Idiomatické vazby – záležet na, jít o, stát za

"It depends on the weather", "it's about money", "it's worth it", "an accident happened". English builds these with prepositions you never think about. Czech builds them with verb + preposition + case combinations that do not match English, and translating word for word produces Czech that is understandable but clearly foreign. Learn each pattern as one block, case included.

The core patterns

Pattern	Example	English
jít o + acc.	O co jde? Nejde o peníze. Jde o život.	What's going on? It's not about money. It's life or death.
jednat se o + acc.	Jedná se o omyl.	It is a mistake. (more formal)
záležet na + loc.	Záleží na počasí. Záleží mi na tobě.	It depends on the weather. I care about you.
stát za + acc.	Ten film stojí za to. Telč stojí za návštěvu.	The film is worth it. Telč is worth a visit.
stát za + instr.	Stojím za tebou. Kdo za tím stojí?	I'm behind you. Who's behind it?
dojít k + dat.	Na D1 došlo k nehodě.	There was an accident on the D1.
týkat se + gen.	To se tě netýká.	That's none of your business.

Notes on the tricky ones

• jít o is impersonal and can take a dative of the person who cares: Jde mi o to, abychom zůstali přáteli. "What matters to me is that we stay friends." Jde o to, že... is the everyday "the point is that...". Do not confuse it with jít do (to go into): jdu do kina.
• jednat se o was long frowned upon as a copy of German es handelt sich um; today it is ordinary standard Czech, but it cannot take a person: Jde mi o..., never *Jedná se mi o....
• záležet na has two meanings: "depend on" (Záleží na tom, kolik to bude stát) and, with a dative, "care about" (Záleží mi na tobě). Its partner záviset na means only "depend on".
• stát za changes meaning with the case: accusative is value (stojí to za hřích, "it's worth sinning for"), instrumental is position or support (za tím stojí banka).
• dojít k is the language of news and police reports: Došlo k výpadku proudu. K nehodě došlo ve 3:15. In conversation you would say Stala se nehoda.

Typical slips

• Calque of "depend on" from Slovak, Russian or Ukrainian od: *záleží od počasí → záleží na počasí.
• Mixing two patterns: *Stalo se k nehodě → Došlo k nehodě or Stala se nehoda.
• Wrong case after jít o: *Jde o penězích (locative, as if "about" = o + loc.) → Jde o peníze.
• "The film is about the war" with the wrong pattern: *Ten film jde o válce → Ten film je o válce or V tom filmu jde o válku.