hodlat + Infinitive

Formal Intention with Hodlat

Level 5

The verb hodlat means "to intend" or "to plan." It expresses a firm mental resolve to do something and is always followed by an infinitive.

How It Works

1. Meaning and Nuance
Hodlat focuses heavily on internal volition and determination. It is slightly more formal than everyday alternatives like chtít (to want) or chystat se (to be getting ready to), making it highly frequent in journalistic, official, and academic contexts (e.g., Vláda hodlá...). However, it is still perfectly normal in standard everyday communication.

2. Syntactic Rules

  • Only Infinitives: Hodlat must be followed by an infinitive. It cannot take a direct noun object or a subordinate clause.
  • No Perfective Form: Because it describes a continuous state of mind, it exists only in the imperfective aspect. To express the perfective idea of forming an intention or making up one's mind, use neutral perfective verbs like rozhodnout se (to decide) or naplánovat si (to plan). The related verb odhodlat se (and its imperfective odhodlávat se) carries a heavier semantic weight, meaning 'to work up the courage' or 'to resolve to do something difficult', and can take a noun via a preposition (e.g., odhodlat se k něčemu).
  • Future Tense: For everyday future intentions, use the present tense (e.g., Zítra tam hodlám jít). While the analytical future form (budu hodlat) sounds unnatural for simple everyday plans, it is grammatically valid and frequently used in formal, business, and legal contexts, especially in conditional clauses (e.g., V případě, že obec bude hodlat...).
  • Past Tense for Unfulfilled Intentions: Using hodlat in the past tense (e.g., hodlal jsem) is highly frequent for expressing an intention that was interrupted or unfulfilled. For example: Hodlal jsem ti zavolat, ale zapomněl jsem. (I intended to call you, but I forgot).
  • Conjugation: It conjugates regularly like dělat (hodlám, hodláš, hodlá, hodláme, hodláte, hodlají).
  • Clitic Placement: Because hodlat functions similarly to a modal verb, short pronouns and reflexive clitics (like se/si, ho, mu) typically 'climb' to the second position of the clause, before the infinitive (e.g., Hodlám se tam podívat, not Hodlám podívat se tam).

3. Comparing Similar Verbs

  • Hodlat vs. Chtít: Chtít is a desire, which may lack a concrete plan; hodlat is a decided intention.
  • Hodlat vs. Plánovat: Plánovat can take a noun (plánovat dovolenou); hodlat cannot.
  • Hodlat vs. Chystat se: Chystat se feels slightly more active and can be used for both immediate preparation and distant future plans (e.g., Příští rok se chystám změnit práci). Hodlat is purely a mental resolve.

4. The Negative Form: Nehodlat
The negated form nehodlat is extremely common and carries a strong nuance of refusal, defiance, or setting a firm boundary. It translates closely to "to have no intention of" or "to refuse to" (e.g., Nehodlám to tolerovat. – I refuse to tolerate this / I have no intention of tolerating this).

Examples (5)

  1. Tento recept hodlám vyzkoušet.

    I intend to try out this recipe.

    Word by Word: This recipe I-intend to-try-out.

    A natural, everyday use of 'hodlat' expressing a concrete plan to do something.

  2. Co s tím hodláš dělat?

    What do you intend to do about it?

    Word by Word: What with that you-intend to-do?

    A common question asking for someone's decided plan of action.

  3. O tom s tebou nehodlám diskutovat.

    I do not intend to discuss that with you.

    Word by Word: About that with you I-do-not-intend to-discuss.

    Shows strong resolve and boundary-setting. 'Hodlat' is often used in the negative to express a firm refusal.

  4. Vláda hodlá zvýšit daně.

    The government intends to raise taxes.

    Word by Word: Government intends to-raise taxes.

    A typical example of 'hodlat' in a journalistic or official context.

  5. Nehodláme se vzdát bez boje.

    We do not intend to give up without a fight.

    Word by Word: We-do-not-intend ourselves to-give-up without fight.

    Demonstrates the strong internal volition and determination inherent to the verb.

Common Mistakes

  • Using a direct noun object instead of an infinitive.

    Hodlám cestu do Prahy.
    Hodlám cestovat do Prahy.

    Because English allows verbs like 'intend' or 'plan' to take direct objects ('I intend a change'), learners often mistakenly transfer this syntax to Czech. However, hodlat strictly requires an infinitive. If you need to use a noun object, you must switch to plánovat (e.g., Plánuji cestu do Prahy).

  • Using a subordinate clause with 'aby'.

    Hodlám, abys tam šel.
    Chci, abys tam šel.

    Hodlat is restricted to subject control, meaning the subject of hodlat must be the one performing the action of the infinitive. It cannot take a subordinate clause. To express 'I intend for you to...', use chtít or a different construction.

  • Overusing the future tense 'budu hodlat' for everyday future intentions.

    Zítra tam budu hodlat jít.
    Zítra tam hodlám jít.

    Because the intention is about the future, learners often try to use the analytical future tense (budu + infinitiv). However, for everyday plans, hodlat inherently points to a future action while describing a present state of mind, so you should use the present tense. While budu hodlat sounds unnatural in everyday speech, it is grammatically valid and common in formal, legal, or business conditional statements (e.g., Pokud bude firma hodlat investovat...).

How It Connects

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hodlat + InfinitiveLevel 5Formal Intention with Hodlat

Learn This First

To learn the formal expression 'hodlat + infinitiv', a learner needs to know how to conjugate verbs in the -ám class, understand the syntactic role of the infinitive as a verbal complement, and be familiar with basic Czech sentence structure.

Words in This Pattern

hodlat