English uses "each" and "every" for the idea of running through a set one member at a time. Czech rolls both into a single word: každý. It looks and behaves like an ordinary adjective, but it carries two rules that English doesn't prepare you for. First, it is almost always singular — every day is každý den (one day), never a plural. Second, it is distributive by nature (one-by-one), which sets it in sharp contrast to všichni ("all", taken collectively). Master those two facts and každý becomes one of the most reliable little words you own.
How každý declines
Každý is a hard adjective, declining on exactly the same pattern as mladý ("young"). You already know its endings if you know any hard adjective — it agrees with its noun in gender, number, and case:
| Case | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter |
|---|---|---|---|
| nominative | každý | každá | každé |
| genitive | každého | každé | každého |
| dative | každému | každé | každému |
| accusative | každého (anim.) / každý (inan.) | každou | každé |
| locative | (o) každém | (o) každé | (o) každém |
| instrumental | každým | každou | každým |
Každý den jezdím do práce tramvají.
Every day I take the tram to work.
Každá mince má dvě strany.
Every coin has two sides.
Každé ráno běhám v parku.
Every morning I go running in the park.
The full hard-adjective paradigm is on the hard adjective mladý page — každý takes the identical endings.
Rule one: každý is singular
This is the headline. Každý goes with a singular noun and a singular verb, even where English feels plural. "Every coin," "every morning," "everyone knows" — all singular in Czech. The logic is built into the meaning: každý picks out the members of a set one at a time, so each pick is, by definition, one item.
Každý student dostal jednu knihu.
Each student got one book. (singular student, singular dostal)
To přece ví každý!
But everyone knows that! (singular ví)
There is exactly one systematic place where každý turns plural: with a numeral, when you space something out by intervals. Here the number forces the plural and každý follows it:
| Singular (default) | With a numeral (plural) |
|---|---|
| každý den — every day | každé dva dny — every two days |
| každý druhý den — every other day | každé tři roky — every three years |
| každou hodinu — every hour | každých deset minut — every ten minutes |
Outside of these numeral phrases, treat každý as singular, full stop.
Každý standing alone — "everyone"
Drop the noun and každý stands on its own as a pronoun meaning "everyone / each person / anyone" — the masculine form does this by default. It still takes a singular verb.
Každý má svůj názor.
Everyone has their own opinion.
Každý z nás někdy udělá chybu.
Each of us makes a mistake sometimes.
To zvládne každý.
Anyone can manage that.
The phrase každý z nás / z vás / z nich ("each of us / you / them") is the standard way to say "each of" a group — každý in the nominative, the group in the genitive after z.
Time expressions: každý + a time unit in the accusative
One of každý's busiest jobs is building "every + time unit." The time word goes into the accusative (the case Czech uses for "how often / for how long"), and každý agrees with it:
| Phrase | Gender of the noun | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| každý den / týden / rok | masc. (acc. = nom.) | every day / week / year |
| každé ráno / odpoledne | neut. | every morning / afternoon |
| každou středu / hodinu / noc | fem. → -ou | every Wednesday / hour / night |
Watch the feminine -ou: a feminine time word like středa or hodina goes to the accusative středu, hodinu, and každý must match as každou.
Tělocvik máme každou středu.
We have PE every Wednesday.
Voláme si každý týden.
We call each other every week.
The accusative-of-time pattern is laid out on accusative for time and duration.
Rule two: každý (distributive) vs všichni (collective)
This is the contrast that catches English speakers, because English blurs it. Každý views the set one member at a time (distributive); všichni — the plural of všechen "all" — views it as one whole group together (collective). The same situation can be told either way, but the grammar changes completely:
| každý (distributive) | všichni (collective) | |
|---|---|---|
| Number | singular | plural |
| Noun | každý student | všichni studenti |
| Verb | dostal (sg.) | dostali (pl.) |
| Picture | one student, then the next… | the whole class at once |
Každý student dostal knihu.
Each student got a book. (one by one — singular)
Všichni studenti dostali knihy.
All the students got books. (the group together — plural)
Choose každý when you mean to walk through the set item by item ("each…"); choose všichni when you mean the group as a body ("all of them"). The full declension and uses of všechen / všichni are on všechen — 'all'.
The fixed phrase každý druhý
Každý combines with an ordinal to mean "every n-th": každý druhý is "every other / every second," and it's the everyday way to say something happens on alternate days, weeks, and so on.
Ten lék se bere každý druhý den.
That medicine is taken every other day.
Schůze máme každé druhé úterý.
We have a meeting every other Tuesday.
Common Mistakes
❌ Cvičím každé dny.
Incorrect — 'every day' is singular: každý den. A bare plural noun never follows každý.
✅ Cvičím každý den.
I work out every day.
❌ Každí to vědí.
Incorrect — každý stays singular and takes a singular verb: Každý to ví. (každí is the wrong, plural form)
✅ Každý to ví.
Everyone knows that.
❌ Každý studenti dostali knihy.
Mismatched number — either distributive singular (Každý student dostal) or collective plural (Všichni studenti dostali), not a mix.
✅ Každý student dostal knihu.
Each student got a book.
❌ Beru lék každý druhý dny.
Incorrect — každý druhý is singular: každý druhý den.
✅ Beru lék každý druhý den.
I take the medicine every other day.
❌ Máme tělocvik každý středu.
Incorrect — feminine středa goes to the accusative středu, so každý must agree as každou.
✅ Máme tělocvik každou středu.
We have PE every Wednesday.
Key Takeaways
- každý = each / every, declined like the hard adjective mladý (každý, každého, každému, každém, každým).
- It is singular: každý den, každá žena, každé ráno, Každý to ví — singular noun, singular verb.
- The only systematic plural is with a numeral: každé dva dny, každých deset minut.
- Standing alone, každý means "everyone / anyone" (still singular): Každý z nás….
- "Every + time unit" puts the time word in the accusative, with feminine -ou: každou středu, každou hodinu.
- Contrast distributive každý (one-by-one, singular) with collective všichni (all together, plural): Každý dostal knihu vs Všichni dostali knihy.
Now practice Czech
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
Start learning Czech→Related Topics
- Hard Adjectives: the -ý/-á/-é PatternA2 — The largest Czech adjective class — model mladý — agrees with its noun in gender, number, and case, with the long vowels -ého, -ému, -ým as its signature.
- 'All' and 'Whole': všechen, všechno, všichni, celýB1 — The forms of všechen by gender/number and how it differs from celý (whole).
- The Accusative of Time and DurationB1 — Expressing how long an action lasts and certain time points with the bare accusative.
- Definiteness Without ArticlesA2 — Czech has no 'a' or 'the' — here's how word order, the demonstrative ten, and context do an article's work instead.
- 'No / None': žádný and Negative ConcordA2 — žádný as the negative determiner that requires the verb to be negated too.