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Object-centered expressions - Objektové výrazy

Basic information

Clauses such as Bolí mě hlava. (I have a headache, literally *Hurts me head.) are very common in the Czech language.

There are a few important points to observe:

  • The person is not the agent but the patient of the clause. The agent (and therefore the subject) is the entity that happens to the person, who appears in the position of the object.
  • The object in this type of clause can only appear in the dative or accusative case, depending on the verb and its collocation. There is no simple rule for which case is used; it must be learned individually for each verb or expression.
  • If a short (clitic) form of a pronoun is used, it follows the second-position rule. See Second position rule for more information.
  • Many object-centered expressions use the structure verb být + adverb, e.g. Je mi zima. (I am cold.)
  • The subject can be to (it) or, if semantically appropriate, a noun, as in Baví ho to. – Baví ho fotbal. (He enjoys it. – He enjoys football.)

  • Because the predicative verb must agree with the gender and number of the subject, the gender of the object is grammatically irrelevant. Therefore, in the past tense, the subject hlava (feminine) agrees with the verb bolela, while the grammatical gender of the person does not affect the verb form:

    Bolela ho hlava. (He had a headache.)

    Bolela ji hlava. (She had a headache.)

Dative expressions

For clarity, the following examples consistently use:

  • mu as the dative form of the personal pronoun on, and
  • Petrovi as the dative form of the masculine animate noun Petr.
Verb Pronoun Noun English
být Je mu dobře.
Je mu špatně.
Je mu teplo.
Je mu zima.
 Petrovi je dobře.
Petrovi je špatně.
Petrovi je zima.
Petrovi je teplo.		 to feel / to be (good, unwell, warm, cold)
hodit se Hodí se mu to v pátek. Petrovi se to hodí v pátek. to work for, to suit
chybět Chybí mu sport. Petrovi chybí sport. to miss (something, someone)
chtít se Nechce se mu studovat. Petrovi se nechce studovat. to (not) want to do something
chutnat Chutná mu káva. Petrovi chutná káva. to like (taste)
slušet Sluší mu to. Petrovi to sluší. to look good, to suit
stýskat se Stýská se mu po ní. Petrovi se po ní stýská. to miss sb/sth
ujet Ujel mu autobus. Petrovi ujel autobus. to miss (a bus, tram ...)
uletět Uletělo mu letadlo. Petrovi uletělo letadlo. to miss (a plane)
vadit Vadí mu to. Petrovi to vadí. to bother, annoy, mind
zdát se Zdá se mu to drahé.
Zdál se mu sen.		 Petrovi se to zdá drahé.
Petrovi se zdál sen.		 to seem
to have a dream

Accusative expressions

For consistency, the following examples use:

  • ho as the accusative form of the personal pronoun on, and
  • Petra as the accusative form of the masculine animate noun Petr.
Verb Pronoun Noun English
bavit Baví ho to. Petra to baví. to enjoy
bolet Bolí ho hlava. Petra bolí hlava. to hurt
mrzet Mrzí ho to. Petra to mrzí. to be sorry (about something)
nudit Nudí ho to. Petra to nudí. to be bored
svědit Svědí ho ruka. Petra svědí ruka. to itch
těšit Těší ho to. Petra to těší. to make happy
zajímat Zajímá ho to. Petra to zajímá. to be interested (in something)