Czech
prepositions are matched with certain cases of nouns. They are usually not matched with the nominative case, which is primarily used as the subject in sentences. However, there are some exceptions to this rule: foreign prepositions (
kontra, versus, etc.) are matched with the nominative, but their use is very rare. No prepositions are matched with the vocative, because it is used for addressing people only.
Genitive: :
během – during, while, through the course of (e.g. během prázdnin – during the holidays) :
bez – without (e.g. bez dcerky neodejdu – I won't go without my daughter) :
do – in; to (e.g. dej to do krabice – put it in a box; jít do bytu – to go into a flat); until (e.g. čekat do tří – to wait until 3:00) :
kolem – around (e.g. chodil kolem rybníka – he was walking around the pond) :
krom(ě), vedle – except, besides (e.g. kromě něj tam byla i ona – besides him, she was there too) :
(na)místo – instead of (e.g. místo tebe hrál náhradník – a substitute played instead of you) :
od – from, since, as of (e.g. od listopadu jsem volný – I'm free from/as of November; dopis od mé matky – a letter from my mother) :
ohledně – regarding :
okolo – about, around, circa/roughly (e.g. tráva okolo studny – grass around the well; bylo jich okolo stovky – there were about 100 of them) :
podél – along :
(po)dle – according to (e.g. podle normy – according to norm) :
pomocí – with the help of; using (e.g. pomocí klacku ho dostali z bažiny – with the help of a stick they got him out of a marsh) :
prostřednictvím – through; with a help/device/instrument of; utilizing; using … as intermediate/liaison :
s – from higher place to lower (obsolete) (e.g. sebral hračku s poličky – he took the toy from the shelf) :
stran – from the point of view of; because of; regarding (rare) :
u – by, next to, at (e.g. vchod u rohu – entrance at the corner; u stolu – at/around the table, jsem u tebe – I'm at your house) :
vedle – next to, besides (e.g. na té fotce stojí Lucie vedle Moniky – in the photo, Lucie is standing next to Monika) :
vlivem – due to, because of, for, through the influence of (e.g. vlivem bouřky jsme se nemohli dívat na televizi – because of the storm we couldn't watch TV) :
vyjma – except for, excluding (e.g. vyjma tebe všichni souhlasí – everyone agrees except for you; less frequent) :
využitím – using (e.g. využitím slevy si to mohla koupit – using a discount, she was able to buy it) :
z – from, out of (e.g. kouř z komínu – smoke out of a chimney)
Dative: :
díky – thanks to (e.g. díky němu máme naše peníze zpět – thanks to him, we have our money back), note: used only if the cause is positive or beneficial, otherwise
kvůli or
vlivem is used :
k – to(wards) (e.g. jedeme k jezeru – we're going to(wards) the lake, jdu k tobě – i'm coming to your house; přijedeme ke konci července – we are going to come towards the end of July) :
kvůli – due to, because of, for, through the influence of (e.g. udělej to kvůli mě – do it for me; udělal to kvůli mě – he did it because of me) :
(na)proti – against, opposite to (e.g. je proti tobě – (s) he's against you; je to naproti lékárně – it's opposite to the pharmacy) :
oproti – opposite to, unlike, to the contrary to (e.g. oproti teoriím věřím faktům – unlike the theories, I believe the facts) :
vůči – in the face of, toward(s) (e.g laskavost vůči někomu – kindness towards someone; porovnej to vůči originálu – compare it with the original)
Accusative: :
pro – for (e.g. udělal to pro mě – he did/made it for me) :
za – for (less frequent); instead of; behind (direction); per (e.g. za vlast – for the country; 1 porce za 5 korun – 1 portion for 5 crowns; vyměnil ji za mladší – he switched her for a younger one; běhala za plot – she ran behind a fence) :
před – in front of (direction) (e.g. vyvěs to před dům – (go) hang it in front of the house) :
mimo – aside from, besides, off, out of, parallel to (place) (e.g. mimo Prahu – outside of Prague; mimo terč – off the bullet; mimo provoz – out of order; mimo – out/miss/no hit; mimo jiné – besides other things) :
na – (on)to (direction) (e.g. dej to na stůl – put it on the table; na vánoce zůstaneme doma – at Christmas we will stay at home) :
pod – under, below (direction) :
nad – over, above (direction) (e.g. dej ten kříž nade dveře – put the cross above the door; nad tebe není – no one is better than you) :
mezi – between, among (direction) (e.g. dali ho mezi ostatní – they put him among the others) :
skrz – through (e.g. šíp prošel skrze jablko – the arrow went through the apple; jsem tu skrz tu stížnost – I'm here regarding the complaint) :
o – by, for (e.g. zvýšit o 1 – increase by one; zápas o 3. místo – match for the 3rd place) :
v – in (e.g. věřit v boha – to believe in God)
Locative: :
o – about, of (e.g. mluvit o ní – to talk about her) :
na – on (e.g. skvrna na sukni – stain on a skirt) :
v – in (e.g. ruka v rukávu – arm in a sleeve) :
po – after (e.g. po obědě – after lunch; jdu po čáře – I walk the line) :
při – by; during (e.g. při obřadu – during the ceremonial; stůj při mně – stand by me/be my support)
Instrumental: :
s – with (e.g. s tebou – with you) :
za – behind, beyond, after (place), in/after (time); (e.g. stát za rohem – to stand behind the corner; kdo za tím je? – who's behind (it)?/what's the meritum?; za horizontem – beyond the horizon) :
před – in front of (place); before; ago; from; against (e.g. přímo před tebou – right in front of you; před mnoha lety – many years ago; uniknout před pronásledovateli – to escape from pursuers; varovat před ním – to warn against him) :
pod – under(neath), below (place) (e.g. pod stolem spí pes – a dog is sleeping under the table) :
nad – over, above (place) :
mezi – between, among (place) (e.g. mezi póly – between poles; mezi kuřaty – among chicken) == Plural forms ==