Czech/Conjunctions

Czech Conjunctions This page lists common Czech conjunctions with their meanings, examples, and short etymological mnemonics to help learners remember them. Coordinating Conjunctions Conjunction Meaning Example Etymology / Mnemonic a and Petr a Jana přišli. – “Petr and Jana came.” Old Slavic *a* ‘and’ → basic linker i and / also / even Mluvil česky i slovensky. – “He spoke Czech as well as Slovak.” PIE *ei* ‘also’ → think “i = in addition” nebo or Chceš čaj nebo kávu? – “Do you want tea or coffee?” from *ne-bo* “not-or/else” → choice anebo or else, or alternatively Přijde dnes, anebo až zítra? – “Will he come today, or tomorrow?” *a* + *nebo* → “and-or / or else” ani nor / not even Nemám ani tužku. – “I don’t have even a pencil.” from *ne-i* → “not-even” ale but Byl unavený, ale pracoval. – “He was tired, but worked.” Old Slavic *ale* ‘but, yet’ avšak however Byl unaven, avšak pokračoval. – “He was tired; however he continued.” from *a* + *však* ‘yet’ však yet / however Řekl to, však nikdo mu nevěřil. – “He said it, yet no one believed him.” old adverb ‘indeed, yet’ tedy so, therefore Byl nemocný, tedy zůstal doma. – “He was ill, so he stayed home.” from *to-di* “that-then” takže so, as a result Pršelo, takže jsme zůstali doma. – “It rained, so we stayed home.” *tak* ‘so’ + *že* ‘that’ → “so-that” proto therefore Byl nemocný, proto nepřišel. – “He was sick, therefore he didn’t come.” *pro to* “for that (reason)” Usage note: Most coordinating conjunctions (a, i, nebo, anebo, ani, ale, avšak, však) can connect both nouns/nominals (Petr a Jana) and clauses (Petr přišel a Jana odešla). Conjunctions of consequence (tedy, takže, proto) connect clauses (Pršelo, takže jsme zůstali doma) and are not used between nouns (✗ čaj takže káva). Subordinating Conjunctions Conjunction Meaning Example Etymology / Mnemonic že that (complementizer) Řekl, že přijde. – “He said that he’d come.” old Slavic particle ‘that’ aby so that / in order that Přišel, aby nám pomohl. – “He came so that he could help us.” *a-by* “and-would” → wish/purpose protože because Nešel ven, protože pršelo. – “He didn’t go out because it rained.” from phrase *pro to, že* “for that that…” jestli / zda if, whether Nevím, jestli přijde. – “I don’t know if he’ll come.” *jest-li* “is-whether” když when Když přišel, začali jsme jíst. – “When he arrived, we started eating.” from *kdy* ‘when’ + *-ž* emphatic až when / as soon as (future) Až přijde, začneme. – “We’ll start when / as soon as he comes.” originally ‘up to (a point in time)’ dokud / než until / before Počkej, dokud nepřijde. – “Wait until he comes.” *do-kud* “up-to where” / *ne-ž* “not-yet” jestliže / pokud if, provided that Půjdu s tebou, pokud nebude pršet. – “I’ll go with you, if it doesn’t rain.” *jestliže* = “if-that” / *pokud* = “up-to-where” → “as long as” i když even though / although I když pršelo, šli jsme ven. – “Even though it rained, we went out.” *i* ‘even’ + *když* ‘when’ → “even when” přestože although / despite the fact that Přestože byl nemocný, pracoval. – “Although he was ill, he worked.” *přes to, že* “over-that-that” → “in spite of that” zatímco while, whereas Pracoval, zatímco ostatní odpočívali. – “He worked while the others rested.” *za-tím-co* “during-that-when” jakmile as soon as Jakmile přišel, začal mluvit. – “As soon as he arrived, he started speaking.” *jak-mile* “as-soon as” Notes Many Czech subordinating conjunctions come from old prepositional phrases with to + že. If you see -že, think “that …”. Concessive conjunctions often add an idea of contrast: přestože, i když. Temporal and conditional ones often come from question words (kdy, jak) plus particles.