Prepositions governing instrumental: s/se, za, před, mezi, nad, pod
Can describe locations using spatial prepositions with instrumental case
Regardez ces exemples. Pouvez-vous repérer le schéma grammatical ?
Jdu na procházku s kamarádkou.
I'm going for a walk with a friend (female).
Kočka sedí pod stolem.
The cat is sitting under the table.
Park je mezi školou a nemocnicí.
The park is between the school and the hospital.
Faites attention aux parties en surbrillance. Qu'ont-elles en commun ?
Six common prepositions take the 7th case (instrumental): s (with), and five that place one thing relative to another - za (behind), před (in front of), nad (above), pod (under), mezi (between, among).
| Preposition | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| s / se | with | Jdu na procházku s kamarádkou. |
| za | behind | Auto je za domem. |
| před | in front of; before; ago | Čekám před školou. Před obědem. Před rokem. |
| nad | above, over | Lampa visí nad stolem. |
| pod | under | Kočka spí pod postelí. |
| mezi | between, among | Sedím mezi Annou a Petrem. |
Prague has a famous meeting point built on one of these: Sejdeme se pod koněm - "Let's meet under the horse", meaning the statue of St Wenceslas at the top of Wenceslas Square. Everyone in Prague knows which horse.
English already distinguishes in and into, on and onto. Czech makes the same distinction for these five place prepositions, but with case instead of a different word: the instrumental for where something is, the accusative for where something goes.
| Where is it? (instrumental) | Where does it go? (accusative) |
|---|---|
| Taška je pod stolem. - The bag is under the table. | Dej tašku pod stůl. - Put the bag under the table. |
| Obraz visí nad gaučem. - The picture hangs above the sofa. | Pověs obraz nad gauč. - Hang the picture above the sofa. |
| Sedím mezi Annou a Petrem. | Sedni si mezi Annu a Petra. |
English "under the table" is the same in both sentences, so English speakers tend to use the instrumental for everything. Ask: is something moving there? Then accusative.
One fixed phrase breaks the pattern and is worth learning as it is: Jdu za babičkou - I'm going to see Grandma. Here za + instrumental means "to visit someone", even though you are moving.
Se stands before mnou and before many words starting with s, z, š, ž: se mnou, se sestrou, se zelím. Elsewhere s: s kamarádem, s mlékem.
Appliquez cette grammaire dans les exercices du cours A1
Exercices de pratiqueJdu na procházku s kamarádkou.
I'm going for a walk with a friend (female).
S + instrumental for company: kamarádka → kamarádkou.
Kočka sedí pod stolem.
The cat is sitting under the table.
Pod + instrumental for static location: stůl → stolem.
Park je mezi školou a nemocnicí.
The park is between the school and the hospital.
Mezi + instrumental for location between: školou, nemocnicí (both in instrumental).
Pratiquer dans le cours
Appliquez cette grammaire dans les exercices du cours A1