Cardinal Numbers 0–4 and Nominative Plural Agreement | Czech Grammar

The smallest Czech numbers — nula, jeden, dva, tři, čtyři — are the friendliest place to start, because they behave most like English: the counted noun stays in a familiar case and the verb agrees in the plural, just as you'd expect. But hidden inside this little set are two features English has no equivalent for: jeden and dva change form for the gender of what they count, and at pět ("five") the whole system flips into something genuinely foreign. This page locks in 0–4 cleanly so that the jump to 5+ on the next page makes sense by contrast.

nula — zero

Nula (0) is simply a feminine noun. Grammatically it behaves like pět and the higher numbers: the counted noun goes into the genitive plural (nula stupňů — "zero degrees"). For now just note its form; the genitive-plural pattern is covered with 5+.

Venku je nula stupňů.

It's zero degrees outside.

Máme nula chyb.

We have zero mistakes.

jeden / jedna / jedno — one (agrees like an adjective)

Jeden ("one") is not a fixed word — it agrees in gender with its noun, exactly like an adjective, and the noun stays singular. Three forms for the three genders:

Gender	"one" + noun	Meaning
masculine	jeden muž	one man
feminine	jedna žena	one woman
neuter	jedno okno	one window

Because "one" takes a singular noun, the verb is also singular — there's nothing surprising here for an English speaker except the gender choice.

Mám jen jeden lístek.

I only have one ticket.

Zbývá nám jedna hodina.

We have one hour left.

V kuchyni je jedno okno.

There is one window in the kitchen.

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Jeden also means "a certain / a (particular) one" — Mám jednoho kamaráda, který… ("I have a friend who…"). And it fully declines through the cases (jeden, jednoho, jednomu…) like the demonstrative ten. At A1, the key habit is just picking the right gender form: jeden / jedna / jedno.

dva / dvě — two (a gender split)

Two has two forms, and choosing between them is the single most common slip for learners:

dva — with masculine nouns: dva muži, dva domy.
dvě — with feminine and neuter nouns: dvě ženy, dvě okna.

Gender	"two" + noun	Meaning
masculine	dva muži / dva domy	two men / two houses
feminine	dvě ženy	two women
neuter	dvě okna	two windows

Mám dva bratry a dvě sestry.

I have two brothers and two sisters.

Koupila jsem dvě piva a dva rohlíky.

I bought two beers and two rolls. (female speaker)

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This masculine-vs-feminine/neuter split in dva/dvě is a leftover of the old Czech dual number. Only "two" (and oba/obě, "both") preserves it — see both — oba/obě. For one, you have three gender forms; for two, just two; from three up, none at all.

tři, čtyři — three, four (no gender change)

Tři (3) and čtyři (4) have a single form regardless of the noun's gender. After the gender gymnastics of jeden and dva, these are a relief.

Mám tři děti.

I have three children.

Čekáme tu už čtyři hodiny.

We've been waiting here for four hours already.

The crucial rule: 2, 3, 4 take the NOMINATIVE PLURAL

Here is the point that makes 0–4 a coherent group: after dva/dvě, tři, čtyři, the counted noun goes into the nominative plural, and the whole number phrase acts as an ordinary plural subject — so the verb is plural too. This is the one stretch of the Czech number system that lines up with English: "two men came," dva muži přišli.

Dva muži přišli pozdě.

Two men arrived late.

Tři ženy zpívají v kostele.

Three women are singing in the church.

Čtyři okna jsou otevřená.

Four windows are open.

Notice the agreement chain in that last example: čtyři okna is a neuter plural subject, the verb jsou is plural, and the adjective otevřená takes the neuter plural ending. Everything downstream agrees with the plural noun — the number doesn't "freeze" the phrase the way 5+ will.

Dvě kamarádky mi pomohly.

Two friends helped me. (female friends)

Tři studenti čekají před třídou.

Three students are waiting outside the classroom.

Why this matters: the cliff at pět

Compare directly:

	Noun case	Verb	Example
2–4	nominative plural	plural	čtyři ženy přišly — four women came
5+	genitive plural	singular (neuter)	pět žen přišlo — five women came

At pět the noun switches to the genitive plural (pět žen, "of five women," historically) and the verb goes singular (přišlo). That is the topic of Cardinal Numbers 5+. For now, the takeaway is that 2, 3, 4 are the well-behaved ones — treat them as a plural subject, like English, and you're right.

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One sanity check: if you can replace the number with English "some" and the sentence still feels like a normal plural ("some women came"), you're in 2–4 territory — nominative plural, plural verb. The genitive-plural quirk only begins at five.

Common mistakes

❌ Mám dva sestry.

Wrong: 'sestry' is feminine, so 'two' must be dvě.

✅ Mám dvě sestry.

Correct: 'I have two sisters.'

❌ Dvě muži přišli.

Wrong: 'muži' is masculine, so 'two' must be dva.

✅ Dva muži přišli.

Correct: 'Two men came.'

❌ Mám tři dítě.

Wrong: after 2–4 the noun is plural, not singular.

✅ Mám tři děti.

Correct: 'I have three children.'

❌ Čtyři okna je otevřené.

Wrong: 2–4 take a plural verb and plural adjective, not singular.

✅ Čtyři okna jsou otevřená.

Correct: 'Four windows are open.'

❌ Jeden žena čeká venku.

Wrong: 'one' agrees in gender — feminine needs jedna.

✅ Jedna žena čeká venku.

Correct: 'One woman is waiting outside.'

Key takeaways

nula (0) behaves like the high numbers (genitive plural noun); learn it with 5+.
jeden / jedna / jedno (1) agrees in gender and takes a singular noun and singular verb.
dva (masc.) vs dvě (fem./neut.) — a gender split you must learn; tři and čtyři have one form each.
2, 3, 4 take the nominative plural noun and a plural verb — just like English. The system changes completely at pět: see Cardinal Numbers 5+.

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