Skip to content
SLAYLANGUAGE SCHOOL
Account

Czech grammar · Level A2–B2

Genitiv: the genitive case

The genitive answers “koho? čeho?” (of whom? of what?). It’s most often needed after the prepositions do, z, od, u, bez (do Prahy, bez cukru), quantity words (hodně lidí) and numbers from five up: Na schůzce bylo pět žen.

QuizContents
Contents
  1. Endings
  2. Prepositions with the genitive
  3. Quantities and numbers
  4. Common mistakes
  5. Quiz
  6. FAQ

Endings

Feminine nouns in -a take -y (žena → ženy, Praha → Prahy); those in -e and soft ones take -e / -ě (židle → židle, kuchyně → kuchyně); those ending in a consonant take -i / -e (kost → kosti, píseň → písně). Neuter: -a (město → města), -e (moře → moře), -í (nádraží). Animate masculine: -a (bratr → bratra, pes → psa); inanimate mostly -u (stůl → stolu, dům → domu), sometimes -a (sýr → sýra, les → lesa).

Genitive singular and plural
NominativeSingularPlural
bratrbratrabratrů
stůlstolustolů
ženaženyžen
židležidležidlí
městoměstaměst
mořemořemoří
  • To je auto mého bratra.This is my brother’s car.
  • Dám si šálek kávy.I’ll have a cup of coffee.

Prepositions with the genitive

do (into a city or building) — do Prahy, do školy; z / ze (out of, from) — z Ukrajiny, ze školy; od (from a person) — od lékaře; u (at someone’s, by) — u babičky, u okna; bez (without) — bez cukru; vedle (next to), kolem (around), během (during), podle (according to): podle plánu.

  • Zítra jedu do Brna.Tomorrow I’m going to Brno.
  • Jsem z Ukrajiny.I’m from Ukraine.
  • Kávu bez cukru, prosím.Coffee without sugar, please.

Quantities and numbers

After hodně, málo, trochu, kolik, kilo, láhev use the genitive: hodně lidí, kilo jablek. After 2, 3, 4 use the nominative plural: dva stoly, tři ženy. From 5 up use the genitive plural, with the verb in the neuter singular: Bylo tam pět žen. Unlike Polish, negation doesn’t need the genitive: Nemám čas.

Number + noun
12–45+
jedna ženadvě ženypět žen
jeden stůltři stolyšest stolů
jedno autočtyři autadeset aut
  • Na schůzce bylo pět žen.There were five women at the meeting.
  • Kolik lidí přijde?How many people are coming?

Common mistakes

The mistakes people make most often — and the right way.

  • Wrong: pět ženy

    Right: pět žen

    From 5: genitive plural.

  • Wrong: Jedu v Prahu.

    Right: Jedu do Prahy.

    To a city: do + genitive.

  • Wrong: Pět žen byly.

    Right: Pět žen bylo.

    From 5 the verb is bylo.

  • Wrong: kávu bez cukr

    Right: kávu bez cukru

    Bez + genitive: cukru.

The genitive: pět žen, do Prahy

Quiz

10 questions: choose the right option — the explanation appears straight away.

  1. Question 1

    Na schůzce bylo pět _____.

  2. Question 2

    Zítra jedu do _____.

  3. Question 3

    Kávu bez _____, prosím.

  4. Question 4

    Jsem z _____.

  5. Question 5

    To je pokoj mého _____.

  6. Question 6

    Na stole jsou dva _____.

  7. Question 7

    V parku bylo hodně _____.

  8. Question 8

    Byl jsem u _____.

  9. Question 9

    Koupil jsem kilo _____.

  10. Question 10

    Bydlím vedle _____.

Correct: 0 of 10

Read next

FAQ

Didn’t find your answer? Send us a request — we’ll tell you everything.

Does negation need the genitive?

Not in modern Czech: Mám čas → Nemám čas, Vidím Petra → Nevidím Petra. That’s a key difference from Polish (nie mam czasu).

How do I say “Petr’s car”?

For a single person Czechs often use a possessive adjective: Petrovo auto, Evina kniha, bratrův dům. The genitive is used for longer phrases: auto mého bratra.

-u or -a for inanimate masculine nouns?

Mostly -u (stolu, domu, vlaku, obchodu). A small group takes -a and is worth learning separately: sýra, chleba, lesa, kostela, plus the months (ledna, února).

Other topics

All topics50 most common Czech wordsCzech level test

Next step

Keep learning with a mini-course

Short online courses by Slay School teachers: a 15-minute lesson a day with audio, exercises and dialogues, and the words you forget come back on their own.

  • Day 1 is free
  • 15 minutes a day, at your own pace
  • Every word has audio
  • Lifetime access once paid
Start for freeAll mini-courses

All you need to start is an email or a Google account.