How Long and How Often

Level 3

A bare accusative phrase says how long or how often: celý deň (all day), každý týždeň (every week), Čakal som hodinu (I waited for an hour).

How It Works

How long? Put the length of time in the accusative with no preposition:

  • celý deň, celý týždeň, celý rok all day, all week, all year
  • celú noc, hodinu, chvíľu all night, for an hour, for a while (feminine: -u)
  • celé leto, celé ráno all summer, all morning
  • dva dni, tri týždne, päť rokov for two days, three weeks, five years

With už and the present tense, the phrase says how long something has been going on up to now: Bývame tu už päť rokov. (We've been living here for five years.)

How often? Use každý / každú / každé in the accusative: každý deň, každý týždeň, každú sobotu, každú noc, každé ráno. The ending of každý changes with the gender of the noun, as in každú sobotu.

Aspect. A length of time usually goes with an imperfective verb: Písal som list hodinu. (I was writing the letter for an hour.) To say how long it took to finish, use za with a perfective verb: Napísal som ho za hodinu. (I wrote it in an hour.)

Planned length. For a length of time that is planned ahead, use na: Idem tam na týždeň. (I'm going there for a week.)

Examples (6)

  1. Čakal som hodinu.

    I waited for an hour.

    Word by Word: I-waited hour(acc.).

    Hodina becomes hodinu; no preposition for "for".

  2. Celý deň pršalo.

    It rained all day.

    Word by Word: Whole day it-rained.

  3. Každú sobotu chodíme na trh.

    Every Saturday we go to the market.

    Word by Word: Every(acc.) Saturday(acc.) we-go to market.

  4. Chvíľu počkaj, prosím.

    Wait a moment, please.

    Word by Word: Moment(acc.) wait, please.

  5. Bývame tu už päť rokov.

    We've been living here for five years.

    Word by Word: We-live here already five years.

    Present tense with už for something that is still going on.

  6. Každé ráno pijem kávu.

    I drink coffee every morning.

    Word by Word: Every morning I-drink coffee.

Common Mistakes

  • Translating English "for" with pre.

    Bývam tu pre tri roky.
    Bývam tu tri roky.

    A length of time needs no preposition. Pre means for someone's benefit.

  • Using the masculine každý with a feminine noun.

    Pracujem každý sobotu.
    Pracujem každú sobotu.

    Sobota is feminine, so both words take the feminine accusative -u.

  • Adding na when the meaning is how long something lasted.

    Čakal som na hodinu.
    Čakal som hodinu.

    Čakal som na hodinu means I waited for the lesson. For "I waited for an hour" use the bare accusative.

How It Connects

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

How Long and How OftenLevel 3

Learn This First

Before How Long and How Often, learn The Accusative Case for Objects. Duration and frequency are expressed with the accusative: celý deň, každý týždeň.

Words in This Pattern

každý