Light-Verb Collocations | Czech Grammar

Some of the most frequent verbs in Czech — mít (to have), dělat (to do/make), dát (to give), vzít (to take) — often carry almost no meaning of their own. Instead they act as a light verb (also called a support verb): the real content sits in the noun, and the verb just supplies the grammar. English does the same thing (take a shower, make a decision, have a look), but the Czech pairings are fixed and rarely match the English ones word-for-word. This page teaches the high-frequency light-verb collocations you must learn as whole units, with the noun's case marked, because getting the verb-noun pairing right is what makes you sound Czech rather than translated.

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A light-verb collocation is a package deal: a specific verb, a specific noun, and the noun in a specific case. You cannot swap the verb for a synonym or guess the pairing from English. Store the whole phrase — verb + noun + case — as one lexical item.

mít + noun: states and possessions

Mít forms a huge family of collocations expressing states that English usually renders with be + adjective. The noun is in the accusative (the direct object of mít).

mít pravdu — "to have truth," i.e. to be right (pravdu = acc. of pravda)
mít rád — to like / love (here rád is an adjective agreeing with the subject, not a noun)
mít strach — "to have fear," i.e. to be afraid (strach = acc.)
mít čas — to have time
mít smysl — "to have sense," i.e. to make sense / be worthwhile
mít hlad / žízeň — "to have hunger / thirst," i.e. to be hungry / thirsty

Máš pravdu, měli jsme vyrazit dřív.

You're right, we should have set off earlier.

Nemám z toho zkoušky vůbec strach, učil jsem se celý týden.

I'm not afraid of that exam at all, I studied all week.

Nemá smysl se hádat, stejně se nedohodneme.

There's no point arguing, we won't agree anyway.

Notice that English uses be (be right, be afraid, be hungry) where Czech uses have (mít pravdu, mít strach, mít hlad). This is the number-one transfer error: an English speaker reaches for být and produces the impossible jsem pravdu. The Czech logic is that these are treated as things you possess, not states you are in.

dělat + noun: activities and making trouble

Dělat ("to do/make") supports collocations about carrying out an activity, and — very commonly — about the reflexive dělat si ("to make for oneself"), which expresses mental states.

dělat si starosti — "to make worries for oneself," i.e. to worry (starosti = acc. pl.)
dělat si legraci / srandu — to joke, to be kidding (z někoho = at someone's expense)
dělat pořádek — to tidy up, to put things in order (pořádek = acc.)
dělat problémy — to make trouble (problémy = acc. pl.)
dělat dojem — to make an impression

Nedělej si starosti, zvládneme to i bez něj.

Don't worry, we'll manage it even without him.

Ty si ze mě děláš legraci, ne?

You're pulling my leg, right? (dělat si legraci z + genitive = to joke at someone's expense)

V neděli konečně udělám v garáži pořádek.

On Sunday I'll finally tidy up the garage.

The reflexive si in dělat si starosti / legraci is obligatory and not optional decoration — dropping it changes or breaks the meaning. And dělat si legraci governs z + genitive for the target of the joke (z tebe = out of you), which is easy to forget.

dát + noun: giving, and the everyday dát si

Dát ("to give") is the perfective partner of dávat and anchors several fixed phrases. The one you will use daily is the reflexive dát si, which is how Czechs order or "have" food and drink.

dát pozor (na + acc.) — "to give attention," i.e. to watch out / be careful (pozor = acc.)
dát přednost (+ dat.) — to give priority to, to prefer (governs the dative)
dát vědět — to let (someone) know
dát si (+ acc.) — to have / order [food or drink]

Dej pozor na schody, jsou dost kluzké.

Watch out for the stairs, they're pretty slippery. (dát pozor na + accusative)

Dám si kávu a k tomu něco sladkého.

I'll have a coffee and something sweet with it. (dát si + accusative)

Až dorazíš, dej mi vědět, přijedu pro tebe.

When you arrive, let me know, I'll come pick you up.

Watch the government carefully. Dát pozor takes na + accusative for the thing you're watching (dej pozor na auta), while dát přednost takes the dative for what you prefer (dát přednost kvalitě = to give priority to quality). These are not interchangeable, and the case is part of the collocation.

Other light verbs: vzít, klást, věnovat

A handful of collocations use light verbs from a more formal register. These are worth recognizing especially in writing.

vzít v úvahu — "to take into consideration" (v úvahu uses a fixed idiomatic v
- accusative)
vzít na vědomí — to take note of / acknowledge (formal, administrative)
klást důraz (na + acc.) — to place emphasis on (formal)
věnovat pozornost (+ dat.) — to pay attention to (governs the dative)

Musíme vzít v úvahu, že nemají skoro žádné zkušenosti.

We have to take into account that they have almost no experience.

Vedení klade velký důraz na bezpečnost.

Management places great emphasis on safety. (klást důraz na + accusative — formal)

Věnujte prosím pozornost bezpečnostním pokynům.

Please pay attention to the safety instructions. (věnovat pozornost + dative — formal)

Note the split by register: dát pozor (informal, everyday) versus věnovat pozornost (formal, written). They both translate roughly as "pay attention," but you would not say věnujte pozornost to a friend on slippery stairs, nor dej pozor in a printed safety notice. For which verb takes which case in general, see verb government and verbs sorted by case.

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The light verb and the noun's case are two separate things you must get right. Dát pozor needs na + accusative (the thing watched); dát přednost and věnovat pozornost need the dative (the thing preferred / attended to). Memorize the case with the phrase.

Why the pairing is not free

You cannot substitute a synonym for the light verb, even a very close one. Mít pravdu cannot become vlastnit pravdu (vlastnit = to own), and dělat pořádek cannot become tvořit pořádek (tvořit = to create) — both are simply not Czech. The verb is fixed by convention, exactly as English fixes make a decision (not do a decision) and take a photo (not make a photo). The collocation is arbitrary in the same way English collocations are, which is precisely why you must learn each as a unit rather than reason it out. Several of the mít-based ones shade into full idioms; those are collected on the expressions with mít page.

Common Mistakes

1. Using být instead of mít for states.

❌ Jsem pravdu.

Incorrect — 'to be right' is expressed with have, not be: mít pravdu.

✅ Máš pravdu.

You're right.

English be right / be afraid / be hungry all become Czech mít + noun. Reaching for být is the classic calque.

2. Swapping the light verb.

❌ Dělej pozor na schody.

Incorrect — the collocation is dát pozor, not dělat pozor.

✅ Dej pozor na schody.

Watch out for the stairs.

Pozor pairs with dát, not dělat. The verb is not freely chosen.

3. Dropping the reflexive si.

❌ Nedělej starosti.

Incorrect — the worry idiom needs the reflexive si: dělat si starosti.

✅ Nedělej si starosti.

Don't worry.

Without si, dělat starosti would mean "cause worries to others," not "worry oneself."

4. Getting the noun's case wrong.

❌ Dej pozor na schodech.

Incorrect — dát pozor na governs the accusative (na schody), not the locative.

✅ Dej pozor na schody.

Watch out for the stairs.

Na here is directional/target and takes the accusative schody, not the locative schodech.

5. Translating the English single verb literally.

❌ Objednávám si kávu.

Understandable but stiff — the everyday way to order is dát si, not the literal objednávat si.

✅ Dám si kávu.

I'll have a coffee.

Objednat (to order) exists, but the natural, idiomatic phrase at a café is dám si.

Key Takeaways

Light verbs (mít, dělat, dát, vzít, klást, věnovat) carry the grammar while the noun carries the meaning — learn the pairing whole.
mít replaces English be for many states: mít pravdu (be right), mít strach (be afraid), mít hlad (be hungry) — all with the accusative.
dělat si (reflexive) gives mental-state phrases: dělat si starosti (worry), dělat si legraci z + gen. (joke at someone).
dát pozor na + acc. (be careful) and dát si + acc. (have food/drink) are daily essentials; dát přednost and věnovat pozornost take the dative.
The verb is not substitutable and the noun's case is part of the phrase — never guess either from English.

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