Beyond the everyday do, z, od, bez, u, the genitive governs a second tier of prepositions that you need the moment you start describing where things are and how things stand: next to, around, along, according to, instead of, except. They look more "abstract" than the in-and-out prepositions, and that abstractness is precisely the trap — learners forget that an idea-preposition like podle ("according to") still drags its noun into the genitive just as forcefully as a location-preposition like vedle. The single rule that unifies the whole page: after every one of these words, the noun goes into the genitive, no matter how concrete or abstract the meaning.
vedle — next to, beside
vedle places one thing alongside another. It is the everyday "next to."
Sedím vedle okna, mám hezký výhled.
I'm sitting next to the window, I've got a nice view (okno → okna).
Lékárna je hned vedle pošty.
The pharmacy is right next to the post office (pošta → pošty).
kolem / okolo — around, past
kolem (and its synonym okolo) means around something — encircling it, or moving past it. Both forms are interchangeable; kolem is a touch more frequent in speech.
Šli jsme kolem parku a povídali si.
We walked past the park and chatted (park → parku).
Země obíhá kolem Slunce.
The Earth orbits around the Sun (Slunce → Slunce).
podle — two senses, one case
podle is the page's star because it carries two quite different meanings, and both take the genitive. Physically it means along (following the line of something). Abstractly it means according to / by (following a source, a rule, an opinion).
Šli jsme podle řeky až k mostu.
We walked along the river up to the bridge (řeka → řeky).
Podle plánu máme dorazit v poledne.
According to the plan, we're supposed to arrive at noon (plán → plánu).
Podle mě je ten film nudný.
In my opinion that film is boring (mě = genitive of já).
That last one is worth memorizing as a set phrase: podle mě / podle tebe / podle nás = "in my / your / our opinion." It is everywhere in conversation, and it is a pure genitive construction.
místo — instead of (and the město trap)
místo as a preposition means instead of, in place of. Whatever you'd have expected goes into the genitive.
Dal jsem si k snídani jen kávu místo oběda.
I just had coffee for breakfast instead of lunch (oběd → oběda).
Místo Petra přišel jeho bratr.
Instead of Petr, his brother came (Petr → Petra).
kromě — except, besides
kromě carves out an exception ("except, apart from") or adds to a set ("besides, in addition to"). Context decides which; the case is genitive either way.
Přišli všichni kromě Petra.
Everyone came except Petr (Petr → Petra).
Kromě angličtiny mluví i německy.
Besides English, she also speaks German (angličtina → angličtiny).
A few more position words
The same genitive rule extends to a cluster of useful location prepositions: uprostřed (in the middle of), blízko (near), kromě the ones above. They round out your ability to place things in a room or a landscape.
Uprostřed náměstí stojí kašna.
There's a fountain in the middle of the square (náměstí → náměstí).
Bydlíme blízko nádraží, je to pět minut pěšky.
We live near the station, it's a five-minute walk (nádraží → nádraží).
Why "abstract" prepositions still trigger the case
Here is the conceptual point English speakers miss. In English, a preposition like according to feels like pure logic — there's no "object" to inflect. In Czech, government is mechanical, not semantic: the word podle assigns the genitive to whatever follows it, full stop, regardless of whether the following noun is a riverbank or a rule. So podle zákona ("according to the law") must be genitive — zákon → zákona — and the bare nominative podle zákon is simply broken. Treat these prepositions as case-triggers first and meanings second.
Podle zákona musí mít každý cyklista helmu do osmnácti let.
By law, every cyclist under eighteen must wear a helmet (zákon → zákona).
Common Mistakes
❌ Podle zákon to není dovolené.
Incorrect — podle assigns the genitive even to an abstract noun: zákona.
✅ Podle zákona to není dovolené.
By law it isn't allowed.
❌ Sedím vedle okno.
Incorrect — vedle takes the genitive: okno → okna.
✅ Sedím vedle okna.
I'm sitting next to the window.
❌ Přišli všichni kromě Petr.
Incorrect — kromě takes the genitive: Petr → Petra.
✅ Přišli všichni kromě Petra.
Everyone came except Petr.
❌ Dám si čaj místo káva.
Incorrect — místo takes the genitive: káva → kávy.
✅ Dám si čaj místo kávy.
I'll have tea instead of coffee.
❌ Podle mně je to dobrý nápad.
Incorrect — the fixed phrase is podle mě (genitive), not the dative mně.
✅ Podle mě je to dobrý nápad.
In my opinion that's a good idea.
Key Takeaways
- vedle, kolem/okolo, podle, místo, kromě, uprostřed, blízko all govern the genitive.
- podle = along (physical) and according to / in my opinion (abstract) — both genitive.
- podle mě "in my opinion" is a high-frequency set phrase; the pronoun is genitive.
- Don't confuse the preposition místo ("instead of") with the noun město ("city").
- Government is mechanical: even abstract podle zákona must be genitive, never podle zákon.
Now practice Czech
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Start learning Czech→Related Topics
- Prepositions with the Genitive: do, z, od, bez, uA1 — The five highest-frequency genitive-governing prepositions and the fine meaning distinctions English collapses into 'to' and 'from'.
- Prepositions That Take the GenitiveA2 — The large family of genitive prepositions — do, z, od, bez, u, vedle, podle, kolem, během, místo, kromě, uprostřed — and why the case is fixed no matter what they mean.
- Genitive Prepositions of Time: během, do, odA2 — Expressing duration, deadlines, and start points with genitive prepositions.
- Genitive Prepositions of Position: u, vedle, naproti, blízko, daleko odA2 — Locating things relative to a landmark with genitive prepositions.
- Prepositions and Case GovernmentA1 — Why every Czech preposition forces the following noun into a specific case, and a case-by-case map of the most common ones.