Verbal Aspect (Vid)

Aspect is a feature of Slavic languages that often confuses learners. Almost every Czech verb comes in a pair:

Visual Overview

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1. Imperfective (Nedokonavý): Focuses on the process, duration, or repetition.
   • "I was doing", "I used to do", "I am doing".
2. Perfective (Dokonavý): Focuses on the result, completion, or single event.
   • "I did", "I have done", "I will do (and finish)".

Formation of Aspect Pairs

There are three main ways to form aspect pairs.

1. Prefixation (Imperfective -> Perfective)

Adding a prefix makes the verb perfective.

• Psát (Imp) -> Napsat (Perf)
• Dělat (Imp) -> Udělat (Perf)
• Číst (Imp) -> Přečíst (Perf)
• Pít (Imp) -> Vypít (Perf)
• Jíst (Imp) -> Sníst (Perf)

2. Suffixation (Perfective -> Imperfective)

Changing the suffix (often lengthening the vowel) makes the verb imperfective. This is often used to create "Secondary Imperfectives" from prefixed verbs.

• Koupit (Perf) -> Kupovat (Imp)
• Dát (Perf) -> Dávat (Imp)
• Vrátit (Perf) -> Vracet (Imp)
• Podepsat (Perf) -> Podepisovat (Imp)

3. Irregular Pairs

Some verbs use completely different roots.

• Brát (Imp) -> Vzít (Perf) (To take)

Common Pairs

Imperfective (Process)	Perfective (Result)	Meaning
psát	napsat	to write
číst	přečíst	to read
dělat	udělat	to do/make
kupovat	koupit	to buy
vracet	vrátit	to return
říkat	říct	to say
brát	vzít	to take
dávat	dát	to give
vstávat	vstát	to get up
učit se	naučit se	to learn

When to use which?

Use Imperfective for:

• Actions happening right now (Píšu dopis - I am writing a letter).
• Repeated actions (Každý den kupuji chleba - Every day I buy bread).
• Duration (Četl jsem celou noc - I was reading all night).

Use Perfective for:

• Completed actions in the past (Napsal jsem dopis - I wrote/have written a letter).
• Future completion (Koupím to zítra - I will buy it tomorrow).
• Single events (Vrátím se - I will return).

Note: Perfective verbs CANNOT express the present tense. Their "present" form actually has a future meaning.