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Understanding the Czech Past Tense
The Czech past tense is used to talk about actions or events that have already happened. Just like in English, it helps us tell stories about things that occurred in the past.
Forming the Past Tense
In Czech, to form the past tense, we need to change the verb. This change depends on the gender and number (singular or plural) of the subject. Czech verbs in the past tense usually end in -l, -la, -lo, or -li.
Important Points
For masculine singular subjects, use -l.
For feminine singular subjects, use -la.
For neuter singular subjects, use -lo.
For plural subjects, use -li.
Examples
On četl knihu. (He read a book.)
Ona četla knihu. (She read a book.)
Oni četli knihu. (They read a book.)
Remembering the Verb Endings
Using the Past Tense
The past tense is used to describe actions that were completed in the past. This includes things like what you did yesterday, last week, or even a long time ago.
Examples
Včera jsem hrál fotbal. (Yesterday, I played soccer.)
Minulý týden jsme navštívili babičku. (Last week, we visited grandma.)
On viděl ten film minulý rok. (He saw that movie last year.)
Irregular Verbs
Some verbs in Czech are irregular, which means they don't follow the regular rules for forming the past tense. It's important to memorize these special forms.
Examples
Já byl doma. (I was at home.)
Ona šla do školy. (She went to school.)
Oni pili čaj. (They drank tea.)
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