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Prepositions - Předložky

Basic information

Prepositions are words that express the circumstances of an event, like manner, place, time, or cause.

Their meaning only becomes apparent in connection with nouns, less often with adjectives, pronouns or numerals.

Each preposition is associated with a particular case, either one or several. Prepositions are associated with neither the nominative case nor the vocative case.

Genitive prepositions

Preposition Meaning Example
bez without Dám si kávu bez cukru.
I will have coffee without sugar.
během during Během války zahynulo hodně lidí.
During the war, many people perished.
blízko near Bydlí blízko lesa.
He lives near the forest.
do to/into Šel do školy.
He went to school.
kolem around Šli kolem kostela.
They walked around the church.
koncem / na konci at the end of Koncem / Na konci měsíce přijedu domů.
I will come home at the end of the month.
kromě except for/besides Kromě Petra tam nikdo nebyl.
Except for Peter, no one was there.
místo instead of Místo vody si dal čaj.
He had tea instead of water.
nedaleko not far from Bydlí nedaleko města.
He lives not far from the city.
od from Přišel od kamaráda.
He came from a friend’s place.
ohledně regarding/concerning Mluvili jsme ohledně toho problému.
We talked regarding the problem.
okolo around Prošel okolo domu.
He walked around the house.
poblíž nearby/close to Poblíž obchodu je park.
There is a park close to the store.
počátkem / začátkem / na začátku at the beginning of Počátkem / Začátkem / Na začátku týdne jsme začali pracovat.
At the beginning of the week, we started working.
podle according to Podle jeho názoru je to správné.
According to his opinion, it is correct.
u at/by Byl u svého kamaráda.
He was at his friend’s place.
uprostřed in the middle of Seděli uprostřed místnosti.
They sat in the middle of the room.
uvnitř inside of Byl uvnitř budovy.
He was inside the building.
včetně including Cena je včetně daně.
The price includes tax.
vedle next to Stál vedle auta.
He stood next to the car.
z from/out Vzal knihu z poličky.
He took the book from the shelf.
za for Za války bojoval za svobodu.
During the war, he fought for freedom.

Dative prepositions

Preposition Meaning Example
díky thanks to Díky tvé pomoci jsme to zvládli.
Thanks to your help, we managed it.
k to/towards/for Jdu k lékaři.
I am going to the doctor.
Co si dáš k obědu?
What will you have for lunch?
kvůli because of 1 Kvůli dešti jsme museli zůstat doma.
Because of the rain, we had to stay home.
naproti opposite Bydlí naproti parku.
She lives opposite the park.
navzdory despite/in spite of Navzdory obtížím jsme ten projekt dokončili.
Despite the difficulties, we finished the project.
proti against Jsem proti tomuto návrhu.
I am against this proposal.
vůči towards (in relation to) Má negativní postoj vůči změnám.
He has a negative attitude towards changes.

Accusative prepositions

Preposition Meaning Example
mezi between/among Posadil se mezi své kamarády.
He sat down among his friends.
mimo outside of/ beyond Byl mimo město celý týden.
He was outside the city all week.
na on/onto Položil knihu na stůl.
He placed the book onto the table.
nad above Zvedl ruce nad hlavu.
He raised his hands above his head.
o after/of Stará se o dvě děti.
She looks after two kids.
pod under/below Dal jsem krabici pod postel.
I put the box under the bed.
po up to Petr byl po krk v dluzích.
Petr was up to his neck in debt.
pro for To je dárek pro tebe.
This is a gift for you.
před in front of Zaparkoval jsem auto před dům.
I have parked the car in front of the house.
přes over/across Přešel přes most.
He walked over the bridge.
skrz through Viděl světlo skrz okno.
He saw light through the window.
v in/on Věří v Boha.
He believes in God.
Přijedu v sobotu. 4
I'll arrive on Saturday.
za behind Schoval se za strom.
He hid behind the tree.

Locative prepositions

Preposition Meaning Example
na on/at/in Byl na dovolené na Sicílii.
He was on vacation in Sicily.
o about Přemýšlel o své budoucnosti.
He thought about his future.
po after/during/around Povídali jsme si po večeři.
We talked after dinner.
při during/at Při koncertě začalo pršet.
It started raining during the concert.
v in Byl v práci celý den.
He was at school all day.

Instrumental prepositions

Preposition Meaning Example
mezi between/among Procházel se mezi stromy.
He walked among the trees.
nad above Pták letěl nad řekou.
The bird flew above the river.
pod under/below Pes leží pod stolem.
The dog is lying under the table.
před in front of/before Zastavil se před obchodem.
He stopped in front of the store.
s with Šel s kamarádem do kina.
He went to the cinema with his friend.
za behind Stál za domem.
He stood behind the house.

More-case prepositions

Some prepositions can require more than one case. It is forced by the context.

Accusative / Locative

Preposition Example (ACC)
Example (LOC)		 Meaning
na Dal jsem knihu na stůl.
Kniha leží na stole.		 I put the book on(to) the table.
The book is on the table.
o Starám se o syna.
Mluvili jsme o synovi.		 I take care of my son.
We talked about our son.
po Sníh mu byl až po kolena.
Plazil se po kolenou.		 The snow was right up to his knees.
He was crawling on his knees.
v Věří v Boha.
Vidí v Bohovi svého spasitele.		 He believes in God.
He sees God as his savior.
v
(in time expressions)		 v jednu hodinu 5
v lednu 6		 at one o'clock
in January

Accusative / Instrumental

See below

Genitive / Accusative / Instrumental

Preposition Example (GEN)
Example (ACC)
Example (INS)		 Meaning
za Univerzita byla založena za vlády Karla IV.
Přijdu za jednu hodinu.
Sauna je za domem.		 The university was founded in the reign of Charles IV.
I'll come in an hour.
The sauna is behind the house.
s Musíme jít s kopce dolů.
Teď uvidíme, kdo s koho.
Ještě jsem s ním nemluvil.		 We have to go down the hill.
Now it's a showdown. or Now we'll find out who wins.
I haven't spoken with him yet.

Location / movement prepositions

Prepositions vary when used with:

  • static verbs (where? - location)

  • dynamic verbs (where to? / where from? - movement, direction)

Triads

Type Preposition
Case
Example		 Preposition
Case
Example		 Preposition
Case
Example
where
static		 v
LOC
v Africe		 na
LOC
na univerzitě		 u
GEN
u doktora
where to
dynamic		 do
GEN
do Afriky		 na
ACC
na univerzitu		 k
DAT
k doktorovi
where from
dynamic		 z
GEN
z Afriky		 z
GEN
z univerzity		 od
GEN
od doktora

towns, cities, countries, continents, inside places:

  • v Brně, v Praze, v České republice, v Evropě, v kanceláři ...
  • do Brna, do Prahy, do České republiky, do Evropy, do kanceláře ...
  • z Brna, z Prahy, z České republiky, z Evropy, z kanceláře ...

islands, open-air spaces, regions, celestial bodies, events and activities, institutions:

  • na Madagaskaru, na náměstí, na Moravě, na Marsu, na koncertě, na univerzitě
  • na Madagaskar, na náměstí, na Moravu, na Mars, na koncert, na univerzitu
  • z Madagaskaru, z náměstí, z Moravy, z Marsu, z koncertu, z univerzity

person's place, expressing close proximity to something/somebody:

  • u doktora, u kamaráda, u kostela
  • k doktorovi, ke kamarádovi, ke kostelu
  • od doktora, od kamaráda, od kostela

These rules are not always 100% applicable. Sometimes doubts might appear after which preposition a particular words is to be used.

For example, pošta (post office) is definitely an inside place, nonetheless we say na poště.

On the other hand, park (park) is located outside, but we say v parku (perhaps because it is enclosed by some fence, hence considered as "inside").

These and other collocations are conventional and must be learned "as is".

Accusative / Instrumental

Certain prepositions have one form but two cases required by the dynamic (accusative) / static (instrumental) context.

Preposition Dynamic (ACC)
Static (LOC)		 Meaning
nad Obraz jsme pověsili nad postel.
Obraz visí nad postelí.		 We hung the picture above the bed.
The picture is hanging above the bed.
pod Pes se schoval pod stůl.
Pes leží pod stolem.		 The dog hid under the table.
The dog is laying under the table.
před Auto přijelo před dům.
Auto stojí před domem.		 The car drove up to front of the house.
The car is parked in front of the house.
mezi Petr si sedl mezi nás.
Petr seděl mezi námi.		 Petr sat down between us.
Petr was sitting among us.
za Petr si sedl za nás.
Petr seděl za námi.		 Petr sat down behind us.
Petr was sitting behind us.

Appended -e

Non-syllabic, single-consonant prepositions have an appended 2 -e:

  1. before an identical consonant:

    • v → ve: ve Veroně (In Verona)

      It also applies to its voiceless counterpart: ve filmu (in the film)

    • k → ke: ke kostelu (towards church)

    • s → se: se synem (with son)

      It also applies to its palatalized counterpart: se Šimonem (with Šimon) 3

      It also applies to its voiced counterpart: se Zuzanou (with Zuzana)

      It also applies to its voiced palatalized counterpart: se Žanetou (with Žaneta)

    • z → ze: ze země (from the ground)

      It also applies to its palatalized counterpart: ze židle (from the chair)

      It also applies to its voiceless counterpart: ze senátu (from the Senate)

      It also applies to its voiceless palatalized counterpart: ze Šumavy (from Šumava)

  2. before a consonant cluster (two or more consonants)

    • v → ve: ve Vsetíně (in Vsetín)

    • k → ke: ke studentům (to students)

    • s → se: se všemi (with all)

    • z → ze: ze všech (from all)

    2A. This rule is nullified when:

    the second consonant is r: v Brně (in Brno), s Františkem (with František)

    the second consonant is ř: v křoví (in the bush), z křoví (from the bush)

    the second consonant is l: v Kladně (in Kladno), z Kladna (from Kladno)

    the second consonant is n after h-, k-, p-, v-: v hnízdě (in the nest), v knize (in the book), z pneuservisu (from the tyre service), s vnukem (with grandson)

    Note

    Some words are irregular, for example město:

    ve městě (in the town) - the prepositions has appended -e

    z města (from the town) - the preposition stays unchanged

Few syllabic prepositions also have appended -e:

  • before pronoun všechen (all, anything) and personal pronoun já (I) and in some other individual contexts

    bez → beze: beze mě (without me), beze všeho (without everything)

    nad → nade: nade mnou (above me) (but usually nad všemi, not nade všemi)

    od → ode: ode mě (from me), ode dneška (from today)

    pod → pode: pode mnou (below me)

    před → přede: přede mnou (in front/before me), přede všemi (in front/before everyone)

    přes → přese: přese všechno (over everything, in spite of everything)

Appended -u

There are a few rare appearance of appended -u with preposition k → ku:

  • expressing ratio: pět ku jedné (five to one)

  • before words starting in p-: ku Praze (approaching / heading towards Prague)

  • in some idiomatic expressions: sportem ku zdraví (Through sports to health.)

  1. Czech preposition kvůli carries other meanings:

    due to

    for sb's sake

    on the grounds of sth

    ↩

  2. The term vokalizace is used in Czech linguistic tradition. ↩

  3. In spoken Czech, this rule is sometimes not respected and /s Šimonem/ or /z židle/ can be heard. ↩

  4. See Time expressions - Days for the complete overview. ↩

  5. See Time expressions - At what time. ↩

  6. See Time expressions - Months. ↩