3. pád osobních zájmen

English has one form for "me": give me, to me, ME? never! - and stresses it with the voice when it matters. Czech does that job with two different words: a short, unstressed form for ordinary use and a long, stressed one for emphasis and after prepositions.

The forms

Only já, ty, on and the reflexive have two forms. After a preposition the third person swaps its j- for n-: k němu, k ní, k nim.

Short forms: second place in the sentence

The short forms cannot stand on their own or take stress. They sit in the second slot of the sentence, wherever the verb is: Dej mi to. - Give it to me. Zavolám ti zítra. - I'll call you tomorrow. In the past tense they line up after jsem: Včera jsem ti volal. Do not move them to the end the way English moves "to me": *Dej to mi is wrong.

The reflexive si is the most useful word in the table, because it is how Czechs order: Dám si pivo. - I'll have a beer, literally "I'll give myself a beer". Co si dáte? - What will you have?

Long forms: stress, contrast, prepositions

Mně se to líbí. - I like it (whatever you think). Tobě to dám, ne jemu. - I'll give it to you, not to him. Pojď ke mně. - Come over to me. Spelling note: mně sounds exactly like mě ("me" in the accusative), so you can only get this wrong on paper.

"I am cold" is "to me it is cold"

Many everyday feelings that English expresses with "I am" are, in Czech, things that happen to you, so the person goes into the dative:

• Je mi zima. - I'm cold.
• Je mi dvacet let. - I'm twenty.
• Je mi líto. - I'm sorry.
• Chutná ti? - Do you like it? (said over a plate of food)
• Jak se vám daří? - How are you doing?

Saying *Jsem zima means "I am winter", which is poetic but not what you meant.