-cí (činné příčestí)

Present Active Participial Adjective in -cí

Level 4

The -cí suffix turns a verb into an adjective that describes someone or something actively performing an action, similar to the English "-ing" adjective.

How It Works

The active verbal adjective (přídavné jméno dějové) is a highly productive pattern in Czech. It behaves entirely as an adjective and follows soft adjective agreement (the jarní paradigm).

Formation:
Take the 3rd-person plural present form of an imperfective verb and add -cí:

  • oni dělají (they do) → dělající (doing)
  • oni prosí (they beg) → prosící (begging)
  • oni nesou (they carry) → nesoucí (carrying)

Crucially, this form can only be created from imperfective verbs. Perfective verbs cannot form this adjective because their present-tense forms actually have a future meaning (e.g., udělají means "they will do"). Note that for verbs with colloquial variants, the formal or literary 3rd-person plural ending must be used (e.g., psát → oni píší → píšící, not píšoucí). A major irregular exception is the verb vědět (to know), which forms vědoucí (knowing).

Reflexive Verbs and Negation:
When forming this adjective from reflexive verbs, the reflexive pronoun (se or si) is kept as a separate word: oni se smějí → smějící se (laughing). When used attributively before a noun, the reflexive pronoun stays glued right after the adjective (e.g., usmívající se žena, "a smiling woman"), which is a notable exception to the normal second-position clitics rule. Like other adjectives, it easily takes the negative prefix ne-: pracující → nepracující (non-working).

Usage and Register:
This form is often used to condense relative clauses (e.g., changing muž, který řídí auto to muž řídící auto). Some of these forms are also used as nouns in their own right: vedoucí (a manager), pracující (a working person), cestující (a passenger). While such lexicalized words are ubiquitous in everyday speech, complex participial phrases (e.g., muž čtoucí dnešní noviny) belong to a more formal, written, or journalistic register.

Crucial Distinction: Active vs. Purposive
Do not confuse the long -ící (active action) with the short -icí / -ací (purpose). This is a strict morphological distinction. The direct spelling trap (where only the length of the i/í changes) applies specifically to verbs forming the purposive in -icí versus the active in -ící:

  • čisticí prostředek (short i) = a cleaning product (designed for the purpose of cleaning)
  • žena čistící okno (long í) = a woman actively cleaning a window right now

For verbs taking the purposive -ací, the active counterpart uses a completely different suffix based on the 3rd-person plural (e.g., psací stůl = writing desk, but píšící student = a writing student).

Examples (5)

  1. Všichni závodníci jedoucí v čele pelotonu se střídali.

    All the racers riding at the head of the peloton took turns.

    Word by Word: All racers riding in head of-peloton themselves alternated.

    A formal syntactic use where 'jedoucí' condenses the relative clause 'kteří jeli'.

  2. Pes honící zajíce se ztratil v lese.

    The dog chasing the hare got lost in the woods.

    Word by Word: Dog chasing hare itself lost in forest.

    The active participle 'honící' describes the ongoing action the dog was performing.

  3. Tekoucí voda je v dnešní době základní podmínkou.

    Running water is a basic requirement nowadays.

    Word by Word: Flowing water is in today's time basic requirement.

    A highly frequent, lexicalized use of the -cí adjective.

  4. Následující zastávka je hlavní nádraží.

    The following stop is the main station.

    Word by Word: Following stop is main station.

    One of the most common everyday encounters with this grammar pattern.

  5. Žena čistící okno na mě zamávala.

    The woman cleaning the window waved at me.

    Word by Word: Woman cleaning window at me waved.

    Notice the long 'í' in 'čistící', indicating she is actively performing the action, not that she is a tool designed for cleaning.

Common Mistakes

  • Using a -cí adjective with 'být' to say what you are doing right now.

    Different MeaningJsem pracující.
    Pracuji.

    Because it translates to the English '-ing', learners often try to say 'I am working right now' as Jsem pracující. Czech has no progressive tense: an ongoing action is the plain present tense, Pracuji. Jsem pracující is itself a correct sentence, but it means 'I am a working person / an employee', because pracující is also used as a noun — like vedoucí (manager) — not a description of what you are doing at this moment.

  • Confusing the long active -ící with the short purposive -icí.

    Koupil jsem nový čistící prostředek.
    Koupil jsem nový čisticí prostředek.

    The short '-icí' denotes the purpose of an object (a product designed for cleaning). The long '-ící' means the subject is actively performing the action right now. They are distinct morphological categories.

  • Using -cí adjectives as nouns (gerunds) to mean 'the act of doing something'.

    Čtoucí je těžké.
    Čtení je těžké.

    To translate an English gerund acting as a noun (like 'Reading is hard'), you must use a verbal noun in -ní and -tí, not an active adjective.

How It Connects

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-cí (činné příčestí)Level 4Present Active Participial Adjective in -cí

Learn This First

To form the present active participial adjective (-cí), you must first understand how to conjugate verbs in the present tense (specifically the 3rd person plural). The formation is closely linked to the present transgressive, and the resulting word functions grammatically as a soft adjective.

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-cí