Genitive Prepositions

The Genitive case is required after many common prepositions. These are some of the most frequently used prepositions in Czech.

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Overview

Preposition	Meaning	Example
z/ze	from, out of	z Prahy (from Prague)
do	to, into, until	do školy (to school)
od	from, since	od bratra (from brother)
bez	without	bez cukru (without sugar)
u	at, near, at someone's place	u doktora (at the doctor's)
vedle	next to	vedle banky (next to the bank)
kolem/okolo	around	kolem domu (around the house)
místo	instead of	místo kávy (instead of coffee)
během	during	během léta (during summer)
kvůli	because of	kvůli tobě (because of you)
kromě	except, besides	kromě mě (except me)
podle	according to, along	podle mapy (according to the map)
blízko	near	blízko centra (near the center)
uprostřed	in the middle of	uprostřed města (in the middle of the city)

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Z/Ze (From, Out of)

Z (or ze before difficult consonant clusters) expresses origin or source.

Czech	English
Jsem z Prahy.	I'm from Prague.
Vrátil se z práce.	He returned from work.
Vyšel z domu.	He left the house.
Sklenice z mléka.	A glass made of milk.
Z čeho to je?	What's it made of?

Z vs Ze

Use ze when z would be hard to pronounce:

• ze školy (from school)
• ze Slovenska (from Slovakia)
• ze dne na den (from day to day)

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Do (To, Into, Until)

Do expresses motion into or toward an enclosed space, or "until" for time.

Czech	English
Jdu do školy.	I'm going to school.
Jdu do města.	I'm going to town.
Jdu do obchodu.	I'm going to the shop.
Přijdu do pěti.	I'll come by five.
Od rána do večera.	From morning to evening.

Do vs Na

• Do + Genitive = into enclosed spaces (buildings, cities)
• Na + Accusative = onto surfaces, events, open areas

Do	Na
do školy (to school)	na univerzitu (to university)
do obchodu (to the shop)	na poštu (to the post office)
do města (to the city)	na koncert (to the concert)

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Od (From - Person/Time)

Od expresses "from" a person or a starting point in time.

Czech	English
Dopis od bratra.	A letter from (my) brother.
Dárek od kamaráda.	A gift from a friend.
Od rána jsem tady.	I've been here since morning.
Od pondělí do pátku.	From Monday to Friday.
Od kdy jsi tady?	Since when are you here?

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Bez (Without)

Bez means "without."

Czech	English
Káva bez cukru.	Coffee without sugar.
Jsem bez peněz.	I'm without money.
Bez problémů.	No problem. (Without problems.)
Bez tebe nemůžu žít.	I can't live without you.
Bez komentáře.	No comment.

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U (At, Near, At Someone's Place)

U expresses location near something, or being at someone's place.

Czech	English
Jsem u doktora.	I'm at the doctor's.
Čekám u vchodu.	I'm waiting at the entrance.
Bydlím u rodičů.	I live at my parents' place.
U nás doma.	At our home.
Sedí u stolu.	He's sitting at the table.

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Location Prepositions

Vedle (Next to)

Czech	English
Vedle banky.	Next to the bank.
Sedí vedle mě.	He's sitting next to me.
Dům vedle školy.	The house next to the school.

Kolem/Okolo (Around)

Czech	English
Kolem domu.	Around the house.
Okolo páté hodiny.	Around five o'clock.
Chodí kolem mě.	He walks around me.

Blízko (Near)

Czech	English
Blízko centra.	Near the center.
Bydlím blízko školy.	I live near the school.

Uprostřed (In the middle of)

Czech	English
Uprostřed města.	In the middle of the city.
Uprostřed noci.	In the middle of the night.

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Time & Reason Prepositions

Během (During)

Czech	English
Během léta.	During summer.
Během hodiny.	During the hour.
Během dne.	During the day.

Kvůli (Because of)

Czech	English
Kvůli tobě.	Because of you.
Kvůli práci.	Because of work.
Kvůli počasí.	Because of the weather.

Místo (Instead of)

Czech	English
Místo kávy.	Instead of coffee.
Místo mě.	Instead of me.
Místo práce.	Instead of work.

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Other Important Prepositions

Kromě (Except, Besides)

Czech	English
Všichni kromě mě.	Everyone except me.
Kromě toho.	Besides that.

Podle (According to, Along)

Czech	English
Podle mapy.	According to the map.
Podle mě.	In my opinion. (According to me.)
Jdi podle řeky.	Go along the river.

Pomocí (With the help of)

Czech	English
Pomocí počítače.	With the help of a computer.
Pomocí slovníku.	Using a dictionary.

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Common Phrases

Czech	English
Z celého srdce.	From the whole heart. (Wholeheartedly.)
Bez pochyby.	Without doubt.
Do konce roku.	By the end of the year.
Od rána do večera.	From morning to evening.
U nás.	At our place.
Kvůli čemu?	Because of what? / Why?
Místo toho.	Instead of that.
Podle mého názoru.	In my opinion.

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Practice

Complete with the correct preposition:

1. Jsem ___ Prahy. (from Prague)
2. Jdu ___ školy. (to school)
3. Dopis ___ bratra. (from brother)
4. Káva ___ cukru. (without sugar)
5. ___ doktora. (at the doctor's)
6. ___ banky. (next to the bank)
7. ___ léta. (during summer)
8. ___ tobě. (because of you)
9. ___ mě. (except me)
10. ___ mapy. (according to the map)

Check Answers

1. Jsem z Prahy.
2. Jdu do školy.
3. Dopis od bratra.
4. Káva bez cukru.
5. U doktora.
6. Vedle banky.
7. Během léta.
8. Kvůli tobě.
9. Kromě mě.
10. Podle mapy.

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Next Steps

• Common Uses → - All uses of genitive
• Singular Endings → - Noun forms
• Exercises → - Practice with prepositions