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.
Kde, nebo kam? Three questions, three forms
Kde, nebo kam? Three questions, three forms
English changes only the little word: “at school”, “to school”. Czech often changes both the preposition and the ending: ve škole ↔ do školy. First ask yourself: where? where to? where from? Then choose the preposition (see the tables).
Where: v / ve + the locative: ve škole, v bance. Where to: do + the genitive: do školy, do banky, do centra. Where from: z / ze + the genitive: ze školy, z banky. ve, ze come before s, z, š, ž + a consonant (ve škole, ze školy); otherwise v, z (v centru, z práce). “To school” is never v.
With words that take na, only the ending changes between where and where to: na poště ↔ na poštu. Where from: z + the genitive: z pošty. Words in -í don't change: na náměstí means both “on the square” and “to the square”; the verb decides: jsem na náměstí ↔ jdu na náměstí.
With no preposition: doma (where?) ↔ domů (where to?); tady (where?) ↔ sem (where to?). English “home”, “here” cover both.
The verb is the clue: být, bydlet, pracovat, čekat → where; jít, jet → where to or where from.
Common mistakes:
• דJdu v školu.” → Jdu do školy.
• דJsem na poštu.” → Jsem na poště.
• דJedu v centrum.” → Jedu do centra.
• דIvan jde tady.” → Ivan jde sem.
Where, where to, where from
First the question, then the preposition and the ending.
| Word | Kde? | Kam? | Odkud? |
|---|---|---|---|
| banka | v bance | do banky | z banky |
| škola | ve škole | do školy | ze školy |
| Praha | v Praze | do Prahy | z Prahy |
| pošta | na poště | na poštu | z pošty |
| nádraží | na nádraží | na nádraží | z nádraží |
| — | doma | domů | — |
| — | tady | sem | — |
Three questions, three cases
The verb tells you the question: být, bydlet, čekat — where; jít, jet — where to or where from.
| Question | Preposition | Case |
|---|---|---|
| kde? | v / ve, na | locative |
| kam? | do; na | genitive; for words with na, accusative (as in Mám rád kávu) |
| odkud? | z / ze | genitive |
Lesson notes
Kde, nebo kam? Three questions, three forms
English changes only the little word: “at school”, “to school”. Czech often changes both the preposition and the ending: ve škole ↔ do školy. First ask yourself: where? where to? where from? Then choose the preposition (see the tables).
Where: v / ve + the locative: ve škole, v bance. Where to: do + the genitive: do školy, do banky, do centra. Where from: z / ze + the genitive: ze školy, z banky. ve, ze come before s, z, š, ž + a consonant (ve škole, ze školy); otherwise v, z (v centru, z práce). “To school” is never v.
With words that take na, only the ending changes between where and where to: na poště ↔ na poštu. Where from: z + the genitive: z pošty. Words in -í don't change: na náměstí means both “on the square” and “to the square”; the verb decides: jsem na náměstí ↔ jdu na náměstí.
With no preposition: doma (where?) ↔ domů (where to?); tady (where?) ↔ sem (where to?). English “home”, “here” cover both.
The verb is the clue: být, bydlet, pracovat, čekat → where; jít, jet → where to or where from.
Common mistakes:
• דJdu v školu.” → Jdu do školy.
• דJsem na poštu.” → Jsem na poště.
• דJedu v centrum.” → Jedu do centra.
• דIvan jde tady.” → Ivan jde sem.