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.
Vidíš ho? Líbí se mi
Vidíš ho? Líbí se mi
Why: so you don't repeat a word. Vidíš Marka? — Vidím ho. The short forms: mě — me, tě — you, ho — him (and a masculine or neuter thing: stůl, pivo), ji — her (and a feminine thing: kávu), nás — us, vás — you (formal; you all), je — them (any gender; don't confuse it with je “is”). See the table.
The short word stands second, like se and si: Tomáš ho hledá. Mám ji rád. English “him” follows the verb; Czech ho can only stand second: ×Eva vidí ho → Eva ho vidí.
“I like” is a set phrase: líbí se mi (to me), líbí se ti (to you, informal), líbí se vám (to you, formal). In Czech the thing you like is the subject, in its dictionary form: Líbí se mi hudba. If another word comes first, se mi go right after it, then líbí: Praha se mi líbí. For food and drink: chutná mi, “it tastes good to me”. The stress is on the first syllable; the mark over a vowel shows only length: vi-dí-te.
Only the mark tells them apart: vás “you” — váš “your”; nás “us” — náš “our”; ji “her” — jí “eats”.
Common mistakes:
• ×Ondřej zná tě → Ondřej tě zná
• ×Chutná mi čokoládu → Chutná mi čokoláda
Whom? What?
ho — also for a masculine or neuter thing, ji — also for a feminine thing, je — any gender.
| Who? | Whom? What? |
|---|---|
| já | mě |
| ty | tě |
| on, ono | ho |
| ona | ji |
| my | nás |
| vy | vás |
| oni, ony | je |
Liking and tasting good
What you like stays in the dictionary form.
| How to say it | What it means | What you like |
|---|---|---|
| líbí se mi | I like it | Praha |
| líbí se ti? | do you like it? (informal) | ten mobil |
| líbí se vám? | do you like it? (formal) | hudba |
| chutná mi | it tastes good to me | čaj |
| chutná ti? | does it taste good? (informal) | sýr |
Lesson notes
Vidíš ho? Líbí se mi
Why: so you don't repeat a word. Vidíš Marka? — Vidím ho. The short forms: mě — me, tě — you, ho — him (and a masculine or neuter thing: stůl, pivo), ji — her (and a feminine thing: kávu), nás — us, vás — you (formal; you all), je — them (any gender; don't confuse it with je “is”). See the table.
The short word stands second, like se and si: Tomáš ho hledá. Mám ji rád. English “him” follows the verb; Czech ho can only stand second: ×Eva vidí ho → Eva ho vidí.
“I like” is a set phrase: líbí se mi (to me), líbí se ti (to you, informal), líbí se vám (to you, formal). In Czech the thing you like is the subject, in its dictionary form: Líbí se mi hudba. If another word comes first, se mi go right after it, then líbí: Praha se mi líbí. For food and drink: chutná mi, “it tastes good to me”. The stress is on the first syllable; the mark over a vowel shows only length: vi-dí-te.
Only the mark tells them apart: vás “you” — váš “your”; nás “us” — náš “our”; ji “her” — jí “eats”.
Common mistakes:
• ×Ondřej zná tě → Ondřej tě zná
• ×Chutná mi čokoládu → Chutná mi čokoláda