Masculine animate nominative plural: -i with softening (kluk→kluci, Čech→Češi), -ové for prestige and family, -é for -tel nouns
I can use correct nominative plural forms of masculine animate nouns with the right alternations.
Look at these examples. Can you spot the grammar pattern?
Češi a Slováci spolu pořád dobře vycházejí.
Czechs and Slovaks still get along well.
Učitelé a rodiče se sešli ve sborovně.
The teachers and parents met in the staff room.
Pay attention to the highlighted parts. What do they have in common?
Masculine nouns for people and animals have their own nominative plural, and it is the place where Czech grammar changes the end of the stem before it adds an ending. English adds -s and leaves the word alone; Czech turns Čech into Češi.
| Ending | Who takes it | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| -i with softening | most hard nouns | kluk → kluci, Slovák → Slováci, Čech → Češi, hoch → hoši, vrah → vrazi, doktor → doktoři, bratr → bratři |
| -i | soft nouns, -ec | muž → muži, Němec → Němci, chlapec → chlapci, cizinec → cizinci |
| -ové | many short nouns, family words, masculine -a nouns | synové, pánové (also páni), Rusové, kolegové, předsedové |
| -é | -tel, -an, and a few others | učitelé, přátelé, obyvatelé, Pražané, Američané, sousedé, lidé |
The softening rules for -i: k → c, h → z, ch → š, r → ř. With d, t, n the spelling stays and only the sound softens: kamarádi [kamarádʲi], studenti, páni.
Some nouns allow two forms, both standard: páni / pánové, vědci / vědcové. The -ové form sounds a little more formal; Dámy a pánové opens every concert.
The adjective before such a noun softens in the same way: mladí kluci, dobří lidé, velcí kluci, drazí přátelé, and -ský becomes -ští: čeští hokejisté, pražští taxikáři. The past tense ends in -li: Kluci hráli hokej, against Holky hrály. "Those" is ti: ti kluci.
The softened form is the nominative: the subject, and also a call (Kluci, pojďte!). As an object, the stem returns: Češi a Slováci spolu dobře vycházejí, but Znám dobře Čechy i Slováky. *Kluky hráli fotbal uses the object form as subject; it must be Kluci hráli fotbal.
In obecná čeština, the everyday spoken Czech of Bohemia, the noun keeps its standard form but the words around it do not: ty mladý kluci hráli instead of standard ti mladí kluci hráli. Adjectives end in -ý for every gender, and ty replaces ti. It is normal speech, heard on Czech TV series and in every pub; in writing, use the standard forms.
Apply this grammar in B1 course exercises
Practice ExercisesMissing k→c/h→z/ch→š/r→ř
Drill the quartet: kluci, vrazi, Češi, doktoři
Wrong -i/-ové/-é choice
-tel → -é; prestige/one-syllable → -ové; default -i
Češi a Slováci spolu pořád dobře vycházejí.
Czechs and Slovaks still get along well.
Čech→Češi, Slovák→Slováci: both soften.
Učitelé a rodiče se sešli ve sborovně.
The teachers and parents met in the staff room.
učitelé (-é for -tel), rodiče soft plural.
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Practice in course
Apply this grammar in B1 course exercises