Plural nouns in the nominative

A1 — Podstatná jména

Nominative plural of nouns across all genders

Can form and use nominative plural of common nouns

Examples

Studenti čekají před školou. — The students are waiting in front of the school.
Ty domy jsou nové. — Those houses are new.
Města v Česku jsou krásná. — The cities in Czechia are beautiful.

NounsA1

Plural nouns in the nominative

Nominative plural of nouns across all genders

Learning Goal

Can form and use nominative plural of common nouns

Exam Skills:ReadingWriting

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

Studenti čekají před školou.

The students are waiting in front of the school.

Ty domy jsou nové.

Those houses are new.

Města v Česku jsou krásná.

The cities in Czechia are beautiful.

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

English makes almost every plural with -s. Czech chooses the ending by the noun's gender and by how its last consonant sounds, and it makes one distinction English never does: for masculine nouns, it matters whether the noun is a person or animal (animate) or a thing (inanimate).

The main patterns

Type	Ending	Examples
Masculine, people (hard)	-i, some -ové	student → studenti, kamarád → kamarádi, syn → synové
Masculine, people (soft)	-i, some -é	lékař → lékaři, učitel → učitelé
Masculine, things (hard)	-y	dům → domy, rohlík → rohlíky
Masculine, things (soft)	-e	pokoj → pokoje, čaj → čaje
Feminine in -a	-y	žena → ženy, koruna → koruny
Feminine in -e	no change	ulice → ulice, růže → růže
Feminine in a consonant	-e (píseň type) or -i (kost type)	tramvaj → tramvaje, postel → postele; věc → věci, noc → noci
Neuter in -o	-a	město → města, auto → auta
Neuter in -e / -í	no change	moře → moře, náměstí → náměstí

Nationalities and town dwellers ending in -an take -é: Angličan → Angličané, Pražan → Pražané. And the everyday irregulars: člověk → lidé (in speech lidi), dítě → děti.

People change their consonant

Before the plural -i of masculine people, some consonants shift:

k → c: kluk → kluci (boys), žák → žáci (pupils)
ch → š: Čech → Češi
r → ř: doktor → doktoři, bratr → bratři

Only people do this. Compare kluk → kluci with rohlík → rohlíky: the same -k, but a boy is animate and a roll is not. And d, t, n before -i are pronounced soft even though the spelling does not show it, so studenti ends in a soft [ťi], not an English "tee".

What English speakers do

The commonest slip is to put -y on every masculine noun because it looks like the regular plural: *studenty, *Čechy for "Czechs". (Čechy exists, but it means Bohemia.) Hold on to one pair: people -i, things -y. Na Karlově mostě jsou vždycky turisté a malíři - "There are always tourists and painters on Charles Bridge."

Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises

Practice Exercises

Learners confuse animate and inanimate masculine plural endings, and forget consonant alternations. 🇬🇧 English speakers: English has simple -s/-es plurals, so the multiple Czech patterns based on gender and declension class are overwhelming at first.

Common Error Patterns

Wrong plural ending for the declension class

Check the noun's gender and declension pattern (vzor) to determine the correct plural ending

Missing or incorrect consonant softening in masculine animate plural

Review consonant alternations: -k→-ci, -h→-zi, -ch→-ši, -r→-ři in masculine animate plurals

Studenti čekají před školou.

The students are waiting in front of the school.

Masculine animate pán-type: student → studenti (with consonant softening t→ti).

Ty domy jsou nové.

Those houses are new.

Masculine inanimate hrad-type: dům → domy (regular -y ending).

Města v Česku jsou krásná.

The cities in Czechia are beautiful.

Neuter město-type: město → města (-a ending).

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Practice in course

Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises

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7. House and apartment

Frequently asked questions

When do you use Plural nouns in the nominative?: English makes almost every plural with -s . Czech chooses the ending by the noun's gender and by how its last consonant sounds, and it makes one distinction English never does: for masculine nouns, it matters whether the noun is a person or animal (animate) or a thing (inanimate).
How do you form Plural nouns in the nominative?: Nationalities and town dwellers ending in -an take -é : Angličan → Angličané , Pražan → Pražané . And the everyday irregulars: člověk → lidé (in speech lidi ), dítě → děti . Before the plural -i of masculine people, some consonants shift: Only people do this. Compare kluk → kluci with rohlík → rohlíky : the same -k , but a boy is animate and a roll is not. And d, t, n before -i are pronounced soft even though the spelling does not show it, so studenti ends in a soft [ťi], not an English "tee". The commonest slip is to put -y on every masculine noun because it looks like the regular plural: *studenty , *Čechy for "Czechs".
What are common mistakes with Plural nouns in the nominative?: Learners confuse animate and inanimate masculine plural endings, and forget consonant alternations. 🇬🇧 English speakers: English has simple -s/-es plurals, so the multiple Czech patterns based on gender and declension class are overwhelming at first.

Type

Ending

Examples

Masculine, people (hard)

-i, some -ové

student → studenti, kamarád → kamarádi, syn → synové

Masculine, people (soft)

-i, some -é

lékař → lékaři, učitel → učitelé

Masculine, things (hard)

-y

dům → domy, rohlík → rohlíky

Masculine, things (soft)

-e

pokoj → pokoje, čaj → čaje

Feminine in -a

-y

žena → ženy, koruna → koruny

Feminine in -e

no change

ulice → ulice, růže → růže

Feminine in a consonant

-e (píseň type) or -i (kost type)

tramvaj → tramvaje, postel → postele; věc → věci, noc → noci

Neuter in -o

-a

město → města, auto → auta

Neuter in -e / -í

no change

moře → moře, náměstí → náměstí

Frequently asked questions

When do you use Plural nouns in the nominative?

English makes almost every plural with -s . Czech chooses the ending by the noun's gender and by how its last consonant sounds, and it makes one distinction English never does: for masculine nouns, it matters whether the noun is a person or animal (animate) or a thing (inanimate).

How do you form Plural nouns in the nominative?

Nationalities and town dwellers ending in -an take -é : Angličan → Angličané , Pražan → Pražané . And the everyday irregulars: člověk → lidé (in speech lidi ), dítě → děti . Before the plural -i of masculine people, some consonants shift: Only people do this. Compare kluk → kluci with rohlík → rohlíky : the same -k , but a boy is animate and a roll is not. And d, t, n before -i are pronounced soft even though the spelling does not show it, so studenti ends in a soft [ťi], not an English "tee". The commonest slip is to put -y on every masculine noun because it looks like the regular plural: *studenty , *Čechy for "Czechs".

What are common mistakes with Plural nouns in the nominative?

Learners confuse animate and inanimate masculine plural endings, and forget consonant alternations. 🇬🇧 English speakers: English has simple -s/-es plurals, so the multiple Czech patterns based on gender and declension class are overwhelming at first.