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.
Kde? V Praze, na poště: the locative
Kde? V Praze, na poště: the locative
To say where you or something is, ask kde? After v and na the noun changes its ending: this is the locative (the “where” form). English “in” never changes a noun. You already know “Bydlím v Praze”; here is the rule.
Endings (see the table). Feminine nouns in -a and neuter in -o take -e or -ě: pošta → na poště, město → ve městě. Neuter in -ko and -um (Česko → v Česku, centrum → v centru; -um drops) and many masculine nouns (park → v parku) take -u. Soft nouns take -i: ulice → na ulici. Words in -í don't change: na náměstí.
Before -e the consonant changes: h → z (Praha → v Praze), k → c (banka → v bance). In dům and stůl ů becomes o: v domě, na stole.
v: inside (v bance, v parku). na: on a surface (na stole) and with words learned together with na: na poště, na nádraží, na náměstí, na univerzitě (“at the university”). In the Czech Republic: v Česku. ve comes before v- (ve vchodu) and in words to remember: ve škole, ve městě (but v Praze, v Brně). “At home” is just doma, no preposition.
A one-syllable preposition takes the stress: na poště sounds like one word stressed on na. město “town, city” (a place is místo); východ “exit” (and “east”).
Common mistakes:
• דJsem v Praha.” → Jsem v Praze.
• דStuduju v univerzitě.” → Studuju na univerzitě.
• דKde pošta?” → Kde je pošta?
• דv škole” → ve škole
The locative: where?
After v / ve and na, when you answer the question “where?”.
| Word | Where? | What to remember |
|---|---|---|
| Praha | v Praze | h → z |
| banka | v bance | k → c |
| pošta | na poště | -a → -ě |
| škola | ve škole | -a → -e |
| město | ve městě | -o → -ě |
| park | v parku | masculine: -u |
| Česko | v Česku | neut. in -ko: -u |
| centrum | v centru | -um drops off |
| ulice | na ulici | soft: -i |
| náměstí | na náměstí | doesn't change |
| dům | v domě | ů → o |
| stůl | na stole | ů → o |
v, ve, or na
Words with na are learned together with the preposition.
| Preposition | When | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| v | inside: a city, a country, a building | v bance, v parku, v Česku |
| na | on a surface; words you learn with na | na stole, na ulici, na poště, na nádraží, na náměstí, na univerzitě |
| ve | before v- and before words you have to learn | ve vchodu, ve škole, ve městě |
Lesson notes
Kde? V Praze, na poště: the locative
To say where you or something is, ask kde? After v and na the noun changes its ending: this is the locative (the “where” form). English “in” never changes a noun. You already know “Bydlím v Praze”; here is the rule.
Endings (see the table). Feminine nouns in -a and neuter in -o take -e or -ě: pošta → na poště, město → ve městě. Neuter in -ko and -um (Česko → v Česku, centrum → v centru; -um drops) and many masculine nouns (park → v parku) take -u. Soft nouns take -i: ulice → na ulici. Words in -í don't change: na náměstí.
Before -e the consonant changes: h → z (Praha → v Praze), k → c (banka → v bance). In dům and stůl ů becomes o: v domě, na stole.
v: inside (v bance, v parku). na: on a surface (na stole) and with words learned together with na: na poště, na nádraží, na náměstí, na univerzitě (“at the university”). In the Czech Republic: v Česku. ve comes before v- (ve vchodu) and in words to remember: ve škole, ve městě (but v Praze, v Brně). “At home” is just doma, no preposition.
A one-syllable preposition takes the stress: na poště sounds like one word stressed on na. město “town, city” (a place is místo); východ “exit” (and “east”).
Common mistakes:
• דJsem v Praha.” → Jsem v Praze.
• דStuduju v univerzitě.” → Studuju na univerzitě.
• דKde pošta?” → Kde je pošta?
• דv škole” → ve škole