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.
Rád čtu: what I like doing
Rád čtu: what I like doing
Why: to say what you like and don't like doing, and to ask others about it.
“I like reading” is Rád čtu: rád goes next to the verb, and the verb takes a person form, not the infinitive. The word rád (“glad”) changes with WHO does the liking: a man — rád, a woman — ráda, several people (with a man among them) — rádi, only women — rády. “I don't like” is nerad, nerada, neradi, nerady, one word; the á gets short: rád → nerad, ráda → nerada. Examples: Ondřej rád plave. Julie ráda čte. Jakub a Eva rádi tancují.
To one person with vy, the verb ends in -te and rád follows that person's gender: Paní Bartošová, ráda zpíváte? Pane Novotný, rád čtete česky? To several people: rádi or rády. Miluju + infinitive (Miluju sportovat) means “I love doing it”: not a mistake, just a stronger feeling than rád.
“Too” is taky: Rád plavu. — Já taky.
Common mistakes:
• × Ráda číst. → Ráda čtu.
• × Eva rád sportuje. → Eva ráda sportuje.
Rád, ráda, rádi, rády
Rád changes with WHO does the liking.
| Who likes it | Form |
|---|---|
| já (a man), on | rád |
| já (a woman), ona | ráda |
| my, oni (at least one man) | rádi |
| my, ony (only women) | rády |
| vy — to one person | rád / ráda |
| vy — to several people | rádi / rády |
| don't like | nerad / nerada |
Lesson notes
Rád čtu: what I like doing
Why: to say what you like and don't like doing, and to ask others about it.
“I like reading” is Rád čtu: rád goes next to the verb, and the verb takes a person form, not the infinitive. The word rád (“glad”) changes with WHO does the liking: a man — rád, a woman — ráda, several people (with a man among them) — rádi, only women — rády. “I don't like” is nerad, nerada, neradi, nerady, one word; the á gets short: rád → nerad, ráda → nerada. Examples: Ondřej rád plave. Julie ráda čte. Jakub a Eva rádi tancují.
To one person with vy, the verb ends in -te and rád follows that person's gender: Paní Bartošová, ráda zpíváte? Pane Novotný, rád čtete česky? To several people: rádi or rády. Miluju + infinitive (Miluju sportovat) means “I love doing it”: not a mistake, just a stronger feeling than rád.
“Too” is taky: Rád plavu. — Já taky.
Common mistakes:
• × Ráda číst. → Ráda čtu.
• × Eva rád sportuje. → Eva ráda sportuje.
Se in second position: reflexive verbs
Some verbs come with a short se: jmenovat se, mít se, učit se, omlouvat se, dívat se. These are reflexive verbs. The word se is separate.
It comes SECOND in the sentence, right after the first word or phrase, not glued to the verb: Jmenuju se Anna. Jak se máš? Rád se dívám na film. Ten kluk se jmenuje Jakub (here the first phrase is ten kluk).
English “watch” and “learn” have no “myself”, but these Czech verbs need se: dívat se “to look, to watch”, učit se “to learn”.
After the verb: hrát takes no preposition: hraju fotbal, tenis, hokej. With dívat se, use na: dívám se na film (English “watch a movie” has none). Learn the music phrase as a whole: poslouchám hudbu (why hudbu: module 3).
Common mistakes:
• × Rád dívám se na film. → Rád se dívám na film.
• × Hraju v hokej. → Hraju hokej.
• × Dívám se film. → Dívám se na film.