlemen. We didn't know them.

Type,—Sample tree—tree.

Remarks on this declension: A.) In the singular, the nominative and the objective are simply formed by the stem, while the possessive, dative, and[32] locative take the ending -u. In the plural, the nominative, objective, instrumental, and vocative take the ending -y.

B) e in ending -ek (diminutive ending) loses e in oblique cases, stromek, stromky, little tree.

C) ě in the locative singular softens the hard consonants in the same way. Ex. Tábor, camp, v táboře, in the camp; sud, barrel, v sudě, in the barrel. But since there is no ě sound following s, l, or z, words that end with these consonants simply add e instead of ě. (General rule in Bohemian). Les, forest, v lese, kostel, church, v kostele.

The last two verbs aren’t irregular but belong to a special category.

The past tense (and there is only one past tense in Bohemian) is formed for the first two persons using the past participle and the auxiliary býti; the third person uses the participle by itself. See the previous lesson.

In the same way měl jsem, I had; ona měla, she had. Četli jsme, we read (masc.); ony četly (fem.) they read.— Šel forms, however, are an exception (the e is so-called pohyblivé e, movable e, like e in the ending -ek of the masculine nouns (declension)). The feminine form of šel is šla, the plural of šel is šli, the plural of šla is šly.

On šel, he went; plural oni šli, they went or they were going.

ona šla, she went; plural ony šly, they went, or they were going.

No auxiliary is used in Bohemian to form questions or negative statements. Negatives are created by simply adding ne (e.g., I. lesson); nebyl jsem, I was not; nešel jsem, I did not go. The only exception is jest, shortened to je, meaning is, but není, meaning is not.

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Questions are formed by swapping the pronoun and the verb. You have money. Do you have money? However, since the pronoun is usually left out, only the question mark and the emphasis in speech indicate a question. You read a book. Do you read a book? When the subject is a noun, the verb comes after the noun in a statement and comes before the noun in a question, except when using an adverb like why? why?, when?, when?, where?, where?, to where? is used to introduce the question.

Hoch was in school. The boy was in school. Was the boy in school? The soldier read the book. Did the soldier read the book? The sister didn’t talk. Why didn’t the sister talk?

When translating into English, Bohemian verbs can be expressed using the progressive form. For example: Mluvil jsem, I spoke or I was speaking.

Complete in all three singular and plural forms:

Please provide the text you would like me to modernize.

On the table is a book. There was a book on the table. The soldiers are in the camp. Who called the brother? That old man called the brother. Where did the farmer go? The farmer went to the church. There are trees in the forest. I saw birds in the forest. We went into the forest. Where did you go? We are in the forest. Where are you? In the forest. Behind the house is a big forest. Why weren't you at school? Did you see the boys at school?

Translate into Bohemian:

Where are you going? I'm going home. Where were you yesterday? I went to the forest. The boy is reading a book. The boys are reading books. The boy was reading a book. The boys were reading books. The sisters were talking to their teachers. There's a garden behind the house. Did you see the soldiers? The soldier was here.

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Model fish.

Notes on this declension: A. The plural possessive is formed from the simple stem, ryb, škol, žen. When this stem ends in two or more consonants like sestra, matka, bitva, etc., it’s necessary for the sake of euphony to add a “movable e” before the last consonant. For example, sester for the sisters; matek for the mothers; bitev for the battles.

B. If the stem vowel is ou, it gets shortened to u in the possessive plural. Moucha, fly; much, of the flies; louka, meadow; luk, of the meadows; houba, mushroom; hub, of the mushrooms.

C. The ending for the dative and locative singular is ě. This changes to e before l, s, z. Ve škole, in the school, huse, to the goose, koze, to the goat. The hard consonant softens before ě as explained earlier: víra (belief) becomes víře, ruka (hand) becomes ruce, noha (foot) becomes noze, moucha (fly) becomes mouše.

D. Notice that the last y is pronounced strongly, ryby; but in the instruments, it's rybami.

E. Daughter has an ancient dat. and loc. daughter.

The so-called “compound future tense” of all Bohemian verbs is created using the future forms of the auxiliary verb to be—budu, budeš, etc.—and the infinitive of the main verb.

Ex. Budu mluviti. I will talk or I will be talking.

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Budeme míti, we will have. Budeš slyšeti, you will hear. Učitel bude chváliti. The teacher will praise. Teta bude chváliti. The teacher will praise. Sestry budou mluviti. The sisters will talk. Míti, to have, to possess, is also used to mean to have to or ought to, in which case it’s followed by the infinitive. Ex. Mám mluviti pravdu. I ought to speak the truth, I have to speak the truth. Máme pracovati. We ought to, we have to, work.

Idioms. Jak se máte? How are you? How do you do? Mám se dobře. I'm doing well. Máme se dobře. We’re doing well.

Mít se dobře, (špatně), to be well, (unwell), (se is a reflexive pronoun). Mám se špatně. I am not feeling well.

Complete: I'll be working today, you'll be working today, etc.

Please provide the text you would like me to modernize.

Máme mluvit pravdu. Budeme mluvit pravdu. Sedlák má krávy a husy. Chudá žena má kozu. Žena sedláka zná chlapce. Co budete dělat zítra? Budu číst knihy. Budeme se mít dobře. Máme se dobře. Měl jsem se dobře. Jak se máte, pane? Děkuji, dobře. Voják byl v bitvě. Chlapec nešel do školy, neměl knihy. Musíš mít knihy. Dáme to matce. Šel jsem s matkou na ulici. Sedlák má mnoho krav. Voják viděl mnoho bitev. Koupil jsem košík hub. Co dnes děláte?

Můj otec pracuje v dílně jako dělník. Dělá osm hodin denně. Vydělává slušnou mzdu. Po práci přichází domů, večeříme a pak otec čte noviny. Matka mu říká, co se ten den stalo doma. Povídáme si o různých věcech a také se bavíme hrami.

Čím je tvůj otec? Kde pracuje tvůj otec?

Kdy přijde táta domů? Kdy jíte večeři?

Co dělá táta večer? Hrajete si? O čem si povídáte? Jaké noviny čtete?

Nouns are names of objects (people, things, and ideas).

Nouns are the names of objects (people, things, or ideas).

Číslo. Number. In Czech, there is singular and plural.

In Bohemian, there is a singular and plural form. The old Bohemian also had a third form, the dual, which was used when talking about two objects. Now, it is only used in a few instances, see lesson XX.

Rod, Gender. All nouns in Czech are divided into three classes according to their grammatical gender. Specifically, they are: masculine gender, feminine gender, or neuter gender.

All nouns in Bohemian are categorized into three classes based on their grammatical gender: masculine, feminine, or neuter.

(Grammatical gender may differ from the natural gender that indicates sex. Děvče, meaning girl, is neuter even though it refers to a female being. Inanimate objects can be any gender; for example, stůl, meaning table, is masculine, okno, meaning window, is neuter, and voda, meaning water, is feminine.)

It’s important to know the gender of nouns because adjectives, pronouns, and participles change their endings based on the gender of the noun they modify.

The following rule, which applies in most cases, will help in figuring out the gender of nouns:

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Nouns that end in a hard or neutral consonant are masculine.

Nouns that end in -a are feminine, and many that end in -e are also feminine.

Nouns that end in -o are neuter, and many that end in -í are neuter too.

Being—Bytost. In the masculine gender, a distinction is made between nouns that refer to living beings, životné bytosti, and those that refer to non-living beings, neživotné bytosti.

Declension refers to the changes that a word undergoes to fit its role in a sentence. A noun has seven of these changes—cases. Changes by which a noun is adjusted to its purpose in the sentence are called declension. Bohemian nouns have seven such changes called—cases. The use and function of cases is explained in Lesson XV.

1 one, 2 two, 3 three, 4 four, 5 five, 6 six, 7 seven, 8 eight, 9 nine, 10 ten, 11 eleven, 12 twelve.

jeden, dva are masculine forms, jeden, hoch, dva hoši, jedna, dvě, are feminine forms jedna sestra, dvě sestry. All other numerals have just one form for all genders.

Numerals starting with five, six, seven, etc. are followed by the plural possessive.

Pět hochů five boys, deset domů … etc.

Abbreviations: m—masculine; f—feminine; n—neuter. The plural form is provided with nouns to indicate exceptions and the declension they belong to.

A. Complete: I have a good friend, you have a good friend.…

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B. Decrease:

Worker, forest, workshop, game.

D. Conjugate in the present, past, and future (e.g., I praise, you praise … I praised … I will praise):

baviti (bavím) to entertain (like chváliti) (chválím.) vydělávati, vydělávám (like volati volám.)

Please provide the text to be translated or modernized.

Dnes je čtvrtek, zítra bude pátek. Včera byla středa. Za tři dny bude neděle. Co jsi dělal v pondělí? V pondělí jsem byl ve škole. Večer jsme četli noviny. Kolik vydělal bratr? Bratr vydělal deset dolarů. Jsem ještě mladý. Tady je šest lidí. Vidím dvě osoby. V dílně jsou pracovníci, ve škole jsou studenti. Pět a pět je deset. Tři a tři je šest. Máme rybu na večeři. V neděli nepracujeme. Co budeš dělat zítra? Sestry jsou v jídelně.

Translate into Bohemian:

The old woman has five geese. I saw her and the geese in the forest. The geese walked ahead of her. This soldier fought in two battles. My dad works in a shop. He is a worker. I am a student. We will read tomorrow. Where were you yesterday?

V naší rodině jsou čtyři lidé. Otec, matka a šest dětí. Čtyři synové a dvě dcery. Dva chlapci už chodí do školy a dva jsou ještě doma. Jsou mladí. Náš dům má deset místností: kuchyň, obývací pokoj, jídelnu, čtyři ložnice, komoru a dřevník. Kolik místností má váš dům?

Example, type. City, city.

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The possessive plural is the simple root like ryb in feminine declension. The "movable e" is also added here for smoother pronunciation when the root ends with two or three consonants. Okno, window, oken, jablko apple, jablek.

Final ě follows the normal rules: a) it changes to e after s, l, z, as in ve skle, meaning "in the glass."

b) it softens the hard consonants (r into ř, h into z, ch into š, k into c). Ex.: mléko, milk, v mléce.

Locative plural also ends in -ích instead of -ech; in words, in the words.

IDIOMS. Many idiomatic expressions are formed with the verb míti meaning to have. Míti hlad, to be hungry. Mám hlad, I am hungry. Míti žízeň, to be thirsty. Máte žízeň? Are you thirsty? Míti rád někoho, neb něco, to like. Mám rád bratra. I like my brother. The adverb rád (gladly) conveys the meaning of to like in English. Já rád čtu knihy. I like to read books. (We read books gladly.) My rádi pracujeme. We like to work. (We work gladly.) Ty rád čteš. You like to read. Hodina (hodiny) hour. Kolik how many? (how much?). Kolik jest hodin? What time is it? Jsou dvě hodiny. It is two o’clock. Jest šest hodin. It is six o’clock. (Numerals higher than four are followed by the possessive pl.)

Complete in all people, both singular and plural.

Decline: Okno window, jablko apple, slovo word, kladivo hammer.

Please provide the text you'd like me to modernize or translate.

Včera večer v šest hodin jsem byl na ulici. Kam jdete, příteli? Jdu do města koupit jablka. Kluk má tři jablka. Pán dal chlapci deset jablek. Jak se máte? Děkuji, mám se dobře. A jak se máte vy? Také dobře. Píšeme perem a tužkou. Můj syn má žízeň. Máte, prosím, trochu[40] vody? Ano, tady je sklenice vody. Sestra má ráda tetu. Nemáte rádi učitele? Ano, mám ho rád, je velmi laskavý. Kolik je hodin? Jsou dvě hodiny. Je sedm hodin večer. Nemáte žízeň? Nemám žízeň, ale mám hlad. Za městem je velká zahrada.

Change the following sentences into the plural:

Mám jablko. V městě je velký dům. Mám pero a tužku. Kluk jde městem. Ulice ve městě je čistá. Píšu perem nebo tužkou. Můj bratr je učitel. Teta koupila husu. Dělník pracuje ve městě.

Change to singular:

Mluvíme se sestrami. V městech chválí farmáře. Na stromech rostou jablka. Chválíme slovy. Dobří žáci mají také pera a tužky. Kde máte knihy? Rádi jíme jablka. V zahradách je hodně stromů.

Translate into Bohemian:

I’m thirsty. Here’s a glass of fresh water. Thank you for your kindness; I love having a glass of pure, fresh water. Does your brother enjoy reading good books? Yes, he loves books a lot. He brought ten books yesterday. How many pencils does your friend have?

Chlapec měl hlad. Koupil si housek a snědl ji, ale pořád měl hlad. Koupil si druhou housek a snědl ji, stále měl hlad. Koupil si třetí housek a snědl ji, a pořád měl hlad. Tak si koupil koláče, a když snědl jeden z nich, byl sytý. Pak se chlapec uhodil do hlavy a řekl:

“Jsem to idiot! Proč jsem snědl tolik housek? Mohl jsem si raději hned koupit jeden koláč.”

Určité přídavné jméno končí v jednotném čísle na -ý, -á, -é, v množném čísle na -í, -é, -á. např.

Určitá přídavná jména, the definite adjectives, agree with the noun they modify in number, gender, and case.

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Declension of definite adjectives. Singular:

Type, pattern, good.

The last four cases have the same forms for masculine and neuter.

In all genders, the nominative case is the same as the vocative.

The objective case for masculine gender has two forms: one for living beings and another for non-living things.

Definite Adjectives: (Only the masculine form is provided.)

Verbs with ě or e as the root vowel.

uměti to know, to be able to do.

This conjugation is different from the verb slyšeti, viděti, only in the third person plural: umějí, they know, but slyší, they hear.

Verbs conjugated like uměti

Verbs conjugated like slyšeti

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Uměti and směti are followed by the infinitive:

Umím psát. I know how to write. Můžu jít domů. I can go home.

A.) Complete in all persons, both singular and plural:

Neumím francouzsky. I don’t know French. Nesměl jsem odejíti. I might not leave. Budu krájeti chleba. I will cut bread. Bydlel jsem ve městě. I lived in town. Smím k Vám přijíti? May I come to see you?

Decline in singular:

Kde bydlíte? Bydlím ve velkém domě. Bydleli jsme v malém městě. Naši rodiče sázeli stromy, i my je budeme sázet. Sedláka bolela ruka. Bratra bolel zub. Nesmíš jít ven. Čerstvý sníh je bílý. Dala jsem jablko veselému chlapci. Kdy čtete noviny? Čtu noviny v osm ráno. Šel jsem s malým bratrem a malou sestrou. Na vysokém stromě má černý pták hnízdo. Umíme číst česky. Mluvíme česky. Nesmím zlobit své rodiče.

Sample, good type.

In the nominative plural, masculine adjectives for inanimate nouns end in -é; those for animate nouns end in -í. The hard consonant must soften before "i"! Good sir. Good sirs.

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The last four cases are the same for all genders.

The adjectives often make up the predicate. (After the verb "to be.")

Many verbs are created by adding prefixes. Ex. take, retake.

In Bohemian, a lot of prefixes are used to give verbs a wide range of meanings. Once a verb has a prefix, it takes on a perfect aspect, meaning it indicates an action that has been or will be completed. Because of this, all verbs with prefixes do not have a present tense; rather, this present form indicates the future. No compound future tense can be created with verbs that have prefixes. For further discussion, see lesson XXXVI..

The past tense of compound verbs matches the English present perfect. Přišel jsem, I have come.

Pán poslal sluhu pro hrušky. “Kup mi jen ty nejlepší,” řekl mu. V obchodě mu dávali žádané hrušky, on je vrátil: “Ne,” řekl, “dejte mi jen ty nejlepší.”

Kupec replied, “Try one, and you'll see they're all good.”

“How can I know they’re all good if I only taste one?” the young man said.

Ukousl od každé hrušky a přinesl je pánovi. A pán ho za to vyhnal ze služby.

Mladý sokol se dal tak ochočit, že přilétal pánovi na ruku, kdykoliv naň zavolal. Kohout však utíkal před pánem a křičel, když se k němu blížil. Sokol si toho povšimnul a řekl kohoutovi: "Ty kohoute, nemáš žádnou slušnost. Je jasné, že jsi ubohý tvor. Chodíš k pánovi jen když máš hlad. To já nedělám, hloupý ptáku! Mám dost síly a umím létat, ale před pánem neutíkám."

Kohout replied: I've never heard of roasted falcon, but I've heard of roasted rooster. That's why I'm running away.

Exercise.—Change the above story into the plural forms.

A.) Complete in all individuals, both singular and plural:

B. Decline in singular and plural: roasted rooster, cheerful girl, old town.

Please provide the text you would like me to modernize or translate into English.

Přišel jsem navštívit strýce Jana. Strýc Jan je farmář. Našel jsem strýce na zahradě. Trhal jablka. Učitel se ptal žáka, co udělal. Několik velkých kluků si hrálo na ulici. Stateční vojáci bojovali ve velké bitvě. Malé dívky odešly domů. Přijdu ve dvě hodiny. Ve starých domech jsou malé pokojíky.

Translate into Bohemian:

When did you arrive? I arrived at seven. What did you find? I found the old hammer. Where did you buy the pears? I bought them at the store. We'll come tomorrow. The nice aunts are sick. What do you know about the big cities? There are many large trees in the forest. What did the mother give to the little boys? She gave them nice cakes.

Possessive pronouns (like adjectives) match the nouns they modify in number, gender, and case.

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jeho, his; její, her, hers; jeho, its; jejich, their, has one form for all three genders, singular and plural.

Jeho bratr, jeho sestra, jeho srdce; jejich bratr, jejich sestry, jejich pole.

Similar to my, mine, is his, her, its, the reflexive possessive pronoun, used when talking about the subject of the sentence. Ex. I go with my own brother.

Umývám se, I wash myself, umýváme se, we wash ourselves, umýváš se a umýváte se, you wash yourself.

The Reflexive se is used for all three persons, both singular and plural. In Bohemian, the reflexive pronoun is used with many verbs. Its declension and various uses will be covered later on.

Present tense:

want, you want, wants; we want, you want, they want.

Past participle chtěl, wanted.

Present tense

know, know, knows, we know, you know, they know

Past participle, věděl, knew, known.

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Present tense

I'm going, you're going, he's going, we're going, you (plural) are going, they're going.

Past participation, jel went, rode ridden.

Chtíti is followed by an infinitive.

Chci mluviti. I want to talk.

a) to know and understand.

uměti nějakou věc, to know a skill, to be able to do something specific.

Umím číst, I know, I can read. Vědět něco, to know something. Slyšel jsem to, vím to. I heard it, I know it. Znáti (znám), to know a person or a thing, to be acquainted with it. Znám vás. I know you.

b) To go and travel.

jeti is used whenever we go somewhere by any form of transportation, jíti simply means walking.

Jedu domů, I go home, whether I'm using a vehicle, car, horse, bicycle, etc.

I'm going home, if I just walk. I went to New York is translated as jel jsem, if I used a train or another vehicle. But I went to New York if I walked.

The future of jíti, jdu, půjdu (prefix pů-), never budu jíti.

The future of jeti, pojedu (prefix po-); I will never be jeti.

Complete in all three persons singular and plural:

Půjdu na procházku. I’ll go for a walk. Pojedu na venkov—I’ll go to the countryside. Chci pracovati—I want to work. Nevěděla jsem to—I didn’t know that (fem.). Umím svou úlohu—I know my lesson. Znám mladou dívku—I know a young girl. Nevěděl jsem to—I didn’t know that.

Please provide the text you'd like me to modernize or translate.

Můj bratr mluví. Moji bratři mluvili. Tvůj bratr promluví. Kdy jsi přečetl tu velkou knihu? Má matka to chce vědět. Kohout sedláka běhá po dvoře. Má teta má velkou zahradu plnou krásných[47] květin. Sokol se dá ochočit. Ochočení sokolové byli využíváni k lovu. Zdravá hlava je všeho. Čistota je půl zdraví. Veselá mysl je půl zdraví. Měl bys jít domů. Když přišel, uviděl svůj dům spálený. Poznal jsem ho jako řádného kluka. Přečtu tu knihu zítra.

Translate into Boho:

Did you know that respected gentleman? Have you read that old book all the way through? You should know this. Will you take the train to Washington? Did you walk to Washington? Who knows this gentleman? Who knows how much five plus five is? We can work well together. The farmer has a large yard with many cows and geese. My father said some kind words. Our old mother came here. Our soldiers march through the city. Your garden is large.

(Look for the words in the vocabulary at the end of the book). A day has twenty-four hours. (Also twenty-four hours). Night is the part of the day when the sun isn’t shining. When the sun starts to shine, we call that morning, or dawn. Noon is half of the day; the clock shows twelve o'clock. Midnight is half of the night. The afternoon is the time between noon and evening. In the evening, the sun sets, and it gets dark. People greet each other: Good morning! Good day! Good afternoon! Good evening! Good night!

It is very important that the student of Bohemian masters the declension of nouns, adjectives, pronouns, and numerals. This should be achieved not just by memorizing the case endings but also by thoroughly understanding the meaning and use of the cases.

Case questions. Each case comes with a set of questions that help us understand the situation. The boy knows the soldier. Who knows the soldier? The boy knows the soldier.

Who does the boy know? The boy knows the soldier. We see that the question who? asks for and determines the nominative case, and the question whom? asks for and determines the objective case.

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The last question is used to ask for things, while the first (and second of the possessive) is used to ask for living beings.

No question relates to the vocative case. This is used when calling someone and isn't connected to the main sentence. It's included within the sentence and is set off by a comma.

The nominative is the form used for the subject of a sentence.

The objective (or accusative) case refers to the direct object of an active, transitive verb. (Transitive verbs indicate actions that are passed onto something. For example, to see someone, to have something, etc. are transitive verbs.)

(go, to go).

Negative transitive verbs require their object in the possessive case. Vidím matku. I see mother. But: Nevidím matky. Nemáme dělníků. However, in modern colloquial Bohemian, this use of the possessive is being replaced by the objective.

Possessive (or genitive) is used as the English possessive. (In Bohemian, the possessive comes after the name of the possessed object. Mother’s child. Dítě matky.) The possessive is also used:

The dative is the case for the indirect object. (In translation, the English preposition to is mostly used to express dative.) The dative is used after verbs like: povídati (komu) to tell, věřiti (komu) to believe, radovati se (čemu) to rejoice (about something), učiti se (čemu) to study something, rovnati se (komu) to equal someone, věřiti (komu) to believe.

The locative case is used only after prepositions. See lesson XVI.

The Instrumental case is used to indicate an instrument or reason for an action. Píši pérem. I write with a pen. It's used after a passive verb where in English the preposition by shows the doer. Bylo to učiněno[49] vojákem. It was done by the soldier. It's used where in English the preposition through is applied. Jdu lesem. I walk through the forest. It’s used with the preposition s, with, to show connection. Mluvím s matkou. I talk with the mother.

Determine the case in the following sentences. Translate them.

Dude, here’s your money. Aunt, we love you. My brother bought a house. The house has several rooms. I bought a bushel of potatoes. We look out the windows. The soldiers talked to the farmers. We are learning the Czech language, or Czech. After Sunday comes Monday. There are many flowers in the garden. I won't see my brother again. The falcon wasn’t afraid of the lord. The farmer’s cows are fat. Days in winter are short. We’ll give a gift to mom. The teacher corrected the students' assignments.

Answer the following questions or complete the sentences and figure out their cases:

Kdo mluví ve škole? Co je na stole? Kdo má peníze? S kým mluvíte? Čím píšete? S kým jdete? Na čem leží kniha? V čem zůstáváte? O kom mluví sedlák? Co máte? Koho vidíte? Koho slyšel váš bratr? Komu věříte? Komu dáte sklenici vody? Čemu se divíte? Stromy čeho jsou vysoké?

The prepositions in Bohemian are followed by specific cases—váží se s jistým pádem. So, to complete our understanding of how cases are used, we’ll study prepositions in this lesson. This study is especially important because the absence of case forms in English is compensated by appropriate prepositions, and the way prepositions are used in both languages is quite different.

No preposition is used with the first and fifth cases.

Mimo besides, except, Mimo there were also civilians along with the soldiers. Besides soldiers, there were also civilians.

Ob (rarely used now) indicates a change. Ob means every other day.

Pro for. I'm going for my brother.

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Over, over, across. Over the fields and the woods. Over night. Over a hundred dollars.

Through you, Through you.

Bez without. Bez chleba. Without bread.

Dle according to. Dle the latest news. According to the latest news.

According to the law.

Next to our house.

Do in, into. I go into the city. Twice a year.

Kromě other than, apart from, besides. Every day kromě Sunday.

Around, around. Around the body. Around noon. Around

Around. The wall around the garden. Wall around the garden. But: I went around. I passed by.

Místo instead of. Místo the father, the son came.

Od, from (somebody). Od my mom. od—k, from—to. From one house to another.

You, at, by, you at aunt’s place. He was at his aunt's house. Stood by the house. He stood by the house. But:

Z, (ze), out of, from something. Ze železa. Made of iron. But:

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K, ke, ku, to, towards. I'm going k my brother. I go to my brother. Ke the second hour. Around (toward) two o’clock.

Against. Against the enemy.

Naproti, opposite. Naproti the library. Opposite the library. (I'm going to meet my aunt naproti. (Naproti is an adverb here.) I go to meet my aunt.)

O, about, Mluvíme o knize. We talk about the book.

After, following. After, the brother's sister came. After the brother came the sister. After dinner. After lunch.

Při, at, by, Při the feast. At the feast.

V, ve, in, at, V the city, in the city.

Mezi, between, among; nad, above; pod, under, below; před, before are followed by the objective when they indicate a direction of motion, in response to kam? Where to?

When they indicate, position, location in response to kde? Where at?, they are followed by the instrumental.

Jdu mezi lidi (kam). I go among the people. Mezi lidmi (kde?) Among the people.

Slunce vyšlo nad horu (kam?) a stojí nad horou (kde?) The sun rose above the mountain and stands above the mountain.

Schoval se pod stůl, (kam?); jest schován pod stolem. (kde?) He hid under the table; he is hidden under the table.

I stepped out in front of the house (where?), and I am standing in front of the house.

Na, on, v, in, is used with the objective when it signifies a direction of motion in response to kam? Where to?; and it is used with the locative when it indicates a location in response to kde? Where at?

Dej knihu na stůl (kam?) Kniha jest na stole (kde?) Put the book on the table. The book is on the table.

V rarely connects with the ob. Ex. He got sick.

Za, followed by the accusative in response to kam? Where to? (direction), and is followed by the instrumental in response to kde? Where at? Position. Schovej se za stůl (kam?) Hide behind the table. Sedíme za stolem. We sit behind the table.

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Za, during, expressing time is followed by the possessive (genitive). On a beautiful day.

S, se, when indicating an association is followed by the instrumental. S hochem, with the boy.

S, se, off from, in response to odkud? from where?, is followed by the possessive. He jumped off the wagon.

Distinguish z, out of, z flour, and s, with, s flour.

When a word comes after a preposition, they’re pronounced together as one word, and the natural emphasis that usually falls on the first syllable shifts to the preposition. Ve’vodě. Not ve vo’dě. In the so-called compound verbs “ve složených slovesech,” the prepositions act as prefixes, for example, přijíti, najíti. See lesson XXXIV.

Translate into English and note the use of prepositions.

V jednom městě žil jeden princ. Chtěl se oženit s nějakou opravdovou princeznou. Vyrazil do světa hledat nevěstu. Hodně cestoval, ale nenašel to, co hledal. Bylo sice dost princezen, ale bylo těžké zjistit, jestli jsou to skutečně princezny. Vždy na tom bylo něco podezřelého. Nakonec se vrátil domů bez nevěsty, celý smutný, protože by rád měl za ženu opravdovou princeznu.

Jednou večer se rozjela hrozná bouřka; bleskalo a hřmělo, pršelo jako z konve, bylo to hrozné! Pak někdo zaklepal na dveře a starý král vyšel otevřít.

Venku před domem u vrat stála jakás princezna. Ale, pane, ta vypadala od lijáku a bouřky! Voda tekla jí s vlasů a se šatů, nabírala se jí do střevíčků špičkami a patami vytékala ven. A přece tvrdila o sobě, že je pravou princeznou.

“Just wait and see!” thought the old queen. But she didn't say anything. She went to the bedroom, took off all the bedding from the bed, placed it on a chair beside her, then put a pea at the bottom, added twenty mattresses on top of it, and then another twenty down comforters.

Na to přivedla princeznu k posteli, aby šla spát. Ráno, když přišla k snídani, tu se jí ptali, jak se jí to spalo.

“Ale špatně,” řekla princezna.[53] “Celou noc jsem ani oka nezamhouřila! Co to jen v té posteli bylo? Ležela jsem na něčem tvrdém, takže mám záda samé modřiny. To je hrůza!”

Teď všichni viděli, že je to skutečná princezna, protože skrze dvacet slamníků a dvacet prachových peřin ucítila hrášek. Tak citlivý nemůže být nikdo než opravdická princezna.

Ten princ si ji tedy vzal za ženu, protože teď už věděl, že má skutečnou princeznu.

Translate into Boho:

Go to the bakery and buy bread for ten cents! When I came back with the bread, we sat down at the table. The baker lives across from our house. A tree stands in front of his door. Next to him is a butcher. There are a lot of people in the butcher’s shop. Go get your brother! We went to the park. Many birds were perched in the trees. We sat down on the bench. They built a brick house. Take the book off the table. Two years ago, I was in France. They called for Mr. Smith. The painting was hanging on the wall above the piano. The farmer came to town.

The declensions of holub, strom, ryba, and slovo are known as hard. The other declensions are known as soft. The nouns in these declensions end in either a soft consonant or a neutral one that still has a soft quality.

The types of masculine soft declensions are muž for animate nouns and meč for inanimate nouns.

Type Vzor man.

All masculine animate nouns ending in a soft consonant are declined like muž. For example, malíř (painter), kovář (blacksmith). Those ending in -ec have a movable e in the possessive singular. otec (father), otce, kupec (merchant), [54] kupce. These nouns have otče! and kupče! in the vocative. Nouns ending in -tel also belong to this declension. For example: učitel (teacher), kazatel (preacher) with plural nominatives učitelové and kazatelové), cvičitel (instructor), cvičitelé, kůň (horse), plural koně, instrumental plural koňmi. Nouns ending in -ce, e.g., zrádce (vocative zrádče!) (traitor), also fall into this declension. In kněz (priest), the final z changes to ž in nominative plural kněží, locative plural o kněžích, and dative plural kněžím.

Type vzor meč, sword.

All masculine inanimate nouns ending in a soft consonant are declined like "meč." For example: "Koš" for basket, "nůž" (nože) for knife, "plášť" for mantle, "pokoj" for room, and "pokoj" also means peace; "stroj" for machine. Many nouns ending in -l are declined like "meč," such as úl for beehive and kotel for boiler.

The imperative in Bohemian has unique forms for each of its three persons:

In some idiomatic expressions, the third person singular of the imperative is used. Dej Bůh! May God give. Chval každý duch Hospodina. Praise every soul the Lord!

The second person singular is the basic imperative form, the imperative root. The first person plural is created by adding -me, and the second person plural is formed by adding -te to the imperative root. Ex.

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When the second person singular of the imperative ends in -i, this -i changes to ě. čti! read! čtěme! let’s read! čtěte! read! jdi! go! jděme! let’s go! jděte! go!

The negative form is created by adding ne- to the position. Nemluv! Don't speak! Nemluvme! Let's not speak! Nemluvte! Don't speak!

Decline:

Dobrý otec, nový stroj, mladý učitel, malý nůž.

Muž nese v koši jablka. Zámek se otevírá klíčem. Dej mi nůž, hochu! Četli jsme pohádku o princi a princezně. Dobrý přítel je vzácnější než zlato. Přátele poznáš v těžkých časech. V pokoji sedí matka a čte. Jdu k učiteli, abych se naučil číst. Na kraji lesa rostou květiny. Kde jsi našel tolik krásných květin? Jdu k lékaři. Kovář kuje železo. Sedláci používají spoustu strojů. Zavolej otce, Josefe! Nemluvme, ale dávejme pozor! Pište úkol! Neberte to! Dávej pozor, hochu! Žij s rozumem, obejdeš se bez doktorů. Bičem nepřešvihneš obušku. Lepší kůrka v pokoji než bochník v rozbroji. Zajíce v pytli nekupuj.

Translate into Bohemian:

The teacher reads to us from a book. There are flowers in the basket. Where's your coat? We visit our friends. The priest is sitting in the room. He’s reading. The soldiers are fighting with swords. The doctor isn’t home. The boy bought some cookies. Please give me a piece of bread. Call your dad! Let’s head home, guys! The strong blacksmith chats with the farmers. April showers bring May flowers. Lost time is never found again.

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Type, rose pattern, rose.

Feminine nouns that end in the nominative singular with e or ě are part of this declension. For example, duše means soul, polovice means one half; all nouns that end with -yně (the feminine ending), such as otrokyně for slave woman, žákyně for girl pupil, and sokyně for woman rival, etc.

Many nouns in this declension have lost e or ě in the nominative and objective: zem (země) earth, dlaň palm, vášeň passion, obec, community.

In the possessive plural, some nouns in this declension drop í, especially those ending in -ice, like slepice (slepic) for hens and ulice (ulic) for streets. Those ending in yně can use both forms: bohyně for goddess p. bohyní and bohyň for the goddesses.

Feminine nouns that end in a soft consonant are declined like "řeč."

Ex.: věc, thing; pomoc, help; ending in -t: kost, bone; radost, joy.

Some nouns in this declension, especially those ending in -l and -ň, ď, form the nominative and instrumental plural like růže. For example: hůl, stick, hole, holemi; dlaň, palm, dlaně, dlaněmi; loď, ship, lodě, loděmi.

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Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs. Příslovce určují slovesa, přídavná jména a příslovce.

Příslovce způsobu, Adverbs of manner, odpovídající na otázku jak? how? are often formed from the definite adjectives by replacing the final vowel by -ě. Ex.

As shown earlier, -ě changes r into ř, h into z, ch into š, and k into c. dobrý means good, dobře means well, vysoký means high, vysoce means highly, dlouhý means long, dlouze means at length, suchý means dry, suše means dryly, tichý means quiet, tiše means quietly, hladký means smooth, and hladce means smoothly.—After l, e is added. rychlý means quick, rychle means quickly, smělý means bold, and směle means boldly.

Imperative of the verb: to be. Command form of the verb to be.

Be! be you, let's be! be you all!

Verbs ending in first person singular in -i. For example, pracovati, which means to work.

work, let's work, work.

Verbs in this category: milovati means to love; kupovati means to be buying.

Decline: Dear homeland, diligent student, Greek goddess, dark night.

Practice in imperatives: Go fast! Let’s go fast! You all go fast!

Continue as indicated above: Do it well! Walk straight! Pay attention! Write your assignment clearly! Be obedient!

Please provide the short piece of text you'd like me to modernize.

V zahradě kvetla krásná růže. Mám rád květiny. Naší zemí jsou Spojené státy. Kočka chytla myš. Venuše byla u Řeků bohyní krásy. Choď do školy a uč se! Nežádej o chleba! Pišme úlohy! To je velká tíž. Naše obec má krásné parky. Prose o pomoc! Zavolej příteli! Spěte! Dobrou noc! Pracujme pilně. Buďte tiše! Udělal jsi to špatně. Žádostem zlým a vášním se vyhýbej. Jazyk bez kostí, ale kosti láme. Přijď rychle! Tvůj stroj běží hladce. Dělal jsi to špatně. Pracuj pilně! Milujme svou vlast.

Translate into Bohemian:

Did you see the little mouse? No, I didn’t see it. We won’t work during the night. Let’s study! Don’t take that! Did the teacher praise the boy? Yes, he praised him. The merchants are buying the chickens. Give me a few apples. Where is the girl with that beautiful rose? She’s in the garden with her lady friend. The boy walks with his friend. Vesna was the goddess of Spring for the old Bohemians. Write clearly! The girl and the boy student are talking. Don’t talk! Speak loudly! How are you working? I work hard. The soldier came quickly. You did that well!

Hladová liška uviděla na révě pěkné zralé hrozny. Dostala na ně chuť! Chtěla si na nich pochutnati. Ale hrozny visely příliš vysoko. Marně po nich skákala,—nemohla jich dosáhnouti.

Když viděla, že je nezíská, odešla a řekla: “Ty hrozny jsou příliš kyselé. Ať si je jí, kdo chce!”

Zda to neudělala lépe, než kdyby si stěžovala?

Type, example field, field.

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Neuter nouns ending in e or ě, both in singular and plural, belong to this declension. Some nouns in this declension include: moře (sea), nebe (heavens), lože (bed), ohniště (fireplace), vejce (egg—this has the possessive plural vajec), plíce (lungs), plic (possessive plural), poledne (noon), locative singular o polednách, v poledne.

Type, vzor kuře, chicken

According to this declension, the names of young animals are declined. Ex.: ptáče, young bird, holoubě, squab, hříbě, colt. Further: neutral nouns ending in -e, plural -ata, Ex.: vnouče grandchild, kníže duke, poupě bud, děvče girl, koště broom.

Dítě child declines in the singular like kuře, and in the plural like řeč.

N. kids, V. and O. kids, P. kids, D. to the kids, L. about the kids, I. with the kids.

Type vzor rámě, arm.

This declension is very similar to that of the type kuře, but the t in the plural is replaced by n.

Neuter nouns ending in -mě follow this declension. Some nouns in this declension:

břímě burden, símě (semena) seeds. But these nouns also have new forms in the nominative singular: rameno, semeno, břemeno, and they are then declined like město.

Type, template letter, writing.

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All nouns ending in í are declined like psaní. Examples:

All so-called verbal nouns (they're all neutral) kreslení drawing, pití drinking, etc.

Decline:

Krásná paní, silné rameno, hodné dítě, čerstvé vejce.

Complete in all 3 persons s. and p.: I buy fruit, you buy fruit. I love my mother. I saw a child.

Piš svou úlohu čistě a pozorně! Matka si hrála s hodným dítětem. Sedláci pilně pracují na polích. Lodě plují po moři. Kde jsi koupil hříbě? Rychle jdi a přines mi to krásné růžové poupě! Hvězdy jasně svítí na nebi. Jdi do obchodu a přines třicet vajec! Uděláme z nich dobrý oběd. Kuchařka je v kuchyni a vaří. Děti přišly pro koš květin. V pokoji je pěkný obraz. Smělému štěstí přeje. Lenochu je nejlepší domlouvat dubovými slovy. Doufej směle, dokud duše je v těle. Veselé mládí si vede vesele.

Translate into Boho:

The careless boy lost his coat and hat. Do Jennie and Joseph study hard? Fred skates quickly and smoothly. (spanile.) Did the man speak badly or well? A child should stay quiet (má býti tiše) when older people are around. A good leader must be a brave person.

The old Bohemian language had distinct forms of dual number, which were used when referring to two things or individuals. In modern Bohemian, the dual has only remained with some names of body parts that come in pairs (as well as with the numeral sto, meaning hundred).

Ruka—hand, noha—foot, declined in the singular like fish.

When discussing the following parts of the human body, the dual forms need to be used:

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Oko (eye) and ucho (ear) are declined in the singular like slovo (word).

Dual formats:

koleno knee, declined like slovo, the dual forms only in the possessive and locative cases: kolenou.

These nouns only exist in the plural:

dveře door, declined like růže, kamna stove, declined like (rámě) ramena, I., kamny, nůžky scissors, declined like ryba, peníze money, (peníz coin) like meč, poss. peněz.

přítel, friend, nepřítel enemy, declined like muž, in singular, but in plural N. and V. přátelé, O. přátele, P. přátel D. přátelům, Loc. přátelích, I. přáteli.

Člověk (human being) declines like "holub," plural lidé (people), and declines like "řeč." "Lid" refers to people as a collective; "náš lid" means "our people," while "naši lidé" refers to "our people" as individuals.

Den is declined in the singular like meč, except in the locative case: ve dne!

Plural N. and V. dni, O. dni also dny, P. dní also dnův. Dat. dním also dnům, Loc. dnech, Inst. dny; týden week, declines like den.

Instead of týden neděle (Sunday), it's used for week. Za pět neděl or za pět týdnů. After five weeks.

Plural of nebe (heavens) nebesa, it is declined in plural like slovo. (Stem nebes). In singular, nebe is declined like pole. Lesson XIX.

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Adjectives of this declension end in the nominative for all three genders, singular and plural, in í. The declension dobrý-á-é is called tvrdé, which means hard.

Plural of all genders: