Master grammar with comprehensive explanations and examples
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Czech alphabet and pronunciation
A good first topic
Then: Numbers 0-20
English has one ‘you’ for everyone. On a Czech panelák landing you pick ty or vy before you even get to your name.
Can use all Czech personal pronouns correctly and understand when to drop them in pro-drop contexts
Can conjugate být in all present tense forms, use it for identification, origin, and location, and negate it correctly
Can negate verbs with ne- and correctly use double negation with negative pronouns and adverbs
Can choose appropriately between ty and vy forms based on social context and relationship
Can form yes/no questions using intonation and information questions using kdo, co, kde, kdy, jak, proč, kolik
Can address people correctly using vocative forms of names and titles
Sunday lunch at babička’s, then the photo album: můj táta, moje máma. In Czech even ‘my’ changes with the gender of the noun.
Can identify the grammatical gender of common Czech nouns and understand the animate/inanimate distinction
Can express possession using possessive pronouns with correct gender agreement
Can correctly use adjective endings to agree with noun gender in nominative case
Can conjugate mít in present tense and use it for possession and common expressions
Can use demonstrative pronouns ten/ta/to to point out people and things with correct gender agreement
I can use svůj correctly whenever the possessor is the subject and hear the difference from jeho.
‘Bydlím v Praze, na Žižkově, ve čtvrtém patře.’ Three places, one case, and Praha has already turned into Praze.
Can form the locative case of masculine and neuter nouns to talk about locations and topics
Can form the locative case of feminine nouns to describe locations, topics, and situations
Can use adjectives correctly in the locative case to describe locations, topics, and qualities
Can use prepositions v, na, o, po, při correctly with the locative case to describe locations, topics, and timing
Can use place adverbs to describe locations and give simple directions
I can talk about locations in the plural using the correct -ech/-ích/-ách ending for each stem type.
English can just ‘go’. Czech asks how: jdu pěšky on foot, jedu tramvají by tram. And in Brno that tram is a šalina.
Can use common prepositions with the accusative case for direction, purpose, and exchange
Can express possession, origin, and quantities using genitive case
Can express movement to and from places using directional prepositions with correct cases
Can express means of transport, tools, company, and professions using instrumental case
I can distinguish one-way and habitual motion on foot or by vehicle and form the futures půjdu and pojedu.
I can express arriving, leaving, crossing and entering with prefixed motion verbs in past and future.
I can choose the right direction/location preposition pair including the na-group and person rules.
At the deli counter it’s deset deka šunky, 100 g of ham. And money bends to numbers: jedna koruna, dvě koruny, pět korun.
Can count from 0 to 20 and use basic numbers in everyday situations like age and prices
Can use masculine nouns in the accusative case as direct objects of common verbs
Can use feminine and neuter nouns correctly in the accusative case for everyday sentences
Can use numbers up to 1000 for prices, quantities, and addresses
I can use correct genitive plural forms after numbers five and higher and after quantity expressions.
I can count things in all three zones and keep verb agreement right after large numbers.
In the hospoda, ‘Dal bych si pivo’ sounds far nicer than ‘Give me a beer’. Czech politeness lives in bych, the little ‘would’.
Can express ability, obligation, permission, and wishes using modal verbs
Can give instructions, make requests, and suggest group activities
I can make polite requests and express wishes and conditions using the conditional with correctly conjugated bych forms.
I can give instructions, invitations and prohibitions with correct imperative forms and aspect.
I can make polite requests in shops, offices and restaurants and soften questions naturally.
I can deploy the conditional for politeness, hypothesis, unreality and advice, including měl bys/měl jsi.
‘Byli jsme na chatě a sbírali jsme hříbky.’ One past tense does it, but sbírali or nasbírali tells you whether the basket got full.
Can form and use the past tense to talk about completed actions and past events
Can use the past tense of být to describe past states, locations, and conditions
Can use common irregular verbs in the past tense in everyday conversation
Can distinguish between imperfective and perfective verbs and choose the correct aspect for simple past actions
Can use common time expressions to situate events in the past
I can choose between the imperfective and perfective member of common verb pairs to express process or result.
Prague meets ‘u koně’, under the horse on Wenceslas Square. ‘Sejdeme se v sobotu?’ looks like present tense, yet it means we will.
Can tell the time, describe parts of the day, and schedule daily activities
Can talk about future plans, intentions, and predictions
Can use reflexive verbs with se and si correctly, including proper clitic placement
I can form the future correctly for both aspects: budu + infinitive for imperfectives, present forms for perfectives.
I can ask for and give dates, birthdays and years correctly, including holiday dates.
I can place events in time with the correct preposition and case.
Can recognize and pronounce all Czech letters including diacritics, ř, ch, and ě
Can use all Czech personal pronouns correctly and understand when to drop them in pro-drop contexts
Can express possession using possessive pronouns with correct gender agreement
Can use demonstrative pronouns ten/ta/to to point out people and things with correct gender agreement
Can use accusative personal pronouns in both short and long forms correctly
Can use dative pronouns to say who receives something or who something is for
Can express company and togetherness using instrumental pronouns with s/se
Can conjugate být in all present tense forms, use it for identification, origin, and location, and negate it correctly
Can conjugate mít in present tense and use it for possession and common expressions
Can conjugate regular -at verbs in the present tense to describe daily actions
Can conjugate -it and -et verbs in the present tense to express abilities and perceptions
Can conjugate -ovat verbs to talk about work, studies, and everyday activities
Can use reflexive verbs with se and si correctly, including proper clitic placement
Can form and use the past tense to talk about completed actions and past events
Can use the past tense of být to describe past states, locations, and conditions
Can use common irregular verbs in the past tense in everyday conversation
Can distinguish between imperfective and perfective verbs and choose the correct aspect for simple past actions
Can talk about future plans, intentions, and predictions
Can express ability, obligation, permission, and wishes using modal verbs
Can give instructions, make requests, and suggest group activities
Can negate verbs with ne- and correctly use double negation with negative pronouns and adverbs
Can form yes/no questions using intonation and information questions using kdo, co, kde, kdy, jak, proč, kolik
Can construct basic Czech sentences with correct SVO order and place clitics in second position
Can connect ideas and clauses using coordinating and subordinating conjunctions
Can choose appropriately between ty and vy forms based on social context and relationship
Can count from 0 to 20 and use basic numbers in everyday situations like age and prices
Can tell the time, describe parts of the day, and schedule daily activities
Can use numbers up to 1000 for prices, quantities, and addresses
Can use ordinal numbers for dates, floors, and ordering
Can identify the grammatical gender of common Czech nouns and understand the animate/inanimate distinction
Can form and use nominative plural of common nouns
Can identify and use the nominative case for subjects and after 'to je' in basic sentences
Can use masculine nouns in the accusative case as direct objects of common verbs
Can use feminine and neuter nouns correctly in the accusative case for everyday sentences
Can form the locative case of masculine and neuter nouns to talk about locations and topics
Can form the locative case of feminine nouns to describe locations, topics, and situations
Can use dative case to express giving, helping, and communicating with someone
Can express means of transport, tools, company, and professions using instrumental case
Can express possession, origin, and quantities using genitive case
Can address people correctly using vocative forms of names and titles
Can correctly use adjective endings to agree with noun gender in nominative case
Can use adjectives correctly in the accusative case across all genders
Can use adjectives correctly in the locative case to describe locations, topics, and qualities
Can compare people, places, and things using comparative and superlative adjectives
Can use common prepositions with the accusative case for direction, purpose, and exchange
Can use prepositions v, na, o, po, při correctly with the locative case to describe locations, topics, and timing
Can express movement to and from places using directional prepositions with correct cases
Can express direction toward, cause, and spatial relationships using dative prepositions
Can describe locations using spatial prepositions with instrumental case
Can use place adverbs to describe locations and give simple directions
Can use common time expressions to situate events in the past
I can express origin, possession and use bez/do/od/u/z prepositions with correct genitive singular forms.
I can use correct genitive plural forms after numbers five and higher and after quantity expressions.
I can use plural direct objects correctly, including the special accusative forms of masculine animate nouns.
I can talk about locations in the plural using the correct -ech/-ích/-ách ending for each stem type.
I can address, give to and help groups of people using correct dative plural forms.
I can express accompaniment and means in the plural and recognize the colloquial -ama register.
I can choose between short, long and n- pronoun forms according to position, emphasis and prepositions.
I can talk about unspecified people and things and build correct multiple-negation sentences.
I can use svůj correctly whenever the possessor is the subject and hear the difference from jeho.
I can choose between the imperfective and perfective member of common verb pairs to express process or result.
I can form the future correctly for both aspects: budu + infinitive for imperfectives, present forms for perfectives.
I can make polite requests and express wishes and conditions using the conditional with correctly conjugated bych forms.
I can distinguish one-way and habitual motion on foot or by vehicle and form the futures půjdu and pojedu.
I can express arriving, leaving, crossing and entering with prefixed motion verbs in past and future.
I can give instructions, invitations and prohibitions with correct imperative forms and aspect.
I can use the correct case or preposition+case after the most frequent Czech verbs.
I can describe people, places and things with relative clauses, choosing the correct form of který.
I can place auxiliary and pronoun clitics in second position in the correct internal order.
I can describe weather, physical states and pains with subjectless constructions.
I can build complex sentences expressing content, cause, time, purpose and indirect questions.
I can compare actions and habits using adverb comparison and než.
I can ask for and give dates, birthdays and years correctly, including holiday dates.
I can place events in time with the correct preposition and case.
I can make polite requests in shops, offices and restaurants and soften questions naturally.
I can address people correctly in speech and writing using the vocative.
I can use correct nominative plural forms of masculine animate nouns with the right alternations.
I can decline soft adjectives correctly in all genders and cases.
I can express possession with -ův/-in adjectives and recognize them in place names.
I can form and use verbal nouns from both aspects, including official sign language.
I can understand and use diminutives with their emotional rather than literal meaning.
I can describe processes and general practices with the reflexive passive.
I can understand and form the periphrastic passive with correct agreement and agent phrases.
I can express unreal past conditions and recognize both the full and the colloquial pattern.
I can describe what I see and hear with both the infinitive and jak patterns.
I can derive and use meaning-changing prefixed verbs with their new aspect pairs.
I can form and use participial adjectives and read any Czech menu with them.
I can express absence of obligation, prohibition, expectation and feasibility precisely.
I can express purpose, wishes and instructions with correctly conjugated aby clauses.
Best after: Subordinating conjunctions: že, protože, když, aby, jestli
I can distinguish real and unreal conditions and choose between jestli, pokud, když and kdyby.
I can report statements, questions and commands without artificial tense shifts.
Best after: Subordinating conjunctions: že, protože, když, aby, jestli
I can write connected paragraphs using consequence, contrast and addition connectors.
Best after: Subordinating conjunctions: že, protože, když, aby, jestli
I can count things in all three zones and keep verb agreement right after large numbers.
I can decline numbers in time and quantity phrases like před pěti lety and se dvěma přáteli.
I can choose the right direction/location preposition pair including the na-group and person rules.
I can understand everyday spoken Czech and keep my own production in the standard register where required.
I can read texts containing jenž forms and restate them with který.
I can choose the appropriate passive for register, tense and agent expression.
I can recognize transgressives while reading, restate them and use the frozen forms.
Best after: Passive participles in -ný and -tý as adjectives
I can apply aspect correctly in warnings, negated pasts and experience questions.
I can decode and form new prefixed verbs using the stable prefix meanings.
I can deploy the conditional for politeness, hypothesis, unreality and advice, including měl bys/měl jsi.
I can use the core idiomatic verb patterns that native discourse is built on.
I can vary formal relative clauses with the full jenž paradigm and its possessives.
I can build clauses with three or more clitics in the canonical order, in main and subordinate clauses.
I can order sentences so the new information lands at the end, answering the actual question.
I can report speech with correct relative tense, shifted deixis and varied reporting verbs.
I can comment on whole statements with což/přičemž and their case forms in formal writing.
I can punctuate long multi-clause sentences reliably, including semicolons and colons.
Best after: Subordinating conjunctions: že, protože, když, aby, jestli
I can recognize and use expressive word order and the emotive dative in lively speech.
I can use genitive-of-negation set phrases while keeping normal objects in the accusative.
I can count sets, plural-only nouns and use fractions with the genitive.
I can map standard forms to their colloquial counterparts and switch register by situation.
I can use the short predicative adjectives correctly, above all every form of rád.
I can choose between active, passive and purpose verbal adjectives, including the vowel-length pairs.
Best after: Passive participles in -ný and -tý as adjectives
I can form and stylistically dose both transgressives in formal writing.
I can use iteratives for habitual and nostalgic past meaning and form them productively.
I can read solemn and older texts and use aniž correctly in formal writing.
I can deploy Czech discourse particles to sound natural and convey stance.
I can recognize the main dialect areas and adjust expectations when travelling or listening.
I can read contracts and official letters and produce a formally correct request.
I know which disputed forms are codified, tolerated or stigmatized, and where to verify.
I can focus information precisely with právě, dokonce, jen, až and teprve.
I can switch between nominal and verbal style and tame genitive chains in academic Czech.
I can follow elliptical colloquial speech and answer yes/no questions the Czech way.
I can apply the vowel-length rules of loanwords including derivation shortening.
I can vocalize prepositions correctly and carry stress on the preposition unit like a native.
I can decode and form derived vocabulary with the productive suffix system.
I can choose between genitive and accusative by register and verb, keeping the fixed genitive verbs.
I can explain and predict fleeting-e and consonant alternations from their historical sources.
I can choose the right member of near-synonym pairs at idiomatic level.
I can play with Czech morphology: decline new words, catch ironic diminutives, coin verbs.
I can read poetic and terminological postposition correctly and use inversion for deliberate effect.
I command the complete transgressive system receptively and can deploy it for deliberate stylistic effect.
I can navigate Czech codification sources and argue usage questions with evidence.
I can hit the appropriate register on demand and break it deliberately for effect.
I recognize the canonical native-speaker errors and keep my own usage codified.
I can handle institutional capitals, hyphen/dash distinction and abbreviation behaviour reliably.
I can carry meaning with stress and melody: questions, contrast and irony.