Vocabulary

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Lesson Transcript

Ahoj, já jsem Veronika. Hi everybody! I am Veronika.
Welcome to CzechClass101.com’s “Česky za 3 minuty”. The fastest, easiest, and most fun way to learn Czech.
In the last lesson, you learned how to talk about nationality. This is the second part of our lesson on the verb “to be” which is být.
This verb is also used to talk about location, to say things like "I am in the street" or "He is in the room", so it's very useful!
When you want to know where something or someone is, you use the verb být in Czech.
For example, when someone asks you on the phone Kde jsi? That means "Where are you?" in an informal way.
Let's break it down.
Kde means "Where"
Jsi is "are.” This is the verb “to be” být conjugated for ty, or “you”.
All together it is Kde jsi?
[slowly] Kde jsi?
Answering this question is very easy! You just say jsem + the place where you are.
Jsem is that verb být again.
Then you add the place. So for example, you can say Jsem na ulici. which is "I am in the street"
[slowly] Jsem na ulici.
Now let’s see a few other possible answers with “I”:
"I am at the office" would be Jsem v kanceláři.
"I am in a meeting" would be Jsem na konferenci.
"I am in a store" would be Jsem v obchodě.
Another useful expression with the verb být is when you introduce yourself. You can say jsem + your name.
For example, Jsem Veronika.
When you pick up the phone it’s really simple—you just say your name.
The verb být changes a lot depending on the pronoun. Let’s review the versions in the present tense.
Jsem, meaning “I am” – Jsem Američan. I am American.
Jsi, you are – Jsi Francouz. You are French.
Je, meaning “he is”,- Je Brazilec. He is Brazilian.
Je, meaning “she is” - Je Brazilka. She is Brazilian woman.
Je, meaning “it is” - Je dítě. (dítě means child). It is child.
Jsme, meaning “we are” - Jsme Angličani. We are Americans.
Jste, meaning “you are” (formal, male) - Jste Číňan. You are Chinese.
Jste, meaning “you are” (formal, female) - Jste Číňanka. You are Chinese woman.
Jste, meaning “you (plural) are” - Jste Číňani. You are Chinese people.
Jsou, meaning “they are (male)” - Jsou Japonci. They are Japanese.
Jsou, meaning “they are” (female) - Jsou Japonky. They are Japanese women.
Jsou, meaning “they are” (neuter) - Jsou děti. They are children.
Now it’s time for Veronika’s tips.
You can use the verb být, in this convenient question if you are lost in the street, for example:
Nevím, kde jsem, můžete mi prosím pomoct?
That means “I don’t know where I am, can you help me please?”
[slowly] Nevím, kde jsem, můžete mi prosím pomoct?
In this lesson you learned how to talk about your location thanks to verb být. Next time you’ll learn how to ask about somebody's age in Czech. I’ll be waiting for you in the next Česky za 3 minuty lesson.
Ahoj!

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