-uji

Present Verbs in -uji

Level 1

Verbs ending in -ovat (like pracovat) change their ending to -uji for the "I" form in formal or written Czech.

How It Works

Many common Czech verbs end in -ovat, such as pracovat (to work), studovat (to study), and děkovat (to thank). This is also the most productive verb class in Czech for adopting foreign and modern words (e.g., fungovat, parkovat, mailovat, googlovat), giving you an immediate vocabulary boost!

How to form it:

  • Take the infinitive: pracovat
  • Remove the entire -ovat ending: prac-
  • Add the present stem suffix -uj- and the appropriate personal ending.

Full Present Tense Paradigm:

  • (já) pracuji / pracuju (I work)
  • (ty) pracuješ (you work)
  • (on/ona/ono) pracuje (he/she/it works)
  • (my) pracujeme (we work)
  • (vy) pracujete (you work - plural/formal)
  • (oni/ony/ona) pracují / pracujou (they work)

Formal vs. Informal Register:
The -uji ending for 'I' is standard for formal writing, official correspondence, and literature. However, in casual, everyday spoken Czech, native speakers almost universally use -uju instead (pracuju, studuju). Both are officially correct standard Czech, but -uju sounds much more natural in daily conversation. The same applies to 'they': pracují is formal, while pracujou is common in everyday speech.

Important Exception:
The word děkuji (thank you) is an exception—it is commonly used with the formal -uji ending even in casual spoken Czech, though děkuju is also perfectly fine.

The Past & Future Tense Trap & Imperative:
Remember that the -uj- stem is used in the present tense and the imperative (command) form. For the past tense, you must revert to the original -ova- stem from the infinitive (e.g., 'I worked' is pracoval jsem, not pracujoval). For the future tense, it depends on the verb's aspect: imperfective verbs use budu + the infinitive (e.g., 'I will work' is budu pracovat), while perfective verbs use the -uj- conjugation to express the future (e.g., 'I will park' is zaparkuji / zaparkuju). To give a command, drop the present tense endings and add the imperative endings (nothing for the informal singular 'ty', -me for the 'let's' form, and -te for the formal/plural 'vy'): Pracuj! (Work! - informal), Pracujme! (Let's work!), or Pracujte! (Work! - formal/plural).

Watch out:
Do not confuse the short -i in pracuji (I work) with the long -í in pracují (they work). Also, be aware that verbs like chovat (to behave/breed) and its prefixed forms like schovat (to hide) and zachovat (to preserve) are simply -at verbs (chov-at) and belong to Present verbs in -ám, becoming chovám, schovám, and zachovám, not chovuji.

Examples (4)

  1. Pracuji v centru města.

    I work in the city center.

    Word by Word: I-work in center of-city.

    A standard, formal written sentence using the -uji ending.

  2. Studuji češtinu každý den.

    I study Czech every day.

    Word by Word: I-study Czech every day.

  3. Děkuji vám za pomoc.

    Thank you for your help.

    Word by Word: I-thank to-you for help.

    The verb 'děkovat' (to thank) frequently keeps the formal '-uji' ending even in spoken Czech.

  4. Potřebuji si odpočinout.

    I need to rest.

    Word by Word: I-need myself to-rest.

Common Mistakes

  • Mixing the infinitive stem with the present tense ending.

    Pracovám každý den.
    Pracuji každý den.

    You must completely drop the '-ovat' ending before adding '-uji'. Do not add '-ám' to the infinitive stem.

  • Confusing the "I" form with the "they" form.

    Oni pracuji v bance.
    Oni pracují v bance.

    The first-person singular ("I") uses a short 'i' (pracuji), while the third-person plural ("they") uses a long 'í' (pracují).

  • Overusing the formal '-uji' in casual speech.

    Different MeaningAhoj! Já teď studuji.
    Ahoj! Já teď studuju.

    While '-uji' is grammatically correct, it sounds very stiff and bookish in casual conversation with friends. Native speakers almost always use '-uju' in everyday speech.

How It Connects

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-ujiLevel 1Present Verbs in -uji

Learn This First

To learn the 'pracovat' verb type, you first need to understand how Czech personal pronouns work as subjects. It is also helpful to have experience with the most common verb conjugation pattern (-ám) to understand the concept of verb stems and endings, as well as how to form negative statements.

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