Accusative personal pronouns
Accusative personal pronouns replace the direct object of a sentence—the person or thing directly acted upon by the verb. They answer the questions koho? (whom?) and co? (what?).
How It Works
In Czech, when you do something directly to someone or something (like seeing them, knowing them, or inviting them), you use the accusative case.
1. The Pronoun Forms
Here are the most common modern forms you need to know:
- já (I) → mě (short and everyday full) / mne (formal/literary full)
- ty (you) → tě (short) / tebe (full)
- on (he/it) → For animate masculine nouns: ho (short) / jeho (full) / jej (formal/literary). For inanimate nouns: ho (or formal/literary jej).
- ona (she) → ji
- ono (it) → ho (overwhelmingly dominant in everyday speech) / je or jej (formal/literary)
- my (we) → nás
- vy (you all/formal) → vás
- oni/ony/ona (they) → je
- sebe (oneself) → se (short) / sebe (full)
2. Short Forms and the Second Position
Short forms like mě, tě, ho, se are weak and cannot stand alone. They must be placed in the second structural position of the clause, following second-position clitics rules. They usually come right after the first main piece of information.
3. Full and Prepositional Forms
Full forms (like tebe, jeho, sebe) are used when you want to emphasize the pronoun, or when it is the very first word in a sentence. Pronouns like ji (her) and je (them) function as both short and full forms. For já, modern everyday Czech uses mě as both the short and full form, but mne is used as the full and prepositional form in formal or literary contexts.
Crucially, you must use prepositional forms after prepositions that take the accusative, such as pro with accusative (for), na (on/for), za (for/behind), and o (about). Short forms (clitics) like mě, tě, ho, se can never follow a preposition. For pronouns like ty and sebe, you must use their full forms (tebe and sebe) after prepositions (e.g., pro tebe, na sebe). When a third-person pronoun starting with j- follows a preposition, the j- changes to an n-:
- on (animate) → pro něho / pro něj
- on (inanimate) → pro něj (Note: Do not use něho for inanimate objects; e.g., looking at a castle is dívám se na něj, not na něho.)
- ona → na ni
- ono → na něj (standard) / na ně (archaic)
- oni/ony/ona → za ně
Important Tip: The feminine accusative pronoun is the only case where it has a short 'i' (ji / ni). In all other cases, it is long (jí / ní).
Examples (5)
- Včera jsem ho viděl.
I saw him yesterday.
Word by Word: Yesterday am him saw.
Shows the unstressed short form 'ho' correctly placed in the second position of the clause.
- Čekám na ni před školou.
I am waiting for her in front of the school.
Word by Word: Wait on her before school.
After the preposition 'na', the third-person pronoun 'ji' changes to the mandatory n- form 'ni'.
- Tebe neznám, ale tvého bratra ano.
I don't know YOU, but I do know your brother.
Word by Word: You not-know, but your brother yes.
The long form 'tebe' is used here for strong emphasis and because it is the first word in the sentence.
- Znáš mě?
Do you know me?
Word by Word: Know me?
In modern Czech, 'mě' is used universally for the first person in both short and long positions.
- Mám to pro něj.
I have it for him.
Word by Word: Have it for him.
Uses the prepositional n- form 'něj' after the preposition 'pro'.
Common Mistakes
Putting the short pronoun in the wrong position.
Včera viděl jsem ho.Včera jsem ho viděl.English speakers often put the object pronoun right after the verb. In Czech, short pronouns (clitics) like 'ho' must go in the second position of the clause, regardless of where the verb is.
Using non-prepositional forms after prepositions.
Mám dárek pro ho.Mám dárek pro něj.You cannot use basic short forms like 'ho' or 'ji' after prepositions. You must use the prepositional n-forms (něho/něj, ni, ně).
Using a long 'í' for the feminine accusative pronoun.
Čekám na ní.Čekám na ni.The accusative is the only case where the feminine pronoun 'ona' takes a short 'i' (ji or ni after prepositions). Using the long 'í' (jí/ní) is a very common mistake, but those forms belong to other cases like the dative or instrumental.
How It Connects
Learn This First
To learn accusative personal pronouns, learners first need to understand the concept of the accusative case as the direct object of a verb. They also need to be familiar with the basic nominative personal pronouns (I, you, he, etc.) to understand which pronoun is being declined.
- mít + AccusativePossession with Mít
Understanding the basic function of the accusative case as a direct object is essential before learning its pronominal forms.
Level 1 - býtPresent Tense of Být
Knowledge of personal pronouns (já, ty, on...) in the nominative case, typically introduced with the verb 'být', is necessary to understand their corresponding accusative forms.
Level 1
Related Patterns
- Nominative personal pronouns
Nominative pronouns are used for the subject (the doer), while accusative pronouns are used for the direct object (the receiver).
Level 1 - Second-position clitics
This pattern explains the strict word order rules (Wackernagel's Law) that dictate exactly where short accusative pronouns must be placed in a sentence.
Level 3 - Short clitics versus long pronouns
Explores the critical distinction between short (unstressed) and long (stressed/prepositional) pronoun forms in greater detail.
Level 3 - pro + AccusativeFor with Accusative
The preposition 'pro' (for) is one of the most common triggers for accusative pronouns, requiring the special 'n-' forms for the third person.
Level 1
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Words in This Pattern
Practice Accusative personal pronouns in Bubblegum
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