Indefinite Quantity Words | Czech Grammar

Czech has a set of indefinite quantity words — několik, pár, mnoho, hodně, málo, kolik, tolik, spousta — that don't name an exact number but behave grammatically exactly like the numerals 5 and up. That means two things at once, and English does the opposite on both: the counted noun goes into the genitive plural, and the verb is singular neuter. So "several people came" is not několik lidé přišli but Přišlo několik lidí — genitive noun, singular neuter verb. This pattern is the same machinery as pět lidí ("five people"); if you already handle the five-and-up numbers, these words come almost for free.

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The whole rule: an indefinite quantity word acts like 5+. Noun → genitive plural (countable) or genitive singular (mass). Verb → singular neuter (past tense ends in -lo: přišlo, bylo, zbylo). Never a plural noun or a plural verb.

The words

Word	Meaning	Register
několik	several, a number of	neutral
pár	a few, a couple	colloquial / neutral
mnoho	many, much	neutral, leans written
hodně	a lot, lots	the everyday spoken word
málo	few, little	neutral
kolik	how many / how much	neutral
tolik	so many / so much	neutral
spousta	a load of, tons of	colloquial (a noun — see below)

Countable → genitive plural

With countable nouns, the quantity word takes the genitive plural, and the verb (if the phrase is the subject) is singular neuter.

Na přednášku přišlo několik studentů.

Several students came to the lecture. (studentů genitive plural, přišlo neuter singular)

V knihovně mám mnoho knih, které jsem ještě nepřečetl.

I have many books in the library that I still haven't read. (knih genitive plural)

Zbylo nám tam ještě pár lahví vína.

We still had a few bottles of wine left there. (lahví genitive plural, zbylo neuter)

Kolik lidí se přihlásilo na kurz?

How many people signed up for the course? (lidí genitive plural, přihlásilo neuter)

Uncountable (mass) → genitive singular

With mass nouns — things you can't count in ones — the same words take the genitive singular. Here hodně and mnoho are the natural fit ("a lot of time, much work").

Nemám na to teď dost času.

I don't have enough time for it right now. (času genitive singular)

Dneska mám ještě hodně práce.

I still have a lot of work today. (práce genitive singular)

Do polévky dej jen málo soli.

Put only a little salt in the soup. (soli genitive singular)

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Countable vs. mass decides the genitive number, not whether it's genitive at all. Countable → genitive plural (mnoho otázek). Mass → genitive singular (mnoho práce). Both are genitive; only the number changes.

The singular-neuter verb — the hardest habit

This is where English interference is fiercest. English makes the noun the subject and the verb agrees with it ("several people are waiting"). Czech makes the quantity the grammatical head, so the verb is neuter singular — and in the past tense that means the -lo ending, not -li / -ly / -la.

Před obchodem stálo několik lidí.

Several people were standing in front of the shop. (stálo, not stáli)

Na oslavu přišlo mnoho hostů.

Many guests came to the party. (přišlo, not přišli)

V lese rostlo málo hub.

Few mushrooms grew in the forest. (rostlo neuter singular)

The logic: the phrase means "a-quantity of people," and the head is that abstract quantity, which is grammatically neuter and singular. It is the identical reason pět lidí přišlo is neuter singular. English's "of" is folded into the genitive case and the head-of-phrase treatment.

Oblique cases: the words decline and just agree

The genitive-plus-neuter regime only fires while the whole phrase sits in the subject or direct-object slot. Once the phrase itself lands in an oblique case — after a preposition, say — the quantity word simply declines and agrees with the noun in that case. The declinable ones are několik → několika, kolik → kolika, tolik → tolika, mnoho → mnoha; the adverb-type hodně, málo, pár, dost stay invariable.

Mluvil jsem s několika přáteli o té nabídce.

I spoke with several friends about that offer. (instrumental: několika + přáteli agree)

Po několika dnech se ozval.

After several days he got in touch. (locative: několika dnech)

Před mnoha lety tady stával mlýn.

Many years ago a mill used to stand here. (instrumental: mnoha lety)

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Two regimes, one phrase. In the subject/object slot: několik lidí (quantifier + genitive, neuter verb). In any other case: s několika lidmi (both words in the same case, no genitive government). The genitive isn't glued to the noun — it's only what these words assign in the "headline" positions.

spousta, řada, většina — actually nouns

Honesty time: some common "a lot of" words are genuine feminine nouns, not adverb-type quantifiers — spousta (loads of), řada (a whole string of), většina (the majority of). They still take a genitive complement, but because they are themselves nouns, the verb usually agrees with them (feminine singular) rather than defaulting to neuter.

Na koncert přišla spousta lidí.

Loads of people came to the concert. (přišla feminine singular, agreeing with spousta)

Většina studentů s návrhem souhlasila.

The majority of students agreed with the proposal. (souhlasila feminine singular)

With these noun-quantifiers the feminine agreement — matching the noun's own gender — is the safe standard choice. This is exactly the same set of facts treated from the Determiners angle in quantifiers and the genitive.

Common Mistakes

❌ Několik lidé čekali venku.

Incorrect — the noun must be genitive plural (lidí) and the verb neuter singular (čekalo).

✅ Několik lidí čekalo venku.

Several people were waiting outside.

❌ Přišlo mnoho hosté.

Incorrect — a quantity word takes the genitive plural: hosté → hostů.

✅ Přišlo mnoho hostů.

Many guests came.

❌ Mám málo čas.

Incorrect — a mass noun goes genitive singular: čas → času.

✅ Mám málo času.

I have little time.

❌ Bavil jsem se s několik kolegy.

Incorrect — in an oblique case the word declines and agrees: s několika kolegy.

✅ Bavil jsem se s několika kolegy.

I chatted with several colleagues.

❌ Několik studentů přišli pozdě.

Incorrect — the verb is singular neuter, so přišlo, not přišli.

✅ Několik studentů přišlo pozdě.

Several students came late.

Key Takeaways

Indefinite quantity words — několik, pár, mnoho, hodně, málo, kolik, tolik — behave like 5+: noun in the genitive, verb singular neuter.
Countable → genitive plural (několik knih); mass → genitive singular (mnoho práce).
The verb is neuter singular, with the -lo ending in the past: Přišlo několik lidí, never přišli.
In oblique cases the genitive switches off and the words agree: s několika přáteli, po několika dnech. The declinable set is několika, kolika, tolika, mnoha; hodně, málo, pár, dost stay fixed.
The noun-quantifiers spousta, řada, většina take feminine-singular agreement (přišla spousta lidí).

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