ten / ta / to (v pádech)

Demonstrative Pronoun Agreement

Level 2

The words ten, ta, and to are the most common demonstrative pronouns in Czech. They point to specific nouns and change their form to match the noun's gender, number, and case.

How It Works

The demonstrative pronoun must perfectly match the noun it attaches to. In the nominative (dictionary) form, the choices are based on gender:

  • ten for masculine nouns (ten dům - that house)
  • ta for feminine nouns (ta žena - that woman)
  • to for neuter nouns (to auto - that car)

The Universal "To je..."
When introducing or pointing something out using the verb být (to be), Czech uses the neuter to as a universal subject, regardless of the noun's actual gender. For example, you say To je muž (This is a man) and To je žena (This is a woman), not Ten je muž or Ta je žena. In this specific presentational construction, to does not change gender. For plural nouns, the pronoun to remains frozen, but the verb changes to plural: To jsou muži (These are men), not Ti jsou muži.

Plural Forms
In the nominative plural, the forms are: ti for masculine animate, ty for masculine inanimate and feminine, and ta for neuter.

Case Changes (Declension)
When the noun changes case, the pronoun must change too. For example, in the accusative case (direct object):

In the plural accusative, the masculine animate form changes from ti to ty. This means that masculine animate, masculine inanimate, and feminine plural all share the form ty in the accusative, while neuter stays ta.

Other Cases and Stem Changes
In other cases (like the genitive, dative, or locative), watch out for stem changes. The plural forms shift to a tě- stem (těch, těm, těmi). Singular forms also use variations like tom, tím, tou, and té. Recognizing these patterns will help you spot these pronouns in the wild. Note that in everyday spoken Czech (Common Czech), some forms change: té often becomes tý, těmi becomes těma, and the neuter plural ta usually merges into ty (e.g., ty auta).

Register and Usage
While standard Czech lacks definite articles, everyday spoken Czech heavily uses ten/ta/to as a casual "the". However, avoid overusing it in formal writing, where bare nouns are preferred.

Important Distinctions
Do not confuse ten with the relative pronoun který. Ten stays inside a noun phrase ("I like that book"), while který connects clauses ("The book that I am reading"). Also, while ten can mean "this" in everyday speech, the specific word for "this" is tento, which belongs to a more formal register. In everyday spoken Czech, you will most commonly hear tenhle, tahle, and tohle for "this".

Examples (4)

  1. To auto je moc drahé.

    That car is too expensive.

    Word by Word: That car is too expensive.

    Used in the neuter nominative singular to match 'auto'.

  2. Vidím toho muže před obchodem.

    I see that man in front of the store.

    Word by Word: I see that man in front of store.

    Because 'muž' is masculine animate and the direct object, 'ten' changes to the accusative form 'toho'.

  3. Koupil jsem ten starý dům.

    I bought that old house.

    Word by Word: Bought am that old house.

    Because 'dům' is masculine inanimate, the accusative form remains 'ten'.

  4. S tou knihou ti rád pomůžu.

    I will gladly help you with that book.

    Word by Word: With that book you gladly I will help.

    The preposition 's' requires the instrumental case, so feminine 'ta' changes to 'tou'.

Common Mistakes

  • Freezing in the nominative case

    Vidím ta žena.
    Vidím tu ženu.

    Beginners often learn 'ten/ta/to' but forget to decline it when the noun changes case. Since 'žena' is the direct object (accusative), 'ta' must change to 'tu'.

  • Using 'ten' to link clauses

    Dům, ten jsme koupili, je starý.
    Dům, který jsme koupili, je starý.

    English uses 'that' for both pointing at things and linking clauses. In Czech, use 'ten' for pointing, but you must use 'který' to link a descriptive relative clause.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

ten / ta / to (v pádech)Level 2Demonstrative Pronoun Agreement

Learn This First

To learn the agreement of demonstrative pronouns (ten, ta, to), a learner must first be able to identify the gender of Czech nouns (masculine, feminine, and neuter). Additionally, since this pattern involves case agreement (e.g., in the accusative), familiarity with basic noun declension for these genders is essential.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.

Words in This Pattern

ten