to není + Nominative

This Is Not with Nominative

Level 1

The phrase to není is the standard way to say 'this is not' or 'that is not' in Czech. It is used to identify what something or someone is not.

How It Works

The pattern to není is an essential building block in Czech. It consists of two parts:

  • to: A demonstrative pronoun acting as a dummy subject (meaning 'this', 'that', or 'it').
  • není: The irregular negative form of the verb 'to be' for he/she/it.

Key Rules to Remember:

  • Frozen 'to': Even if you are pointing at a woman (feminine) or a man (masculine), you must start the sentence with the neuter to when making a basic identification. For example: To není žena. (That is not a woman.)
  • Mandatory 'to' for Identification: You cannot drop the word to when identifying something. Dropping it changes the meaning from identification to existence. For example, To není problém. means 'That is not a problem', whereas Není problém. means 'There is no problem'.
  • Always Nominative: The noun that follows to není must be in the nominative case (the basic dictionary form). Do not use the instrumental case for this type of simple identification.
  • Adjective Agreement: If you include an adjective with a noun, it must agree with the gender of the noun, not the neuter to. For example: To není dobrý nápad. (That is not a good idea.) However, if you use an adjective on its own to describe a general situation, it must take the neuter form to agree with to: To není dobré. (That is not good.)
  • Pronoun Agreement: When identifying yourself or someone else using 1st or 2nd person pronouns (já, ty, my, vy), the verb must agree with the pronoun, not with to. For example, say To nejsem já. (That is not me.) instead of To není já.
  • Plurals: If you are identifying multiple things ('these are not'), the verb must change to match the plural noun: to nejsou. However, the pronoun to remains frozen and does not change to ty, ti, or ta.
  • Flexible Word Order & Questions: You can swap the words to say Není to... This is often used for questions (Není to káva? - Isn't that coffee?) or as a natural variation in statements.
  • Spoken Czech: In casual, everyday speech, you will often hear people pronounce the verb with a short 'i': to neni.

Examples (6)

  1. To není pravda.

    That is not true.

    Word by Word: That is-not truth.

    A highly frequent set phrase used in everyday conversation.

  2. To není moje sestra.

    This is not my sister.

    Word by Word: This is-not my sister.

    Notice that 'to' remains neuter even though 'sestra' is a feminine noun.

  3. To není problém.

    That is not a problem.

    Word by Word: That is-not problem.

    A very common and useful phrase for reassuring someone.

  4. Ne, to není on.

    No, that is not him.

    Word by Word: No, that is-not he.

    The pattern works perfectly with pronouns in the nominative case as well.

  5. To není špatné.

    That is not bad.

    Word by Word: That is-not bad.

    When an adjective is used alone to describe a situation, it takes the neuter form to agree with 'to'.

  6. To nejsem já.

    That is not me.

    Word by Word: That am-not I.

    Notice how the verb changes to 'nejsem' to agree with the pronoun 'já' (I), rather than staying as 'není'.

Common Mistakes

  • Trying to make the word 'to' match the gender of the noun.

    Ta není moje sestra.
    To není moje sestra.

    When identifying something with 'this is not', the word to is frozen. It never changes to ten or ta, even if the noun you are identifying is masculine or feminine.

  • Inventing the word '*neje' instead of using the irregular 'není'.

    To neje problém.
    To není problém.

    While most Czech verbs are negated by simply adding ne- to the front, the verb 'to be' is irregular in the third person. You must use není.

  • Using 'to není' to mean 'there is not'.

    Different MeaningTady to není hotel.
    Tady není hotel.

    'Tady to není hotel' is a good sentence: it means 'This place is not a hotel'. To say something does not exist or is not here, drop 'to': 'Tady není hotel' (there is no hotel here).

How It Connects

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

to není + NominativeLevel 1This Is Not with Nominative

Learn This First

To understand 'to není + nominativ', a learner must first be familiar with the affirmative identification structure 'to je + nominativ'. Additionally, they need to know the specific negative form of the verb 'to be' (není) and understand the basic function of the nominative case for naming objects and people.

Words in This Pattern

ten