A1 · Czech

Czech from zero to A1

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Standard Czech (spisovná čeština) from zero to A1, taught in English: letters and sounds — vowel length, the háček and ě, ř and the syllabic r and l; meeting people with ty and vy, the verb být, the vocative, gender, adjectives and verb endings. Then numbers and age, family, reflexive verbs, the accusative, food, shopping and prices, days of the week and the time. Then town with the locative, the genitive and the instrumental, modal verbs, your day, dates, the past and the future tense, the weather, home, work, the doctor and official business. Extras — nationalities and languages, the post office and the bank, a letter and a phone call, emergency services; and real-life scenes — restaurant, clothing store and market, transportation, doctor and pharmacy.

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Module 0. Letters and sounds

Lesson 1. The alphabet and long vowels: čárka is not stress

14 exercises · I can say a Czech letter by its name for spelling aloud, hear a long vowel without moving the stress onto it (the stress is always on the first syllable), and type á, ě, ř, ů, or leave out the mark and still have the answer count.

Lesson 2. Háček: ě, ď, ť, ň and di, ti, ni

13 exercises · I can read č, š, ž, ď, ť, ň and ě, hear soft di, ti, ni and hard dy, ty, ny, say dě, tě, ně soft and de, te, ne hard, and read “Děkuju, dobrý den” aloud.

Lesson 3. R, Ř, and syllabic r, l

12 exercises · I can tell ř from r and from ž by ear, recognize voiced and voiceless ř, read words where r or l carries the syllable itself (trh, čtvrtek), and say “Moře a řeka” aloud.

Lesson 4. Voiced and voiceless: h and ch, devoicing, and stress on prepositions

14 exercises · I can tell voiced h from voiceless ch and say h with voice, never silently; spell a word as it's written, not as it sounds (hlad, podpis, mráz); and stress a short preposition: do kina.

Module 1. Meeting people

Lesson 1. Dobrý den! Ahoj! Greetings, ty and vy

16 exercises · I can say hello and goodbye in the morning, afternoon, and evening, say thank you, apologize, and invite someone in — and choose the ty form for a female friend and the vy form for the teacher.

Lesson 2. Jsem Anna. Jsem z Ruska: the verb být

18 exercises · I can introduce myself, say where I'm from and where I live, and ask someone else the same.

Lesson 3. Pane Nováku! Addressing people: the vocative

17 exercises · I can address someone by first name and by last name — Ahoj, Jano! Dobrý den, pane Koláři! — give a woman's last name, and find the first name, last name, and title on a business card.

Lesson 4. Kdo je to? Co je to? Gender and ten / ta / to

16 exercises · I can ask “who is it?” and “what is it?”, name a person and a thing, use ten, ta, or to and jeden, jedna, or jedno by gender, and talk about a woman: studentka, učitelka.

Lesson 5. Jaký je? Adjectives

16 exercises · I can describe a person and a thing — nový, nová, nové; ask „jaký je?“, say “very”, and use ne- — and know that sympatický means “likable”, not “sympathetic”.

Lesson 6. Studuju češtinu: verbs in -ovat and “I don't understand”

18 exercises · I can say what I study and where I work — studuju, pracuju; ask with ty and with vy — studuješ? studujete?; say “I don't understand” and ask someone to repeat, speak more slowly, and write a word down.

Lesson 7. Module 1 review

17 exercises · I can review the whole module: greet people with ty and with vy, say who I am and where I'm from, address people by first and last name, name the gender and describe a person and a thing, ask with ty and with vy — and not mix up dobře and dobré.

Module 2. About me

Lesson 1. Čísla: telefon, e-mail a věk

18 exercises · I can say any number up to a hundred, give a phone number, spell out an e-mail address and a last name, and say how old I am: „Je mi třicet let“.

Lesson 2. Rád se dívám: rád + a verb, and reflexive verbs

18 exercises · I can say what I like and don't like doing — Rád čtu, nerad sportuju — ask a friend and someone I address formally about it, and put se in its place: Rád se dívám na film.

Lesson 3. Mám čas: mít and verbs in -at

16 exercises · I can say what I have and don't have — Mám kolo, nemám čas — and what I'm doing, looking for, and waiting for.

Lesson 4. Moje rodina: possessives

17 exercises · I can talk about my family and ask about someone else's — To je můj bratr, moje sestra je vdaná — ask “whose?” — Čí je to? — and address my brother: Ahoj, bratře!

Lesson 5. Tenhle, nebo tamten? This and that, tady and tam, colors

18 exercises · I can point at a thing and ask which one exactly — Tenhle, nebo tamten? Která taška je tvoje? — and say where it is (tady, tam nahoře, nalevo) and what color it is.

Lesson 6. Module 2 review

17 exercises · I can review everything I can say about myself: numbers and age, what I like doing, what I have, my family, this and that — and ask anyone questions with eight question words.

Module 3. Visiting and shopping

Lesson 1. Mám rád kávu i bratra: the accusative, and nouns for people and animals

16 exercises · I can say what I drink, eat, and like, and whom I'm waiting for or looking for — piju čaj, mám ráda kávu, čekám na bratra — and add an adjective: dobrou kávu, nového kamaráda.

Lesson 2. Dáte si kávu? si, něco, and “I'd like”

17 exercises · I can offer food or drink, accept it or politely say no, order for myself — dát si, chtěl / chtěla bych — and say dobrou chuť and na zdraví.

Lesson 3. Rohlíky a jablka: the plural and dva, tři, čtyři

14 exercises · I can name several things — sýry, kávy, piva — and count to four: dva čaje, dvě kávy, tři piva.

Lesson 4. Kolik to stojí? Prices and verbs in -it / -et

16 exercises · I can ask the price — Kolik to stojí? — say an amount in crowns up to a thousand, say how I pay — kartou, hotově — and not mix up ovoce and zelenina.

Lesson 5. V pondělí v pět hodin: days of the week and telling time

17 exercises · I can ask what time it is and answer — with je or jsou and with hodina, hodiny, hodin — and agree on a day and an hour: v pondělí, ve středu, v osm třicet, zítra večer.

Lesson 6. Vidíš ho? Líbí se mi: object pronouns and “I like it”

15 exercises · I can replace a person or a thing with a short word — Vidíš Marka? — Vidím ho — and say what I like and what tastes good: líbí se mi Praha, chutná mi čaj.

Lesson 7. Module 3 review

17 exercises · I can review the whole module: say whom and what I like and am looking for, order for myself, count things and crowns, agree on a day and an hour, and not mix up mám rád, líbí se mi, and chutná mi.

Module 4. Around town

Lesson 1. Kde je pošta? Bydlím v Praze: the locative

14 exercises · I can ask and say where I am and where things are in town — v bance, na poště, ve škole, doma — and choose v or na correctly.

Lesson 2. Kam jdeš? jít, jet, and the genitive of place

15 exercises · I can say and ask where I'm going and where I'm coming from, on foot or by vehicle — do školy, z práce, na poštu, domů — and understand a passerby giving directions.

Lesson 3. Kde, nebo kam? na poště ↔ na poštu, ve škole ↔ do školy

15 exercises · I can keep “where” and “where to” apart: say na poště but jdu na poštu; ve škole but jdu do školy, and ze školy for odkud; doma but jdu domů.

Lesson 4. Jedu tramvají: the instrumental and transportation

14 exercises · I can say how I'm traveling and how I usually get to work — jedu tramvají, jezdím metrem — ask about the stop and the transfer, and understand that the train is late.

Lesson 5. Můžu? Musím? Chci: modal verbs

15 exercises · I can say what I want to do, can do, know how to do, and have to do, ask for permission — Můžu? Smím? Dovolíte? — understand a “no …” sign, and not confuse “don't have to” (nemusíš) with “mustn't” (nesmíš).

Lesson 6. Půjdeme do kina? Invitations and saying no

16 exercises · I can invite a friend to the movies, a concert, or a museum, accept an invitation or say no politely, and agree on where we'll meet.

Lesson 7. Module 4 review

16 exercises · I can review the module: say where I am, where I'm going and coming from, and how I'm traveling, keep jdu and chodím, vím and znám apart, ask for permission, and invite a friend.

Module 5. My day and the time

Lesson 1. Můj den: daily routine, how often, and double negatives

18 exercises · I can describe my usual day, say how often I do things (často, nikdy, dvakrát denně), and put se and si correctly in second position.

Lesson 2. Prvního května: months, dates, and ordinal numbers

16 exercises · I can say the date and my birthday, ask „Kolikátého je dnes?“, and read a date like 1. 5. — prvního května.

Lesson 3. Co jsi dělal včera? The past tense

16 exercises · I can say what I did yesterday and on Saturday, and ask the person I'm talking to: byl jsem, byla jsi, byl jste, pane…?

Lesson 4. Co budeš dělat? The future and plans

17 exercises · I can talk about my plans for the weekend and vacation — budu odpočívat, pojedu na chatu, půjdu do kina — and explain why: protože…

Lesson 5. Jaké je počasí? Weather, seasons, and sentences with no subject

15 exercises · I can say what the weather is like today, what it was like yesterday, and what it will be like tomorrow, say “I'm cold”, and say when: in spring, in summer, in the fall, in winter.

Lesson 6. Module 5 review

16 exercises · I can review the module: describe my day, say the date, say what I did yesterday, what I'll do tomorrow, and what the weather will be like.

Module 6. Life, home, work, and health

Lesson 1. Můj život a škola: your life story and studies

18 exercises · I can say where I was born, where I studied, and what I do now, ask the person I'm talking to about it with vy, and understand what the teacher asks for in class.

Lesson 2. Bydlím v bytě: the apartment and furniture

16 exercises · I can describe my apartment — how many rooms it has, what floor it's on, what's where — and understand a short apartment ad.

Lesson 3. Nefunguje to! Appliances, repairs, and housework

16 exercises · I can say what in my apartment isn't working or is broken, ask for it to be fixed, ask how much the rent is, and say who does the laundry, washes the dishes, and cleans at home.

Lesson 4. Kde pracujete? Jobs and work

17 exercises · I can say what I do and where I work — Pracuju jako… v… — name a job in the masculine and the feminine form, and understand a short job ad.

Lesson 5. Bolí mě hlava: the body and how you feel

17 exercises · I can tell a doctor and people I know what hurts and how I feel — Bolí mě…, Je mi špatně — and ask someone else: Co tě bolí? Jste unavený?

Lesson 6. Na úřadě: documents and forms

16 exercises · I can say at a government office which document I need, understand when it's open and what the clerk asks for, and fill out and sign a simple form.

Lesson 7. Module 6 review

16 exercises · I can review the module: talk about my life and my apartment, say what I do and where I work and what hurts, and not mix up Je mi…, Bolí mě…, and Mám….

Module 7. A1 extras

Lesson 1. Čech, český, česky: nationalities and languages

16 exercises · I can say who's from where and what language they speak (the country, the person, man and woman, the adjective, and how I speak), tell český, čeština, and česky apart, and capitalize the noun for a person.

Lesson 2. Na poště a v bance

14 exercises · I can send a letter, a postcard, and a package, buy a stamp, withdraw money from an ATM, and address an envelope correctly.

Lesson 3. Píšu zprávu a volám: letters, phone calls, and greetings

19 exercises · I can answer a call and say that I can't hear well or that it's the wrong number, write a short text to a friend and a letter to the teacher, and wish someone a happy holiday.

Lesson 4. Pomoc! Police, ambulance, lost documents

15 exercises · I can call for help and call an ambulance, the fire department, or the police, say what I lost or what was stolen from me, and calm someone down: To nic není, nebojte se.

Module 8. A1 practice

Lesson 1. V restauraci

17 exercises · I can read a Czech menu, order soup, a main course, and a side dish, ask what the waiter recommends and what has no meat, call the waiter, pay together or separately, by card or in cash, and leave a tip.

Lesson 2. V obchodě s oblečením a na trhu

16 exercises · I can name clothes and shoes, say what I'm wearing and what I usually wear, ask for and give a size, ask to try something on, say “bigger, smaller, better, worse”, and buy vegetables at the market.

Lesson 3. Ve městě: jízdenka, cesta a nápisy

16 exercises · I can buy a ticket from a machine or on my phone, validate it in time and show it to the ticket inspector, ask the way politely and understand the answer, and read signs on doors and around town.

Lesson 4. U lékaře a v lékárně

14 exercises · I can make a doctor's appointment by phone, say what hurts, understand and follow the doctor's instructions, buy medicine for a cough or a fever at the pharmacy, and ask whether I need a prescription.