Concurrence between the 2nd case in the singular and the 1st case in the plural

I am always trying to give my students a simpler perspective on the Czech language. Declension of nouns is complex and it is good to find some patterns that would help us remember the forms of the words in various grammatical cases.

One of such patterns is the concurrence of the form of the 2nd (genitive) case in the singular and the 1st (nominative) case in the plural. Although this rule does not apply to all nouns, it does apply for the majority of them.

 

In the feminine gender the rule applies to all declension types:

Nemůžu jet na dovolenou bez knihy. Na polici stojí čtyři knihy.
I cannot go on vacation without a book. Four books stand on the shelf.
Autobus jede do stanice. Všechny stanice jsou v provozu.
The bus goes to the station. All stations are in operation.
Kočka leží u postele. V pokoji byly dvě postele.
The cat is laying near the bed. There were two beds in the room.
Pracovali jsme až do noci. Noci začínají být chladné.
We were working late into the night. Nights are starting to get cold.

 

In the neuter gender this rule applies to all declension types except for the „kuře“ type:

Řidič čekal u auta. Na parkovišti zůstala dvě auta.
The driver was waiting near the car. Two cars remained in the parking lot.
Místo jedné židle stála stolička. Nelíbily se nám plastové židle.
A stool was standing in place of one chair. We didn’t like the plastic chairs.
Značení balení bylo nečitelné. Všechna balení byla poškozena.
Marking of the package was unreadable. All packages were damaged.

 

In the masculine gender the rule applies only to the soft declension of inanimate nouns:

Pochutnal jsem si na kusu koláče. Chutnaly nám babiččiny koláče.
I savoured a piece of cake. Granma’s cakes tasted good to us.

 

Although this concurrence between the two cases is not thorough, it serves as a good clue for memorising the declension of nouns.

 

Note

One can think in the opposite manner and pose the question: what nouns does this rule not apply to? The answer: only to the neuter gender of the „kuře“ type, the masculine animate gender and the masculine inanimate gender of the hard type:

Nemůžu udělat omáčku bez rajčete. Do salátu chybí dvě rajčata.
I cannot make the source without a tomato. Two tomatoes are lacking for the salad.
Místo psa si pořídili kočku. Psi rádi hlodají kosti.
Instead of a dog they got themselves a cat. Dogs like to gnaw bones.
Bez majitele pes je smutný. Majiteli psů by po nich měli uklízet.
Without a master the dog is sad. Dog owners should clean after them.
Dal jsem párek do rohlíku. Došly nám rohlíky.
I put a sausage in the bun. We are out of buns.

 

You can always find word forms in all cases and numbers in the Internet Language Reference Book maintained by the Institute of the Czech Language.

 

Now let’s consolidate the newly acquired knowledge. Write 5 to 10 sentences with these words and send them to me to check:

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