Coordinating Conjunctions

Coordinating conjunctions are the little words that link two things of equal rank — two nouns, two adjectives, two whole clauses that could each stand alone. Káva a čaj ("coffee and tea"), Chci, ale nemůžu ("I want to, but I can't"). The conjunctions themselves are easy to learn. The part that trips up English speakers is the comma rule, which is the reverse of the English habit in one crucial case. Get the words and the commas together and you'll write Czech that looks native on the page.

The core set

Here are the everyday coordinating conjunctions, each with its job and its register.

The fine-grained difference between a and i — both translate as "and" — has its own page, a versus i, because choosing between them is a real and recurring decision.

The comma rule: the heart of the matter

English speakers carry one strong instinct from their own language: a comma before "and" in a list of clauses (the Oxford comma, "X, Y, and Z"). Czech does the opposite for plain additive a. The rule is about meaning, not about the word:

• No comma before a and i when they simply add (the most common case).
• A comma before a conjunction that contrasts (ale, však), draws a consequence (a proto = "and therefore", a tak = "and so"), or offers an exclusive choice (nebo meaning "or else / one or the other").

Think of it this way: a plain "and" glues two things into a smooth list, so no pause and no comma. A "but" or a "therefore" marks a turn in the thought, so Czech writes the pause in.

Notice the last pair carefully: bare a takes no comma (Vstal a odešel), but a proto and a tak do take one, because the a there isn't adding — it's introducing a result. The comma keys off what the conjunction is doing.

nebo: the comma depends on the meaning

Nebo ("or") splits into two uses. When it offers a genuine, mutually exclusive choice — pick one or the other — it takes a comma. When it just lists alternatives loosely ("tea or coffee, whatever"), it doesn't.

At A1 you won't always get this distinction right, and that's fine — native writers themselves hesitate. The reliable half of the rule is: two full clauses offering an either/or choice → comma before nebo.

však sits in second position

Však means "however," and English speakers reach for it at the start of a clause, the way English puts "However," up front. In Czech that's wrong. Však is post-positive: it slots into the second position, after the first stressed word or phrase, not at the very beginning.

Compare the English-driven error Však to se mi nelíbí, which lands wrong on a Czech ear. If you want a "however" at the front of the clause, use ale ("but") instead — that one can open a clause. The full mechanics of why little words like však gravitate to second position belong to the clitic / word-order pages, but for now just remember: never start a clause with však.

A note on ani

Ani is the negative partner: "nor / not even." It needs the verb to be negated as well — Czech uses double (concord) negation, so ani and ne- both appear and reinforce each other rather than cancelling out.

Common mistakes

Key takeaways

• No comma before plain additive a and i (Petr a Jana; Vstal a odešel).
• Comma before contrast (ale, však), consequence (a proto, a tak), and exclusive nebo (Půjdeme pěšky, nebo pojedeme?).
• však goes second, never first — it's "though," not front-of-sentence "however."
• ani rides with a negated verb (concord negation): Nemám čas ani peníze.
• neboť and nýbrž are (formal/literary) — recognise them in text, but reach for protože and ale in speech.

For the comma rules that govern subordinate clauses (a different and even stricter system), see subordinate clauses and the comma rule, and for the broader picture of joining clauses, compound and complex sentences. The subordinating conjunctions are surveyed on the subordinating overview.