Learn about the instrumental case
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Michael: Hi everyone, and welcome back to CzechClass101.com. This is Intermediate Season 1 Lesson 13 - What is the Secret to Your Success? Michael, here. |
| Veronika: Ahoj I'm Veronika. |
| Michael: In this lesson, you’ll learn about the instrumental case. The conversation takes place at a radio station. |
| Veronika: It's between a radio presenter and Tadeas Tvrdik. |
| Michael: The speakers are strangers, therefore, they will speak formal Czech. Okay, let's listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| ROZHLASOVÁ/TELEVIZNÍ REPORTÉRKA: Povídáme si s Tadeášem, mladým restauratérem. Vaše restaurace získala michelinskou hvězdu, jak se vám to podařilo? |
| TADEÁŠ TVRDÍK: Nepovedlo se to pouze mojí zásluhou. Restauraci provozuji společně se svými rodiči. Je to rodinný podnik. |
| ROZHLASOVÁ/TELEVIZNÍ REPORTÉRKA: Co je podle vašeho názoru tajemství vašeho úspěchu? S michelinskou hvězdou jste se dostali mezi světovou špičku. |
| TADEÁŠ TVRDÍK: Je to splněný sen. Já jsem potěšený tímto oceněním. Tajemství úspěchu je jednoduché - hodně práce. |
| ROZHLASOVÁ/TELEVIZNÍ REPORTÉRKA: V čem vynikáte v porovnání s ostatními restauracemi? |
| TADEÁŠ TVRDÍK: Spolupracujeme s dodavateli lokálních potravin a používáme vždy jen čerstvé a kvalitní suroviny. |
| ROZHLASOVÁ/TELEVIZNÍ REPORTÉRKA: S kvalitními surovinami roste i cena, jsou vaše jídla cenově dostupná? |
| TADEÁŠ TVRDÍK: Za kvalitu je třeba si připlatit. Jsem zklamaný úrovní některých restaurací. |
| ROZHLASOVÁ/TELEVIZNÍ REPORTÉRKA: Vraťme se k michelinské hvězdě. Jak jste ocenění oslavil? |
| TADEÁŠ TVRDÍK: Oslavili jsme to společně s mými rodiči a naším personálem drahým šampaňským a dobrým jídlem. |
| Michael: Listen to the conversation with the English translation |
| Rozhlasová/televizní reportérka: Povídáme si s Tadeášem, mladým restauratérem. Vaše restaurace získala michelinskou hvězdu, jak se vám to podařilo? |
| Michael: We talk with Tadeas, a young restaurateur. Your restaurant got a Michelin Star, how did you manage it? |
| Michael: Nepovedlo se to pouze mojí zásluhou. Restauraci provozuji společně se svými rodiči. Je to rodinný podnik. |
| Michael: It wasn't only my merit. I run the restaurant together with my parents. It's a family business. |
| Rozhlasová/televizní reportérka: Co je podle vašeho názoru tajemství vašeho úspěchu? S michelinskou hvězdou jste se dostali mezi světovou špičku. |
| Michael: In your opinion, what is the secret of your success? With the Michelin Star, you got to the top of the world. |
| Rozhlasová/televizní reportérka: Co je podle vašeho názoru tajemství vašeho úspěchu? S michelinskou hvězdou jste se dostali mezi světovou špičku. |
| Michael: It's a dream come true. I am pleased with this award. The secret is simple - a lot of work. |
| Rozhlasová/televizní reportérka: V čem vynikáte v porovnání s ostatními restauracemi? |
| Michael: What distinguishes you from other restaurants? |
| Tadeáš Tvrdík: Spolupracujeme s dodavateli lokálních potravin a používáme vždy jen čerstvé a kvalitní suroviny. |
| Michael: We work with suppliers of local food and always use only fresh and quality ingredients. |
| Rozhlasová/televizní reportérka: S kvalitními surovinami roste i cena, jsou vaše jídla cenově dostupná? |
| Michael: The price increases with quality ingredients. Are your meals affordable? |
| Tadeáš Tvrdík: Za kvalitu je třeba si připlatit. Jsem zklamaný úrovní některých restaurací. |
| Michael: For the quality, it is necessary to pay more. I am disappointed with the level of some restaurants. |
| Rozhlasová/televizní reportérka: Vraťme se k michelinské hvězdě. Jak jste ocenění oslavil? |
| Michael: Going back to the Michelin Star. How did you celebrate the award? |
| Tadeáš Tvrdík: Oslavili jsme to společně s mými rodiči a naším personálem drahým šampaňským a dobrým jídlem. |
| Michael: We celebrated it together with my parents and our staff with expensive champagne and fine food. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Michael: Veronika, if we were to go to a restaurant in the Czech Republic, would the bill include a service charge? |
| Veronika: Yes, there is usually one included. It’s standard to tip 10-15% on top of that though. |
| Michael: That’s good information to know. How do people usually pay that tip? |
| Veronika: It can be left on the table or given directly to your server. You can just tell them how much to add to the bill. |
| Michael: If the bill is 275 crowns, you can ask the server to round it up to 300. |
| Veronika: That’s right. Czech waiters are known for frowning or being sullen and rude. |
| Michael: So they’re not going to be smiling and asking customers if they enjoyed their meal? |
| Veronika: No! The service is getting better though, especially in tourist areas. |
| Michael: I guess that if the order is taken promptly, the ordered food is correct, the bill added correctly and the food tasty, we shouldn’t withhold a tip just because the waiter didn’t smile. |
| Veronika: That’s right. It’s common for the waiter to ask if you want to pay separately or as a group. |
| Michael: That’s useful. Is it common for customers in Czech restaurants to pay separately? |
| Veronika: Yes, it is. Listen out for Budete platit zvlášť nebo dohromady? |
| Michael: “Will you pay separately or together?” Okay, now onto the vocab. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Michael: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary from this lesson. The first word is.. |
| Veronika: podařit se [natural native speed] |
| Michael: to do well, to succeed |
| Veronika: podařit se[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Veronika: podařit se [natural native speed] |
| Michael: Next we have.. |
| Veronika: povést se [natural native speed] |
| Michael: to succeed |
| Veronika: povést se[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Veronika: povést se [natural native speed] |
| Michael: Next we have.. |
| Veronika: zásluha [natural native speed] |
| Michael: credit, merit |
| Veronika: zásluha[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Veronika: zásluha [natural native speed] |
| Michael: Next we have.. |
| Veronika: tajemství [natural native speed] |
| Michael: secret |
| Veronika: tajemství[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Veronika: tajemství [natural native speed] |
| Michael: Next we have.. |
| Veronika: úspěch [natural native speed] |
| Michael: success, achievement |
| Veronika: úspěch[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Veronika: úspěch [natural native speed] |
| Michael: Next we have.. |
| Veronika: ocenění [natural native speed] |
| Michael: distinction |
| Veronika: ocenění[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Veronika: ocenění [natural native speed] |
| Michael: Next we have.. |
| Veronika: sen [natural native speed] |
| Michael: dream |
| Veronika: sen[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Veronika: sen [natural native speed] |
| Michael: Next we have.. |
| Veronika: vynikat [natural native speed] |
| Michael: to excel, to stand out, to be distinguished |
| Veronika: vynikat[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Veronika: vynikat [natural native speed] |
| Michael: Next we have.. |
| Veronika: dodavatel [natural native speed] |
| Michael: supplier |
| Veronika: dodavatel[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Veronika: dodavatel [natural native speed] |
| Michael: And last.. |
| Veronika: oslavit [natural native speed] |
| Michael: to celebrate |
| Veronika: oslavit[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Veronika: oslavit [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
| Michael: Let's have a closer look at the usage of some of the words and phrases from this lesson. The first phrase is.. |
| Veronika: Jaké je tajemství vašeho/tvého úspěchu? |
| Michael: meaning "What is the secret of your success?" |
| Michael: A “which” question in Czech is formed by the interrogative pronoun “what” |
| Veronika: jaký |
| Michael: It changes form according to the noun it relates to. In the case of this sentence, it is being used with a neuter noun. |
| Veronika: tajemství, meaning “secret.” |
| Michael: There is also a possessive pronoun in this phrase. You use a different form depending on whether you’re speaking formally or are on a first-name basis with someone. |
| Veronika: vašeho is formal and tvého is informal. The last word is the noun úspěchu. |
| Michael: This is in the genitive case. A similar question that means something similar and is interchangeable, is: |
| Veronika: Jaký je recept na tvůj/váš úspěch? |
| Michael: Can you give us an example using this phrase? |
| Veronika: Sure. For example, you can say.. Prozradíte nám, jaké je tajemství vašeho úspěchu? |
| Michael: ..which means "Can you tell us what is the secret of your success?" |
| Michael: Okay, what's the next phrase? |
| Veronika: Je to splněný sen. |
| Michael: meaning "It is a dream come true." |
| Michael: The adjective in this phrase |
| Veronika: splněný |
| Michael: is formed from the verb “to fulfill, to accomplish” |
| Veronika: This is splnit. |
| Michael: Can you give us an example using this phrase? |
| Veronika: Sure. For example, you can say.. Je to můj splněný sen! |
| Michael: .. which means "It's my dream come true!" |
| Michael: Okay, now onto the lesson focus. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Michael: In this lesson, you'll learn about the instrumental case. |
| Michael: We’ll begin by looking at the singular version of this case. How do we say “instrumental case” in Czech? |
| Veronika: instrumentál or sedmý pád |
| Michael: In Czech, this case functions as the instrumental or the means. You can use it to answer questions like “by who?” and “by what?” In English, it’s mainly expressed with the prepositions “with” or “by.” |
| Veronika: However, in Czech no preposition is used. |
| Michael: We also use the instrumental case before the following six prepositions. |
| Veronika: s(e) |
| Michael: “with” |
| Veronika: před |
| Michael: “in front of” |
| Veronika: za |
| Michael: “behind” |
| Veronika: nad |
| Michael: “above” |
| Veronika: pod |
| Michael: “under” |
| Veronika: mezi |
| Michael: “between.” You will find a declension table in the lesson notes that have the instrumental endings for the singular nouns. Let’s hear some example sentences. |
| Veronika: Do práce jezdím autem nebo vlakem. |
| Michael: “I go to work by car or train.” |
| Veronika: Ve škole píšeme obyčejnou tužkou. |
| Michael: “At school we write with an ordinary pencil.” |
| Veronika: Počkáte na mě před nádražím? |
| Michael: “Will you wait for me in front of the station?” As we’ve heard the singular instrumental case in action, let’s now look at the plural instrumental case. |
| Veronika: These forms are different, and again you will find a declension table in the lesson notes. |
| Michael: When you apply the instrumental case, the whole noun phrase requires changes including demonstrative, possessive pronouns, and adjectives. The lesson notes have a declension table for this and you’ll see that the instrumental endings of masculine and neuter demonstrative possessive pronouns and adjectives in singular are identical. |
| Veronika: But the endings of feminine ones differ. |
| Michael: With plural instrumental endings, the masculine, feminine, and neuter demonstrative, possessive pronouns, and adjectives are identical. Now let’s hear some examples. |
| Veronika: Pomůžeš mi s mými domácími úkoly? |
| Michael: “Will you help me with my homework?” |
| Veronika: Půjdu ven se svými kamarádkami. |
| Michael: “I will go out with my girlfriends.” |
| Veronika: Zabavili jsme se stolními hrami. |
| Michael: “We had fun with board games.” Personal pronouns also change their form in the instrumental case. Their forms differ if they stay alone or if they are used with prepositions. |
| Veronika: The most frequently used preposition is s |
| Michael: This means “with.” The lesson notes have a declension table that shows the instrumental endings for personal pronouns, both with and without prepositions. Veronika, can we have some examples, please? |
| Veronika: Milan šel se mnou. |
| Michael: “Milan went with me.” |
| Veronika: V kuchyni byl stůl a pod ním ležel pes. |
| Michael: “There was a table in the kitchen and a dog was lying under it.” |
| Veronika: Vámi vybrané zboží není k dispozici. |
| Michael: “The goods you selected are not available.” Finally, we will look at how to use the instrumental case with “to be” and an adjective. Some adjectives can be followed by nouns in the instrumental case. For example: |
| Veronika: spokojený |
| Michael: “to be satisfied with” |
| Veronika: zklamaný |
| Michael: “disappointed by.” These phrases are formed by first, “to be” |
| Veronika: být |
| Michael: followed by the adjective, and then the instrumental case. Let’s hear this in action. |
| Veronika: Jsme spokojeni s výsledkem. |
| Michael: “We are satisfied with the result.” |
| Veronika: Jsem nadšená novou prací. |
| Michael: “I am excited about the new job.” |
| Veronika: Byli zklamaní úrovní restaurace. |
| Michael: “They were disappointed with the level of the restaurant.” Certain verbs can also take the instrumental case, for example: |
| Veronika: zabývat se |
| Michael: “to be interested in” |
| Veronika: stát se |
| Michael: “to become.” Let’s finish this lesson with a final couple of examples. |
| Veronika: Zabývá se filmovou vědou. |
| Michael: “He or she is interested in film science.” |
| Veronika: Stala se slavnou herečkou. |
| Michael: “She became a famous actress.” |
Outro |
| Michael: Okay, that’s all for this lesson. Thank you for listening, everyone, and we’ll see you next time! Bye! |
| Veronika: Na shledanou! |
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