Demonstrative pronouns ten/ta/to: gender agreement and usage in everyday speech
Can use demonstrative pronouns ten/ta/to to point out people and things with correct gender agreement
Look at these examples. Can you spot the grammar pattern?
Ten dům je starý, ale ta zahrada je krásná.
That house is old, but that garden is beautiful.
To je moje kamarádka Eva.
This is my friend Eva.
Ti studenti jsou z Anglie.
Those students are from England.
Pay attention to the highlighted parts. What do they have in common?
Ukazovací zájmena ten, ta, to (that/this) se mění podle rodu a čísla podstatného jména. V běžné češtině se používají také jako neformální člen (article), podobně jako 'the' v angličtině.
| M životný | M neživotný | F | N | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sg | ten | ten | ta | to |
| Pl | ti | ty | ty | ta |
Použití:
Pozor: To se používá i jako obecné 'to je' (this/that is) bez ohledu na rod: To je můj bratr. (This is my brother.) To je moje sestra. (This is my sister.)
Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises
Practice ExercisesWrong demonstrative form for noun gender (e.g., *to kniha instead of ta kniha)
Match the demonstrative to the noun: ten (M), ta (F), to (N). Check the noun's gender first.
Used ty instead of ti for masculine animate plural (e.g., *ty studenti instead of ti studenti)
Masculine animate plural uses ti. Ty is for inanimate masculine, feminine, and can be confused with 'you'.
Ten dům je starý, ale ta zahrada je krásná.
That house is old, but that garden is beautiful.
Ten with masculine dům, ta with feminine zahrada — demonstratives must match the noun's gender.
To je moje kamarádka Eva.
This is my friend Eva.
General 'to je' (this is) uses 'to' regardless of the person's gender. It's a fixed pointing expression.
Ti studenti jsou z Anglie.
Those students are from England.
Animate masculine plural uses ti (not ty). Ty is for inanimate masculine and feminine plural.
Practice in course
Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises