Learn how to understand declension cases and their usage
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Becky: Hi everyone, and welcome back to CzechClass101.com. This is Beginner Season 1 Lesson 8 - These Czech Boots Were Made for Walking! Becky here. |
| Martin: Ahoj! I'm Martin. |
| Becky: In this lesson, you’ll learn about declension cases and their usage. The conversation takes place in a shoe shop. |
| Martin: It's between Matěj and Helena. |
| Becky: The speakers are strangers, so they’ll use formal Czech. Okay, let's listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Matěj: Dobrý den. Chtěl bych si koupit nějaké boty do náročného terénu. |
| Helena: Myslíte něco jako pohorky? |
| Matěj: Ano, nějaké voděodolné a kožené. |
| Helena: A jakou máte velikost? |
| Matěj: Devět. |
| Helena: Tady máme tyhle kotníkové v tmavě modré barvě nebo v černé. |
| Matěj: Děkuji. Zkusím si ty modré. |
| Helena: Prosím, posaďte se. Tady je pravá bota. |
| Matěj: Děkuju. Můžete mi dát i tu levou? Rád bych se v nich prošel. |
| Helena: Je to pravá kůže, jsou velmi kvalitní. Nepromokavé a zateplené. |
| Matěj: Ano. Zdají se být i pohodlné. Vezmu si je. |
| Helena: Jistě, vezmu vám je k pokladně. |
| Becky: Listen to the conversation one time slowly. |
| Matěj: Dobrý den. Chtěl bych si koupit nějaké boty do náročného terénu. |
| Helena: Myslíte něco jako pohorky? |
| Matěj: Ano, nějaké voděodolné a kožené. |
| Helena: A jakou máte velikost? |
| Matěj: Devět. |
| Helena: Tady máme tyhle kotníkové v tmavě modré barvě nebo v černé. |
| Matěj: Děkuji. Zkusím si ty modré. |
| Helena: Prosím, posaďte se. Tady je pravá bota. |
| Matěj: Děkuju. Můžete mi dát i tu levou? Rád bych se v nich prošel. |
| Helena: Je to pravá kůže, jsou velmi kvalitní. Nepromokavé a zateplené. |
| Matěj: Ano. Zdají se být i pohodlné. Vezmu si je. |
| Helena: Jistě, vezmu vám je k pokladně. |
| Becky: Listen to the conversation with the English translation. |
| Matěj: Hello. I'd like to buy some outdoor boots. |
| Helena: Do you mean something like trekking boots? |
| Matěj: Yes, also water-resistant and made from leather. |
| Helena: And what’s your size? |
| Matěj: Nine. |
| Helena: We have these ankle-high ones in dark blue or black. |
| Matěj: Thank you. I'll try the blue ones. |
| Helena: Please sit down. Here’s the right boot. |
| Matěj: Thank you. Could you give me the left one too? I'd like to walk in them. |
| Helena: They’re made from real leather, very good quality. They’re water-resistant and insulated. |
| Matěj: Yes, they seem comfortable, too. I'll take them. |
| Helena: Sure, I'll take them to the counter for you. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Becky: Martin, I’ve heard that Czech shoes are very high quality, is that so? |
| Martin: Yes, I would say it’s true. There’s a tradition of making shoes, and people prefer practicality over fashion. |
| Becky: I see, so most people don’t wear high-heels or low quality shoes. |
| Martin: Exactly. Czechs like comfortable and practical shoes that they can wear most of the time and that don’t wear out too quickly. |
| Becky: I’ve heard that there’s even a school for shoe-makers. |
| Martin: You heard right! It’s in the city of Zlín, and is part of the university of Tomáš Baťa. |
| Becky: Baťa is a Czech shoe brand and a typical Baťa product is a shoe that doesn’t really follow the latest trend, but can be worn for many years. However, today, the company’s headquarters are in Switzerland. Martin, do you have a good expression for us to learn? |
| Martin: For example, Zdravotní boty |
| Becky: Which means "Orthopedic shoes." Okay, now onto the vocab. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Becky: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary from this lesson. The first word is.. |
| Martin: bota [natural native speed] |
| Becky: shoe |
| Martin: bota[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Martin: bota [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next we have.. |
| Martin: voděodolný [natural native speed] |
| Becky: water-resistant |
| Martin: voděodolný[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Martin: voděodolný [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next we have.. |
| Martin: kožený [natural native speed] |
| Becky: made of leather |
| Martin: kožený[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Martin: kožený [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next we have.. |
| Martin: velikost [natural native speed] |
| Becky: size |
| Martin: velikost[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Martin: velikost [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next we have.. |
| Martin: tyhle [natural native speed] |
| Becky: these |
| Martin: tyhle[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Martin: tyhle [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next we have.. |
| Martin: zkusit si [natural native speed] |
| Becky: to try (something on) |
| Martin: zkusit si[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Martin: zkusit si [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next we have.. |
| Martin: pravý [natural native speed] |
| Becky: right |
| Martin: pravý[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Martin: pravý [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next we have.. |
| Martin: levý [natural native speed] |
| Becky: left |
| Martin: levý[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Martin: levý [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next we have.. |
| Martin: projít se [natural native speed] |
| Becky: to take a stroll |
| Martin: projít se[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Martin: projít se [natural native speed] |
| Becky: And last.. |
| Martin: kvalitní [natural native speed] |
| Becky: of fine quality |
| Martin: kvalitní[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Martin: kvalitní [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
| Becky: Let's have a closer look at some of the words and phrases from this lesson. The first word is.. |
| Martin: velikost |
| Becky: meaning "size." It’s a feminine noun and its meaning can change depending on the context. |
| Martin: The word velikost is most often used with clothing sizes, shoes, or other body measurements. |
| Becky: What’s another meaning? |
| Martin: Sometimes we use velikost in terms of height, such as velikost postavy, |
| Becky: which means “stature.” |
| Martin: You can also say velikost síly. |
| Becky: which indicates "the intensity of a force." Martin, can you give us a sample sentence using this word? |
| Martin: Sure. For example, you can say.. Tenhle soubor má velikost 12GB (dvanáct gigabajtů). |
| Becky: ..which means "This file is 12 GB (twelve gigabytes).” Okay, what's the next phrase? |
| Martin: zkusit si |
| Becky: meaning "to try on." |
| Martin: Zkusit means "to try" and si is the dative form of the reflexive pronoun "oneself." |
| Becky: The literal translation is "to try something on oneself." This phrase can also be used in terms of attempting something for the first time. |
| Martin: Right, for example, you can say zkusit si zahrát na saxofon |
| Becky: meaning "to try to play the saxophone." Martin, can you give us a sample sentence using this verb? |
| Martin: Sure. For example, you can say.. Můžu si zkusit ty kalhoty? |
| Becky: .. which means "Can I try on these trousers?" Okay, what's the next phrase? |
| Martin: projít se |
| Becky: meaning "to take a walk/stroll." Also, we have a verb here that is combined with the reflexive pronoun meaning “oneself” in the accusative. |
| Martin: Projít se can also be used when trying on shoes. |
| Becky: Can you give us an example using this verb? |
| Martin: Sure. For example, you can say.. Projdi se trochu v těch botech. |
| Becky: .. which means "Take a little stroll in these shoes." Okay, now onto the lesson focus. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Becky: In this lesson, you'll learn about declension cases and their usage. In Czech, there are seven different cases. |
| Martin: They are the nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, vocative, locative, and instrumental cases. |
| Becky: Declension applies to the singular forms of nouns as well as the plural forms of nouns. In this lesson we’ll take a closer look at each case. The first case is the nominative, which represents the most basic form of a noun, and it’s the form that is always presented in the dictionary. |
| Martin: The nominative case expresses the subject. This case answers the question kdo or co. |
| Becky: which means “who,” or “what.” Let’s put together an example. |
| Martin: Petra zpívá. |
| Becky: which means “Petra sings” |
| Martin:The nominative here is Petra and we know that because it answers the question “Who sings?” Here’s another example – Ten dům je velký. |
| Becky: which means “The house is big.” |
| Martin: The nominative is dům. |
| Becky: which means “house” and we can say that it’s a nominative because it answers the question “What is big?” Next up is the genitive case. This case can be compared to the English “of.” |
| Martin: It’s frequently connected with other prepositions such as, do meaning “in/ into,” or bez meaning “without.” |
| Becky: The question varies, but it’s usually “whose.” |
| Martin: Right, for example, you can say Kabelka Petry |
| Becky: which means “Petra’s handbag” and answers the question “whose bag?” |
| Martin: The word Petry means “Petra’s.” Another example is Přišel bez ženy, |
| Becky: which means “He came without his wife.” |
| Martin: Here the genitive is used with the preposition bez, as in bez ženy. |
| Becky: which means “without his wife” and it answers the question “He came without who?” In general, the genitive can be used to express Possessiveness, Measurements, Dates and time, and Location. |
| Martin: Right, here’s another simple example. Dvě kila brambor... |
| Becky: meaning "Two kilos of potatoes." Ok, now let’s see the dative case. The dative case can be compared to the English “to/ for” and the question to be asked is “to who/ whom” or “for whom.” |
| Martin: This case expresses an indirect object of a sentence and often follows prepositions, such as k/ ke meaning “to/ toward.” For example, Napsali mně dopis, |
| Becky: which means “They wrote a letter to me.” |
| Martin: Next up is the accusative case. |
| Becky: The accusative case is used to express the direct object of the verb and is the most frequently used case. |
| Martin: It usually answers the question “who” or “what.” For example, Hledám Petru. |
| Becky: meaning “I am looking for Petra.” |
| Martin: Petru is the accusative. |
| Becky: Next up is the vocative case, which is used for addressing people and animals. |
| Martin: That’s right. For example, we use it when greeting someone. An example is Dobré ráno, Josefe. |
| Becky: which means "Good morning, Josef." |
| Martin: Next is the locative. |
| Becky: The locative case expresses a location and it’s the only case that always has a preposition. |
| Martin: For example Jsem v kanceláři. |
| Becky: meaning "I am in the office." |
| Martin:And Knížka je na stole. |
| Becky: meaning "The book is on the table." Martin, what are the main prepositions that come before the locative case? |
| Martin: v, na, o, po and při |
| Becky: They respectively mean “in,” “at,” “about,” “on,” and “close to.” Listeners, you can find a thorough explanation of these prepositions in the lesson notes. Here we’re focusing on the cases themselves. |
| Martin: The seventh case is the instrumental. |
| Becky: The instrumental case, you'll be happy to hear, is one of the easiest cases to master in the Czech language. It means “by/ with,” and expresses the means by or through which an action is carried out. |
| Martin: We usually use it with the prepositions s, za and před |
| Becky: Which mean “with,” “behind” and “in front of” respectively. |
| Martin: For example, you can say, Polévku jíme lžící. |
| Becky: Which means "We eat soup with a spoon." The instrumental case can also express that the subject of a sentence or phrase is something. |
| Martin: For example, Adéla bude doktorkou. |
| Becky: “Adel will become a doctor." |
| Martin: In this example, the instrumental is doktorkou. |
| Becky: It can also be used with a preposition of relative location. |
| Martin: For example, you can say Parkuju auto před domem. |
| Becky: which means “I’m parking in front of the house.” |
| Martin: “in front of the house” in Czech is před domem. |
| Becky: To wrap up, let’s have a look at a noun from the dialogue. Let’s look at the word that means “shoe.” |
| Martin: That is a hard feminine noun ending in -a in the singular, bota, and ending in y in the plural, boty. The model declension is žena - ženu. |
| Becky: Is there an example in the dialogue? |
| Martin: There is, it’s Chtěl bych si koupit nějaké boty. |
| Becky: Which means “I’d like to buy some shoes.” |
| Martin: boty is the 4th accusative case and it answers the question “want to buy what?” |
| Becky: Okay. Let’s see a couple more sample sentences. |
| Martin: For example, Vezmu si ty boty s nízkým podpatkem. |
| Becky: "I'll take the shoes with the low heel." |
| Martin:And Pánské mokasíny budeme mít za týden. |
| Becky: meaning "We'll have men's moccasins next week. " |
Outro |
| Becky: Okay, that’s all for this lesson. Thank you for listening, everyone, and we’ll see you next time! Bye! |
| Martin: Čau. |
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