The locative · Czech grammar A1

Contents · A1

In this part, you will learn to say where someone or something is. You will also learn to say what a talk or a book is about.

To say where someone or something is, a noun after v or na takes the locative, as after o (“about”).

Bydlím v Olomouci, ale pracuju v Brně.I live in Olomouc, but I work in Brno.
Jana je na poště a Pavel v bance.Jana is at the post office and Pavel is at the bank.
Klíč je na stole v kuchyni.The key is on the table in the kitchen.
Můj bratr studuje v Itálii.My brother is studying in Italy.
Čekám na nádraží.I'm waiting at the station.
O čem je ta kniha? — O Praze.What's the book about? — About Prague.

Formation

Ending	Nouns	Examples
-e, -ě	feminine in -a; neuter in -o; many masculine things	ve škole, v kavárně, v kině, ve městě, v obchodě
-u	masculine in -k, -h, -ch, -g; many masculine nouns of foreign origin; neuter in -ko; -um replaced by -u	v parku, ve vlaku, v hotelu, v Německu, v muzeu
-i	feminine in -e and in a soft consonant; masculine in a soft consonant; neuter in -ě	v restauraci, v kanceláři, v pokoji, na letišti, ve Francii
no change	neuter in -í	na náměstí, na nádraží

The ending -ě is written after b, p, v, f, m and after d, t, n: v Ostravě. Before it, d, t, n are softened: v zahradě, v kině.
Whether a masculine noun takes -u, -e or -ě is learnt with the word: v parku, but v obchodě.
Some nouns have two forms: v obchodě or v obchodu, v Brně or v Brnu. Koncert and víkend have two as well: na koncertě or na koncertu, o víkendu or o víkendě.
V is written ve before a word beginning with v or f: ve vlaku, ve Francii. Ve is used before many groups of consonants too: ve škole, ve městě.

Consonant changes

Before the ending -e of a feminine noun in -a, k becomes c and h becomes z. Before that -e, ch becomes š and r becomes ř.
The consonant changes before -e are seen in banka → v bance and taška → v tašce. They are also seen in kniha → v knize, Praha → v Praze and sestra → o sestře.
In stůl, the ů becomes o: na stole.
In Plzeň, the e of the stem is dropped: v Plzni.

Use

After v and na, the locative is used for where someone or something is; the question is kde? (“where?”).
V is used for the inside of a closed space: v nemocnici, v hotelu. V is also used for a town and most countries: v Praze, v Itálii.
Na is used for open places, surfaces and events: na náměstí, na stole, na koncertě. Na is also used for many public places: na poště, na nádraží, na univerzitě, na letišti. Regions and some countries take na too: na Moravě, na Slovensku.
Where someone goes is expressed with do or with na and the accusative: na poštu. This is explained in Where, where to and where from: kde, kam, odkud; do Prahy, na poštu, domů.

About: o

O (“about”) is followed by the locative: mluvit o práci (“to talk about work”). The locative is also used in kniha o Praze (“a book about Prague”).
The question is o kom? (“about whom?”) for a person and o čem? (“about what?”) for a thing.
The phrase o víkendu (“at the weekend”) is fixed.

Difference from English

In English, the noun does not change after in, at, on or about. In Czech, the noun takes the locative ending: v bance, o práci.
In English, in, at or on is chosen by the meaning. In Czech, the preposition is learnt with the noun: “at the university” is na univerzitě, “in the shop” v obchodě.
English at has no single Czech equivalent: “at the station” is na nádraží, but “at the weekend” is o víkendu.

Common mistakes

Remember

To say where something is after v or na, and after o (“about”), use the locative: v Praze, o práci.
A feminine noun in -a ends in -e or -ě in the locative: ve škole, v kavárně.
Learn each place with its preposition: v obchodě, but na poště.
Use ve before v, f and many groups of consonants: ve Francii.

In short: the locative

Point	Form	Example
-e, -ě	feminine in -a, neuter in -o, many masculine things	ve škole, v kině
a changed consonant	k → c, h → z, ch → š, r → ř	v bance, v Praze
-u	masculine in -k, -h, -ch, -g; neuter in -ko, -um	v parku, v Německu, v muzeu
-i	-e and soft consonants	v restauraci, v pokoji
no change	neuter in -í	na nádraží
v or na	inside, towns, countries; open places, events, offices	v hotelu, na poště
o	“about”; o kom? o čem?	o práci

You now know how to say where someone is and what a book is about: v Praze, o práci.

Going further

Only the singular of the locative is taught at A1; the plural is learnt at a later level.
Masculine nouns for people have another ending in the locative, learnt at a later level.

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