Czech Case: Dative

In this article, you'll learn how, when, and why to use dative case in Czech. You'll also see practical examples and a handy table of endings.

In Czech grammar, the dative case (3rd case) shows who or what a verb is acting on.
It is somewhat like the indirect object in English.

Read on to find out more about the dative case in Czech, and how to use it!

Practice what you learn in this article for free:

Dative Case Practice

What is Dative Case Used For?Back to top

The dative case in Czech helps us indicate the person or thing affected by an action.

For instance, in the sentence "I gave a gift to my friend", the word to shows that my friend is the recipient of the gift.

In Czech, you use dative case to show who is receiving the gift.

Before we get to examples, let's remember what the subject and object are.

The subject is the person or the thing performing the action (the main "doer" or "actor").
The object is the "receiver" of the action. It's the person or thing that the subject is interacting with.

There are two types of objects: indirect and direct.
Certain verbs take a direct object, for example "to sell" or "to break".
The direct object is the thing that the verb is directly affecting.

The direct object takes the accusative case in Czech.

But of course, we can have more complicated sentences than this!

Sometimes we do things that deal with more than one noun: "I cooked a meal for her", for instance.
The indirect object is the person or the thing receiving an effect (in this example, "her").

The indirect object usually takes the dative case in Czech.

Here are some examples of dative case:

• Dávám dárek sestře - I am giving a gift to my sister
• Kupuji květiny mamince - I am buying flowers for mom
• Čtu knihu synovi - I am reading a book to my son
• Posílám dopis babičce - I am sending grandma a letter

In all of these sentences, "I" am the one doing the action, so "I" am the subject of those sentences.

The direct objects (accusative case) are the things that the subject is using directly: a gift, flowers, a book, a letter.

The indirect objects (dative case) are the people that are affected by the action: sister, mother, son, grandma.

Dative Case with VerbsBack to top

There are some verbs that, if used with a noun, this noun must take dative case.

For example:

• Důvěřovat: Důvěřuji zdroji - I trust the source
• Pomáhat: Pomáhám babičce - I am helping the grandmother
• Věřit: Věřím Petře - I believe Petra
• Děkovat: Děkuji Vám - I thank you
• Přikazovat: Přikazuji vám, abyste to udělali. - I command you (pl.) to do it
• Slibovat: Slibuji učiteli, že to udělám - I promise the teacher that I will do it
• Přísahat: “Přísahám Bohu - I swear to God
• Hrozit/vyhrožovat: Davidovi hrozí nebezpečí - David is in danger (Lit: Danger threatens David)

In the sentence "Davidovi hrozí nebezpečí", you can see a big difference between Czech and English grammar.

You can easily say instead, "Nebezpečí hrozí Davidovi" - it means the same thing!
Both are grammatically correct, Czechs will understand either one.

The difference is in the emphasis:

• Davidovi hrozí nebezpečí - David is in danger (not some other person)
• Nebezpečí hrozí Davidovi - Danger threatens David (not something else)

English doesn't use cases very often. To make it clear what the meaning is, you have to put the words in a particular order.

Paul is threatening Mark does not mean the same thing as Mark is threatening Paul.

However, in Czech, Pavel vyhrožuje Markovi and Markovi vzhrožuje Pavel means the exact same thing: Paul is threatening Mark!
And we know this because "Markovi" is "Mark" in dative case.
Mark is being affected by what Paul is doing.

This is why cases are so important in Czech, and why you can really confuse people if you use the wrong ones, or don't use them at all!

Here are a few more verbs which take dative case:

• Radit (to advise)
• Posílat (to send)
• Telefonovat (to call)
• Objednat se k (to make an appointment at)

Dative Case - Other UsesBack to top

Where else do Czechs use dative? Here is the full list:

• Indicating the recipient of an action (the one we've just explained)
• Expressing the person for whom something is intended or beneficial
• Following these prepositions:
  • díky (thanks to)
  • k (to)
  • kvůli (because of)
  • naproti (in front of)
  • oproti (opposite of)
  • proti (against)
  • vůči (in the face of)
  • vzhledem k (considering)

You are lucky here - these prepositions are only used with dative case :)

Dative Case Noun EndingsBack to top

As you've seen, "forming the dative case" means changing the endings of nouns, adjectives, and pronouns.

But forget memorizing tables!

Just practice using dative case here!

Once you get used to the pattern you won't even have to think about it.

But if you do need it, here's a table of the dative noun endings:

Gender of Noun	Singular endings hard, soft	Plural endings hard, soft	Examples nominative - dative
Masculine animate	-ovi, -u -ovi, -i	-ům -ům, -ím	doktor - doktorovi, doktoru muž - mužovi, muži (pl.) doktoři - doktorům (pl.) muži - mužům, mužím
Masculine inanimate	-u -i	-ům	hrad - hradu stroj - stroji (pl.) hrady - hradům (pl.) stroje - strojům
Feminine	-ě, -e -i	-ám, -ím -ím, em	vinárna - vinárně škola - škole mistnost - mistnosti (pl.) vinárny - vinárnám (pl.) růží - růžím (pl.) písně - písním (pl.) mistnost - místnostem
Neuter	-u -i	-ům -ím	auto - autu moře - moři (pl.) auta - autům (pl.) moře - mořím

Some examples from Wikipedia.org

Czech would't be Czech if there weren't exceptions to the rule...

Here are some feminine exceptions:

Gender of Noun	Dative Ending	Examples
Feminine (ends with -ka)	-ce	doktorka - doktorce
Feminine (ends with -ra)	-ře	hra - hře
Feminine (ends with -cha)	-še	plocha - ploše
Feminine (ends with -ga or -ha)	-ze	Praha - Praze synagoga - synagoze

And some neuter exceptions:

Gender of Noun	Dative Ending	Examples
Neuter (ends with -ro)	-ru	vedro - vedru
Neuter (ends with -ko)	-ku	dětsko - dětsku Česko - Česku

Dative Case Adjective EndingsBack to top

Here are the dative endings for Czech adjectives:

Gender of Adjective	Singular endings hard, soft	Plural endings hard, soft	Examples nominative - dative
Masculine animate Masculine inanimate	-ému -ímu	-ým -ím	mladý/mladé - mladému jarní - jarnímu (pl.) mladí/mladé - mladým (pl.) jarní - jarním
Feminine	-é -í	-ým -ím	mladá - mladé jarní - jarní (pl.) mladé - mladým (pl.) jarní - jarním
Neuter	-ému -ímu	-ým -ím	mladé - mladému jarní - jarnímu (pl.) mladá - mladým (pl.) jarní - jarním

Some examples from Wikipedia.org

Dative Case PronounsBack to top

Here are the dative forms of the Czech pronouns:

Nominative form	Dative form (short form)	Dative form (after preposition)
já	mně (mi)
ty	tobě (ti)
on	jemu (mu)	němu
ona	jí	ní
ono	jemu (mu)	němu
my	nám
vy	vám	něho
oni (m) ony (f) ona (n)	jim	nim
můj (m) moje, má (f) moje, mé (n)	mému mojí, mé mému
tvůj (m) tvoje, tvá (f) tvoje, tvé (n)	tvému tvojí, tvé tvému
moji, mí (m) moje, mé (f) moje, má (n)	mým
tvoji, tí (m) tvoje, tvé (f) tvoje, tvá (n)	tvým
ten (m) ta (f) to (n)	tomu té tomu
ti (m) ty (f) ta (n)	těm

Some examples from Wikipedia.org

In conclusion, mastering dative case in Czech is crucial for clear and accurate communication.

By understanding how to use it, you'll be well on your way to speaking Czech with confidence.

So go ahead, practice, and don't be afraid to make mistakes.

Happy learning!!

Practice what you learned in this article for free:

Dative Case Practice