Learn how to use verbs in combination with the dative case to ask a favor
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Becky: Hi everyone, and welcome back to CzechClass101.com. This is Beginner Season 1 Lesson 25 - Asking Your Czech Friend for a Favor. Becky Here. |
| Martin: Ahoj! I'm Martin. |
| Becky: In this lesson, you’ll learn about using verbs and the dative case in order to ask a favor. The conversation takes place at home. |
| Martin: It's between Jitka and Matěj. |
| Becky: The speakers are friends, therefore, they will speak informal Czech. Okay, let's listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Jitka: Matěji, můžeš mi udělat laskavost? |
| Matěj: Jo, jasně. |
| Jitka: Potřebuju hodit dopis ředitelce. |
| Matěj: To bych mohl hodit. Stačí ti to kolem poledne? |
| Jitka: Jo, ale do schránky naproti poště. Tam se to vybírá častěji. |
| Matěj: Jo, dobře. |
| Matěj: A mohla bys mi na oplátku vyzvednout dort v cukrárně? |
| Jitka: To je mamince k narozeninám? |
| Matěj: Jo. Kdykoliv odpoledne. Já budu možná ještě v práci. |
| Jitka: Díky kolegovi končím v 5 (pět). Stavim se tam. |
| Matěj: Diky moc. |
| Jitka: Já taky dík. |
| Becky: Listen to the conversation one time slowly. |
| Jitka: Matěji, můžeš mi udělat laskavost? |
| Matěj: Jo, jasně. |
| Jitka: Potřebuju hodit dopis ředitelce. |
| Matěj: To bych mohl hodit. Stačí ti to kolem poledne? |
| Jitka: Jo, ale do schránky naproti poště. Tam se to vybírá častěji. |
| Matěj: Jo, dobře. |
| Matěj: A mohla bys mi na oplátku vyzvednout dort v cukrárně? |
| Jitka: To je mamince k narozeninám? |
| Matěj: Jo. Kdykoliv odpoledne. Já budu možná ještě v práci. |
| Jitka: Díky kolegovi končím v 5 (pět). Stavim se tam. |
| Matěj: Diky moc. |
| Jitka: Já taky dík. |
| Becky: Listen to the conversation with the English translation. |
| Jitka: Matěj, can you do me a favor? |
| Matěj: Yeah, sure. |
| Jitka: I need to post a letter for the director. |
| Matěj: I could post it. Is around noon alright for you? |
| Jitka: Yeah, but into the letterbox opposite the post office. It gets collected more often. |
| Matěj: Alright. |
| Matěj: And could you, in return, collect a cake for me from the cake shop? |
| Jitka: Is that for your mom's birthday? |
| Matěj: Yeah. Anytime in the afternoon. I might still be at work. |
| Jitka: Thanks to my colleague I finish at 5. I'll pop in there. |
| Matěj: Thanks a lot. |
| Jitka: Me too. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Becky: Wow, posting a letter. Other than for official things that have to be done in writing, I don’t think I’ve sent a letter to anyone in years. |
| Martin: Me neither. In the Czech Republic, people use email or text messages for most personal or business correspondence. |
| Becky: So nobody sends letters anymore? |
| Martin: No, people still send things through the post. Especially at special occasions. |
| Becky: Oh, birthday cards and Christmas cards! Emails aren’t the same as getting an actual card. |
| Martin: Yeah, sending cards or postcards are more expensive than emails or text messages, but they’re more personal. |
| Becky: Do people send picture messages? |
| Martin: Yes, they’re a good compromise between a card and a text message, I think. |
| Becky: I think that one of the reasons I don’t send many letters these days is because my handwriting is terrible. |
| Martin: But if you type it, it’s not as personal. |
| Becky: I know. I don’t like typing letters either, as they tend to be more formal and need structure. |
| Martin: That’s right. But you really should send more osobní dopis - “personal letters.” |
| Becky: Okay, now onto the vocab. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Becky: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary from this lesson. The first word is... |
| Martin: udělat [natural native speed] |
| Becky: to do, to make |
| Martin: udělat[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Martin: udělat [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next we have... |
| Martin: laskavost [natural native speed] |
| Becky: kindness, favor |
| Martin: laskavost[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Martin: laskavost [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next we have... |
| Martin: potřebovat [natural native speed] |
| Becky: need, require |
| Martin: potřebovat[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Martin: potřebovat [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next we have... |
| Martin: hodit [natural native speed] |
| Becky: to post, to throw, to cast |
| Martin: hodit[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Martin: hodit [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next we have... |
| Martin: do [natural native speed] |
| Becky: in, to |
| Martin: do[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Martin: do [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next we have... |
| Martin: naproti [natural native speed] |
| Becky: opposite |
| Martin: naproti[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Martin: naproti [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next we have... |
| Martin: oplatit [natural native speed] |
| Becky: to pay back, to repay, in return (for something), to get revenge |
| Martin: oplatit[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Martin: oplatit [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next we have... |
| Martin: vyzvednout [natural native speed] |
| Becky: to collect, to pick up, to withdraw |
| Martin: vyzvednout[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Martin: vyzvednout [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next we have... |
| Martin: možná [natural native speed] |
| Becky: maybe, perhaps, possibly |
| Martin: možná[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Martin: možná [natural native speed] |
| Becky: And last... |
| Martin: kdykoliv [natural native speed] |
| Becky: anytime |
| Martin: kdykoliv[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Martin: kdykoliv [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
| Becky: Let's have a closer look at the usage of some of the words and phrases from this lesson. The first word is... |
| Martin: udělat laskavost |
| Becky: ...meaning "to do a favor." What can you tell us about this phrase, Martin? |
| Martin: Udělat means "to do, to make." And laskavost is the feminine noun for "favor, kindness,” |
| Becky: We use this phrase to talk about doing a favor. |
| Martin: Right, either someone doing a favor for us, or us doing a favor for someone else. |
| Becky: Can you give us an example using this word? |
| Martin: Sure. For example, you can say, Zkus mu prokázat laskavost. |
| Becky: ...which means "Try to do him a favor.” |
| Becky: Okay, what's the next word? |
| Martin: Na oplátku |
| Becky: meaning "in return." What can you tell us about this phrase? |
| Martin: Na is a preposition meaning "for” or “in." Oplátka is a feminine noun meaning "paying back” or “returning (something)." |
| Becky: This phrase is used in two contexts. The first has a positive meaning that usually applies to a favor or something good someone did for you . |
| Martin: And the second has a negative meaning and is more about revenge. To get the meaning, you need to look at it in context. |
| Becky: Can you give us an example using this word? |
| Martin: Sure. For example, you can say, Na oplátku se usmála. |
| Becky: ...which means "In return, she smiled." |
| Becky: Okay, now onto the lesson focus. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Becky: In this lesson, you'll learn about using verbs and the dative case in order to ask a favor. |
| Becky: First, what is the dative case and what’s it used for? |
| Martin: It’s used with indirect objects in a sentence where you’re doing something for someone. |
| Becky: An example from the dialogue is... |
| Martin: Hodit dopis ředitelce. |
| Becky: “To post a letter to the director.” |
| Martin: Dopis, meaning “letter,” is the direct object, and ředitelce, meaning “to the director,” is the indirect object. |
| Becky: When is this case used with verbs? |
| Martin: It’s mainly used with verbs that are about talking, giving, helping, sending, phoning, and so on. |
| Becky: Verbs used for interaction and communication between humans and living things. |
| Martin: Right. Like pomoct and pomáhat. |
| Becky: “To help.” How do we use the dative case with personal pronouns? |
| Martin: Usually, there’s a short form and long form of a dative case. When you want to put emphasis on the personal pronoun, use the long form. |
| Becky: Let’s hear an example. How do we say “I will give it to you,” with emphasis on “you.” |
| Martin: Dám to tobě. The short form is used without emphasis in most sentences. |
| Becky: How do you say “I’ll give you a bit?” |
| Martin: Dám ti kousek. There are two different dative cases for “you” - tobě and ti. |
| Becky: When it’s used with a preposition, which is used? Short or long? |
| Martin: That doesn’t follow a pattern and can sometimes be a different conjugation all together. There is a table in the lesson notes that goes through short, long, and preposition datives. |
| Becky: Let’s hear another example. “Would you go there because of me?” |
| Martin: Šel bys tam kvůli mně? |
| Becky: How do you say “He was polite towards them.” |
| Martin: Byl k nim slušný. Another thing you need to be aware of is the declension of nouns in the dative case. |
| Becky: Again, there’s a table in the lesson notes to help with this. |
Outro |
| Becky: Okay, that’s all for this lesson and for this series. Thank you for listening, everyone! Bye! |
| Martin: Čau. |
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