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.
Čím jedeš? The instrumental and transportation
Čím jedeš? The instrumental and transportation
To say how you travel, ask Čím? (“by what?”). The answer is one word with no preposition: Jedu autobusem. English says “by bus”; Czech has no word for “by”, only the ending. This is the instrumental.
Endings (see the table): masculine and neuter in -o take -em (vlakem, metrem, autem); feminine in -a takes -ou (you already say platím kartou); feminine in a soft consonant takes -í (tramvají).
English “on the bus” is also just autobusem in Czech, with no na. The bike is a set phrase: jezdit na kole.
tramvají (by what?) and v tramvaji (where?) differ only by the mark over i: look at the question.
jít and jet mean going now or once. chodit and jezdit mean going regularly (on Mondays, in the mornings): Ve středu chodím do cukrárny. The endings are like mluvit (see the caption under the table). A train or a streetcar takes jet: jede, jezdí.
Common mistakes:
• דJedu na autobusu.” → Jedu autobusem.
• דJedeme na taxíku.” → Jedeme taxíkem.
• דTramvaj jde do centra.” → Tramvaj jede do centra.
Čím? How I travel
chodit — chodím, chodíš, chodí, chodíme, chodíte, chodí; jezdit — jezdím, jezdíš, jezdí, jezdíme, jezdíte, jezdí (like mluvit).
| Word | Čím? |
|---|---|
| autobus | autobusem |
| vlak | vlakem |
| metro | metrem |
| auto | autem |
| taxík | taxíkem |
| letadlo | letadlem |
| tramvaj | tramvají |
| karta | kartou |
Lesson notes
Čím jedeš? The instrumental and transportation
To say how you travel, ask Čím? (“by what?”). The answer is one word with no preposition: Jedu autobusem. English says “by bus”; Czech has no word for “by”, only the ending. This is the instrumental.
Endings (see the table): masculine and neuter in -o take -em (vlakem, metrem, autem); feminine in -a takes -ou (you already say platím kartou); feminine in a soft consonant takes -í (tramvají).
English “on the bus” is also just autobusem in Czech, with no na. The bike is a set phrase: jezdit na kole.
tramvají (by what?) and v tramvaji (where?) differ only by the mark over i: look at the question.
jít and jet mean going now or once. chodit and jezdit mean going regularly (on Mondays, in the mornings): Ve středu chodím do cukrárny. The endings are like mluvit (see the caption under the table). A train or a streetcar takes jet: jede, jezdí.
Common mistakes:
• דJedu na autobusu.” → Jedu autobusem.
• דJedeme na taxíku.” → Jedeme taxíkem.
• דTramvaj jde do centra.” → Tramvaj jede do centra.