Fixed Prepositional Phrases | Czech Grammar

Formal, administrative and journalistic Czech is held together by a set of compound prepositions — fixed multi-word phrases like na rozdíl od, vzhledem k, v souvislosti s — that behave as a single preposition and, crucially, govern a specific grammatical case. To an English speaker they look like transparent strings of ordinary words, but they are not: the case they demand is baked in, it does not always match the case of the preposition that ends the phrase in the way you'd guess, and getting it wrong is the surest way to sound like a foreigner in writing. This page teaches the highest-frequency ones grouped by the case they govern, because storing the case with the phrase is the whole game. These are staples of the administrative and official register.

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A compound preposition is one lexical unit, not a construction you build. Learn na rozdíl od + genitive, vzhledem k + dative, and v souvislosti s + instrumental as fixed triples. The last little word of the phrase (od, k, s) is your clue to the case — but you still have to memorize it.

Genitive-governing phrases

The largest group ends in a genitive preposition — most often od or nothing at all — and therefore governs the genitive. The final word tells you the case.

na rozdíl od (+ gen.) — unlike, in contrast to
v rámci (+ gen.) — within (the framework of)
v průběhu (+ gen.) — during, in the course of
za účelem (+ gen.) — for the purpose of (formal)
v případě (+ gen.) — in the event of
z hlediska (+ gen.) — from the standpoint of

Na rozdíl od loňska letos zisk výrazně vzrostl.

Unlike last year, this year the profit rose significantly. (na rozdíl od + genitive: loňska)

V rámci projektu vznikne také nová laboratoř.

Within the framework of the project, a new laboratory will also be created. (v rámci + genitive: projektu)

V případě požáru použijte nejbližší východ.

In the event of fire, use the nearest exit. (v případě + genitive: požáru)

Note that in v rámci and v průběhu the visible preposition is v, which on its own governs the locative — but rámec and průběh are themselves nouns standing in the locative, and the following noun then attaches in the genitive (a noun-noun possessive link, "within the framework of the project"). This is why you cannot reason the case out from the leading v; you read it off the whole phrase.

Watch out: s ohledem na governs the accusative

A dangerous member of the "look/regard" family: s ohledem na ("with regard to / in view of") ends in na, and here na is directional, so the phrase governs the accusative, not the genitive you might expect by analogy with the others.

S ohledem na počasí jsme výlet odložili.

In view of the weather we postponed the trip. (s ohledem na + accusative: počasí)

Rozhodli se tak s ohledem na děti.

They decided that way out of consideration for the children. (s ohledem na + accusative: děti)

This is exactly the kind of phrase where the trailing preposition rescues you: the na signals the accusative. Contrast it with the dative group below, where the trailing k signals the dative.

Dative-governing phrases

Two extremely common connectives govern the dative, and both are frequent even in everyday speech, not just officialese.

vzhledem k (+ dat.) — in view of, given, owing to (formal)
díky (+ dat.) — thanks to (positive cause)
kvůli (+ dat.) — because of, on account of (often negative cause)

Vzhledem k nepříznivé situaci se akce ruší.

Given the unfavourable situation, the event is cancelled. (vzhledem k + dative: situaci)

Díky tvojí pomoci jsme to stihli včas.

Thanks to your help we made it in time. (díky + dative: pomoci)

Kvůli nemoci musel zápas vzdát.

Because of illness he had to give up the match. (kvůli + dative: nemoci)

The English-speaker trap here is real: vzhledem k feels like it should take the genitive ("in view of"), but the k — a core dative preposition — forces the dative. Producing vzhledem nepříznivé situace (genitive) is a giveaway error. Likewise díky and kvůli both take the dative, and the two are not neutral synonyms: díky frames the cause as beneficial (díky tobě = thanks to you, positively), while kvůli is neutral-to-negative (kvůli tobě = because of you, often reproachfully).

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The final k is your dative flag. Vzhledem k, úměrně k, směrem k all govern the dative because they end in k. Do not let the "of" in the English gloss pull you toward the genitive.

Instrumental-governing phrases

The comparison-and-conformity family ends in s ("with") and therefore governs the instrumental.

v souvislosti s (+ instr.) — in connection with
v souladu s (+ instr.) — in accordance with
ve srovnání s (+ instr.) — compared with
v porovnání s (+ instr.) — in comparison with

V souvislosti s reformou vzniklo mnoho otázek.

In connection with the reform, many questions have arisen. (v souvislosti s + instrumental: reformou)

Jednali jsme v souladu s platnými předpisy.

We acted in accordance with the applicable regulations. (v souladu s + instrumental: předpisy)

Ve srovnání s loňskem je nárůst obrovský.

Compared with last year, the increase is enormous. (ve srovnání s + instrumental: loňskem)

Because these end in s, they take the instrumental — the same case s always governs when it means "with." Note the vocalized ve srovnání (the ve form appears because srovnání would clash), and remember that s itself becomes se before certain clusters. For the systematic map of which preposition governs which case, see prepositions by case; for the two-case prepositions whose case flips with meaning, see two-case prepositions.

Why English speakers get the final case wrong

In English these are all "transparent": unlike X, in view of X, in connection with X — the object X never changes shape, so there is no case to get right and no reason to notice one. When you carry that habit into Czech, you either leave the noun in the wrong case or you compute the case from the English preposition ("in view of" → genitive) instead of the Czech one (vzhledem k → dative). The fix is to treat each compound preposition as a single vocabulary item with its case attached, exactly as you learned na rozdíl od + genitive as a block above. When in doubt, look at the phrase's last little word: od and bare-noun links → genitive, k → dative, s → instrumental, na → accusative.

Common Mistakes

1. Genitive after vzhledem k.

❌ Vzhledem k nepříznivé situace jsme akci zrušili.

Incorrect — vzhledem k governs the dative: situaci, not the genitive situace.

✅ Vzhledem k nepříznivé situaci jsme akci zrušili.

Given the unfavourable situation, we cancelled the event.

The k forces the dative regardless of the "of" in the English gloss.

2. Genitive after s ohledem na.

❌ S ohledem na počasí (počasí here read as genitive).

The trap: because the phrase ends in na, the case is accusative, not genitive.

✅ S ohledem na počasí jsme zůstali doma.

In view of the weather we stayed home. (accusative)

Na is directional here, so the noun is accusative.

3. Wrong case after v souvislosti s.

❌ V souvislosti s reformy.

Incorrect — the trailing s governs the instrumental: reformou, not the genitive reformy.

✅ V souvislosti s reformou.

In connection with the reform.

4. Confusing díky and kvůli.

❌ Díky nemoci musel zápas vzdát.

Odd — díky frames the cause as positive; illness is a negative cause, so use kvůli.

✅ Kvůli nemoci musel zápas vzdát.

Because of illness he had to give up the match.

Díky = thanks to (good); kvůli = because of (neutral/bad). Both take the dative, but they are not stylistically neutral.

5. Treating the phrase as separable / reordering it.

❌ Na od rozdíl loňska...

Incorrect — the compound preposition is a fixed, unbreakable unit: na rozdíl od.

✅ Na rozdíl od loňska letos vydělali víc.

Unlike last year, this year they earned more.

Key Takeaways

Compound prepositions (na rozdíl od, vzhledem k, v souvislosti s) are single lexical units governing a fixed case — store the case with the phrase.
Genitive group ends in od / a bare noun link: na rozdíl od, v rámci, v průběhu, v případě, za účelem.
Accusative trap: s ohledem na ends in na and takes the accusative.
Dative group ends in k: vzhledem k; also díky and kvůli (both dative — díky = positive cause, kvůli = neutral/negative).
Instrumental group ends in s: v souvislosti s, v souladu s, ve srovnání s.
Do not derive the case from the English preposition — read it off the Czech phrase's last little word.

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