Have you ever wondered how some people speak like seven languages? Maybe you even have a friend who starts ordering food in the local language within three days of your vacation. 

Yep, people like that exist—and you could be one of them. In this guide, we’ll introduce and explain the most common Czech sentence patterns. Learning Czech has never been this easy!

You probably know that Czech might be a little tricky to learn (All the conjugation and declension! Lawd!) and that sentence patterns in English and Czech have pretty much nothing in common. Let’s make things easy and forget about lengthy grammar explanations. By simply memorizing the most common Czech sentence structures and patterns, you’ll be able to create dozens of sentence combos and make conversation in Czech a million times easier.

Ready, steady, go!

Table of Contents

1. A is B
2. It Is
3. I Want
4. I Need to
5. I Like / I Love
6. Do You Really Love Me?
7. Asking Someone to Do Something
8. May I?
9. Asking for Information
10. Asking About Time
11. Asking About Location or Position
12. How CzechClass101.com Helps You Learn Czech in a Fun Way

1. A is B

Let’s start with the most used, and probably the most useful, Czech sentence structure. With this pattern, you can either say that a noun is also another noun, or describe a noun using an adjective. 

1- Using a Noun

► Noun/Pronoun (Nominative) – Verb (Conjugated) – Noun (Nominative).

Czech Sentence Pattern A is B	English Translation
Ema je moje přítelkyně.	“Ema is my girlfriend.”
Jonathan je můj kolega.	“Jonathan is my colleague.”
Tyhle hodinky byly dárek k narozeninám.	“This watch was a birthday present.”
Tahle dáma je moje babička.	“This lady is my grandma.”
Tohle je moje první novela.	“This is my first novel.”

2- Using an Adjective

► Noun/Pronoun – Verb – Adjective.

Czech Sentence Pattern A is B	English Translation
Jsi nádherná.	“You are gorgeous.” (feminine)
Tvoje máma je moc milá.	“Your mom is really sweet.” (feminine)
Jeho nový byt je obrovský.	“His new apartment is huge.” (masculine)
Náš pes je bílý.	“Our dog is white.” (masculine)
Tenhle úkol je obtížný.	“This task is difficult.” (masculine)

As you can see, it’s quite easy.

Remember: to speak Czech, you also need to work on your vocabulary. Czech out this video with 600 Words Every Czech Beginner Must Know, and then you might also need to review Czech grammar basics.

2. It Is

Sometimes, you don’t need a lot of words to express yourself (thank God!).

Here’s an easy Czech sentence pattern to describe actions or situations:

► Pronoun – Verb (Conjugated) – Adjective.

Czech Sentence Pattern It is / That is	English Translation
To je úžasné!	“That‘s awesome!”
Tohle je nádherné.	“This is wonderful.”
Je to vynikající.	“It’s delicious.”
Je moc brzo.	“It’s too soon.”
Je to vážně zvláštní.	“It’s really peculiar.”

You might also want to step up your Czech adjective game to make sure you’re not repeating the same phrases over and over again. (Although, no judgement, we all have our favorite words…it’s kind of like wearing just thirty percent of your wardrobe, isn’t it?)

Anyway! You might find this list of the fifty most common Czech adjectives very useful.

To je úžasné! (“This is awesome!”)

3. I Want

I want ice cream. I want to be the best version of myself. I want to speak Czech like a native. Let’s try, shall we?

Talking about what we want is fun AND important. Don’t slack off; keep reading, we’re almost there. Here’s how to make Czech sentences for expressing your wants:

► I want – Noun (Accusative)
► I want to – Verb (Infinitive)

There are two ways to describe that you want something.

1. Chci (“I want”) is more straightforward and reflexive.

2. Chtěl/a bych (“I would like to”) is more polite. It’s a modal verb in the past tense, followed by the word bych.

Here is the conjugation table for your convenience (you’re welcome).

Czech Sentence Pattern I want / I would like to	English Translation
Chci lepší práci.	“I want a better job.”
Chci dezert.	“I want a dessert.”
Chci být s tebou.	“I want to be with you.”
Chtěla bych se vdát.	“I would like to get married.”
Chtěl by se naučit česky.	“He would like to learn Czech.”

► Note: The nouns in this pattern are always in the accusative case. 

  4. I Need to

Okay, we really need to cover this one too. You need to be able to tell people what you need. You need to know how to do it. No worries; it’s easy.

In Czech, we usually use the verb potřebovat or muset (“to need” or “must”).

These two modal verbs can be followed by another verb in the infinitive (just in case you need help, here’s a great summary of Czech conjugation), or by a noun in the accusative.

► “I need to/I must” – Verb (Infinitive)
► “I need/I must” – Noun (Accusative)
► “I need” – Personal Pronoun (Accusative)

Czech Sentence Pattern I need / I need to / I must	English Translation
Musím odejít.	“I need to leave.”
Potřebuje se víc učit.	“He needs to study more.”
Musím čůrat.	“I need to pee.”
Potřebuju kafe.	“I need coffee.”
Potřebuju tě.	“I need you!”

Chci zmrzlinu! (“I want ice cream!”) 

5. I Like / I Love

The difference here is pretty obvious, right?

In Czech, we don’t usually use the word “love” too often. The verb milovat (“to love”) seems to be reserved for personal liaisons (or food), and Czechs like to like things. We use the verb mít rád (“like”) when we talk about things, and rád when we talk about activities or situations. Another alternative is to say líbí se mi (“I like”) when you talk about things you like, such as movies or clothes.

Any questions? Okay, let’s get this done. Here are a few ways to form sentences in Czech to express your likes:

► Rád / ráda (“I like to” / “I love to”) – Verb (Infinitive)
► Mám rád / ráda (“I like” / “I love”) – Noun (Accusative)
► Líbí se mi (“I like” / “I love”) – Noun/Pronoun (Accusative)
► Miluju (“I love”) + Noun/Personal Pronoun (Accusative)

Czech Sentence Pattern I like / I love	English Translation
Miluju jídlo.	“I love food.”
Mám ráda moji práci.	“I like my job.”
Miluju tě.	“I love you.”
Ráda běhám.	“I like to run.”
Líbí se mi tyto modré šaty.	“I like this blue dress.”

6. Do You Really Love Me?

When you’re talking about people, you should be careful with your choice of words—you want to avoid awkward situations, right?

► We don’t tell friends we love them. We always stick with mám tě rád/a (“I’m fond of you”).

There might be some exceptions, of course. For example—it’s two a.m. and you’ve had one too many drinks.

To like (appearance/approach)	To love (pretty self-explanatory)	To like (to be fond of)
Líbit se	Milovat	Mít rád
Petr se mi líbí, je moc sexy. “I like Petr, he’s very sexy.”	Miluju ho a chci si ho vzít. “I love him, and I want to marry him.”	Mám ráda Julii, je to moje nejlepší kamarádka. “I like Julie; she’s my best friend.”
Líbí se mi, je hezká. “I like her, she’s cute.”	On miluje svoje rodiče. “He loves his parents.”	Mám ho ráda a vážím si ho. “I am fond of him and I respect him.”

► If you’re curious about the word order in these sentences, we have an entire article about Czech Word Order. Czech it out! 

Miluju tě. (“I love you.”)

7. Asking Someone to Do Something

Please, read these lines carefully. This is important. If you want to ask someone to do something, it’s best to be polite and nice. Did I get your attention?

The key word here is prosím (“please”)—it goes at the very beginning or at the end of the sentence.

► Verb (Imperative) – Prosím.
► Prosím – Verb (Imperative).

Asking someone to do something in Czech	English Translation
Posaďte se, prosím.	“Take a seat, please.”
Prosím, počkejte zde.	“Please, wait here.”
Prosím, vyslechněte mě.	“Please, listen to me.”
Pomozte mi, prosím.	“Help me, please.”
Pojďte za mnou, prosím.	“Follow me, please.”

You might also want to take a look at this list of Czech key phrases.

8. May I?

Asking for permission in Czech is just as simple as it is in English:

► Můžu (“May I”) – Verb – (Noun) + Please?

When asking for permission, we use the verb “can.” We literally ask: “Can I?”

Again, don’t forget to add prosím (“please”) at the beginning or end of the sentence. In this case, it’s not mandatory, but if you want to be really sweet…

Czech Sentence Pattern May I?	English Translation
Můžu si sednout, prosím?	“May I take a seat, please?”
Můžu se vás zeptat?	“Can I ask you a question?”
Můžu dostat sklenici vody, prosím?	“May I have a glass of water, please?”
Můžu ti pomoci?	“Can I help you?”
Můžu se k nim přidat?	“May I join them?”

9. Asking for Information

There’s a good chance you’ll need to ask for information. This list of the Top Fifteen Czech Questions will make your conversations in Czech much easier.

Here’s how to form basic Czech sentences for asking information of someone:

► Co je (“What is”)

Czech Sentence Pattern What is…?	English Translation
Co je tohle?	“What is this?”
Co je to?	“What is it?”
Co je tamto?	“What is that?”

10. Asking About Time

You don’t want to be late, and most of the time, we have our phones on us to keep track of time.

Sometimes, our technology fails us (dead phone battery in the middle of a busy day), and we need to rely on good ol’ human interaction.

Here’s how to ask what time it is in Czech:

► Kdy? (“When?”)
► V kolik hodin? (“At what time?” / “What time?”)

Kolik je hodin? (“What time is it?”)

Czech Sentence Pattern When? / At what time?	English Translation
Kolik je hodin?	“What time is it?”
Jaký je dnes den?	“What day is it?”
Kdy máš narozeniny?	“When is your birthday?”
Kdy máme schůzku?	“What time is the meeting?”
V kolik hodin přijdeš?	“What time will you get back?”

This list of the top twenty-five Czech questions might come in handy as well.

11. Asking About Location or Position

Although we all know how to use Google Maps, you might end up getting lost in a tiny Czech village with no service. What would you do?

Ask for directions in perfect Czech, of course! Here’s how you would start a Czech phrase for this:

► Kde? (“Where?”)

Czech Sentence Pattern Where…?	English Translation
Kde jsou toalety?	“Where is the restroom?”
Kde ses narodil?	“Where were you born?”
Kde je výtah?	“Where is the elevator?”
Kde najdu víc informací?	“Where can I find more information?”

Well, that was easy, right? If you need more information, check out this list of the top ten Czech sentence patterns.

12. How CzechClass101.com Helps You Learn Czech in a Fun Way

CzechClass101.com will make learning Czech easy, exciting, and fun.

What can you find here?

• English-to-Czech translation and pronunciation tips & tricks,
• Over 630 audio and video lessons 
• Vocabulary learning tools
• Spaced repetition flashcards
• Detailed PDF lesson notes

Sign up now; it’s free!

But before you go and create your account, let us know in the comments if this article helped you! Is there anything you still don’t quite understand about Czech sentence structure and patterns? We’ll do our best to help you out!