Personal pronouns in the accusative

A1 — Zájmena

Accusative forms of personal pronouns: mě/mne, tě/tebe, ho, ji, je

Can use accusative personal pronouns in both short and long forms correctly

Examples

Vidím tě každý den. — I see you every day.
Dělám to pro tebe. — I am doing it for you.
Čekám na něj už hodinu. — I have been waiting for him for an hour.

PronounsA1

Personal pronouns in the accusative

Accusative forms of personal pronouns: mě/mne, tě/tebe, ho, ji, je

Learning Goal

Can use accusative personal pronouns in both short and long forms correctly

Exam Skills:ListeningSpeaking

Look at these examples. Can you spot the grammar pattern?

Vidím tě každý den.

I see you every day.

Dělám to pro tebe.

I am doing it for you.

Čekám na něj už hodinu.

I have been waiting for him for an hour.

Pay attention to the highlighted parts. What do they have in common?

English pronouns already have object forms: "I" becomes "me", "he" becomes "him". Czech has them too, and for some persons it has two: a short, unstressed form for ordinary use and a full form for emphasis or after a preposition.

Person	Short (usual)	Full (stressed)	After a preposition
já - me	mě	mě (formal mne)	pro mě
ty - you	tě	tebe	pro tebe
on - him; ono - it	ho	jeho (a person)	pro něj, pro něho
ona - her	ji	ji	pro ni
my - us	nás	nás	pro nás
vy - you	vás	vás	pro vás
oni, ony, ona - them	je	je	pro ně

Where the short form goes

In English the object pronoun follows the verb: "Petr knows him". The Czech short form goes to the second position in the sentence, wherever the verb is: Petr ho zná. Já tě vidím. Včera jsem ji potkal. If the verb comes first, the pronoun lands right after it, which looks like English: Znáš ho? But *Petr zná ho sounds wrong to a Czech, and Mám tě rád keeps tě in second place, with rád at the end.

Full forms for contrast

Use the full form when the pronoun carries the stress, typically when you contrast two people: Znám jeho, ne ji. - "I know him, not her." Miluju tebe, ne Petra. English does this with voice alone; Czech changes the word.

After a preposition: add n-

After a preposition, the third-person pronouns start with n-: To je pro něj. Čekám na ni. Těším se na ně. So "her" is ji after a verb but ni after na or pro. The other persons simply use their full form: pro tebe, na mě, pro vás.

Two look-alikes

Je means both "is" and "them": Kde jsou děti? Nevidím je. - "Where are the children? I can't see them." Context settles it. And mě ("me") sounds exactly like mně ("to me", "about me"). Telling them apart in writing is a spelling drill every Czech schoolchild goes through, so you are in good company: Vidíš mě? - "Can you see me?", but Mně se to líbí - "I like it", and Mluví o mně - "They're talking about me".

Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises

Practice Exercises

Learners confuse short and long pronoun forms, and forget the n- prefix after prepositions for third person. 🇬🇧 English speakers: English has me/him/her but no short/long distinction or second-position rule. The clitic placement (always 2nd position) is very hard to internalize.

Common Error Patterns

Used long pronoun form where short form is required or vice versa

Short forms (mě, tě, ho) go in 2nd position. Long forms (mne, tebe, jeho) go after prepositions or for emphasis.

Missing n- prefix on 3rd person pronoun after a preposition

After prepositions, 3rd person pronouns take n-: na něj, pro ni, s ním. Without preposition: ho, ji, je.

Vidím tě každý den.

I see you every day.

Short form tě in second position. The pronoun comes right after the verb.

Dělám to pro tebe.

I am doing it for you.

Long form tebe after preposition pro. Prepositions always require the long form.

Čekám na něj už hodinu.

I have been waiting for him for an hour.

After preposition na, the 3rd person pronoun gets n- prefix: on → na něj (not *na jej).

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Frequently asked questions

When do you use Personal pronouns in the accusative?: English pronouns already have object forms: "I" becomes "me", "he" becomes "him". Czech has them too, and for some persons it has two: a short, unstressed form for ordinary use and a full form for emphasis or after a preposition.
How do you form Personal pronouns in the accusative?: In English the object pronoun follows the verb: "Petr knows him". The Czech short form goes to the second position in the sentence, wherever the verb is: Petr ho zná. Já tě vidím. Včera jsem ji potkal. If the verb comes first, the pronoun lands right after it, which looks like English: Znáš ho ? But *Petr zná ho sounds wrong to a Czech, and Mám tě rád keeps tě in second place, with rád at the end. Use the full form when the pronoun carries the stress, typically when you contrast two people: Znám jeho, ne ji. - "I know him , not her." Miluju tebe, ne Petra. English does this with voice alone; Czech changes the word.
What are common mistakes with Personal pronouns in the accusative?: Learners confuse short and long pronoun forms, and forget the n- prefix after prepositions for third person. 🇬🇧 English speakers: English has me/him/her but no short/long distinction or second-position rule. The clitic placement (always 2nd position) is very hard to internalize.

Person

Short (usual)

Full (stressed)

After a preposition

já - me

mě

mě (formal mne)

pro mě

ty - you

tě

tebe

pro tebe

on - him; ono - it

jeho (a person)

pro něj, pro něho

ona - her

pro ni

my - us

nás

pro nás

vy - you

vás

pro vás

oni, ony, ona - them

pro ně

Frequently asked questions

When do you use Personal pronouns in the accusative?

How do you form Personal pronouns in the accusative?

In English the object pronoun follows the verb: "Petr knows him". The Czech short form goes to the second position in the sentence, wherever the verb is: Petr ho zná. Já tě vidím. Včera jsem ji potkal. If the verb comes first, the pronoun lands right after it, which looks like English: Znáš ho ? But *Petr zná ho sounds wrong to a Czech, and Mám tě rád keeps tě in second place, with rád at the end. Use the full form when the pronoun carries the stress, typically when you contrast two people: Znám jeho, ne ji. - "I know him , not her." Miluju tebe, ne Petra. English does this with voice alone; Czech changes the word.

What are common mistakes with Personal pronouns in the accusative?

Learners confuse short and long pronoun forms, and forget the n- prefix after prepositions for third person. 🇬🇧 English speakers: English has me/him/her but no short/long distinction or second-position rule. The clitic placement (always 2nd position) is very hard to internalize.