Five spatial prepositions — nad (above), pod (below), před (in front of), za (behind), and mezi (between) — form a tidy family. Each of them takes two cases, and the split is the same one you already know from na, v, o: the accusative marks directed motion toward a spot (kam? — where to?), and the instrumental marks a static position at that spot (kde? — where at?). The only twist compared with the na/v/o/za page is which case does the "rest" job: there it was the locative, here it is the instrumental. Learn one member of this family and you have learned all five — they behave identically.
The rule: accusative for motion, instrumental for rest
The logic is exactly the motion/rest split. If something moves to end up above, below, in front of, behind, or between, the noun goes into the accusative. If something simply is in that position, the noun goes into the instrumental.
Dej to pod stůl.
Put it under the table. (pod + accusative: stůl — moving it to under the table)
Leží to pod stolem.
It's lying under the table. (pod + instrumental: stolem — resting there)
One preposition, one noun, two shapes: stůl (accusative goal of a motion) versus stolem (instrumental resting place). As always in Czech, the difference English carries on the verb (put under vs lie under) is carried here on the case ending.
pod: under, to under
Kočka vlezla pod postel.
The cat crawled under the bed. (pod + accusative: postel — motion)
Kočka spí pod postelí.
The cat is sleeping under the bed. (pod + instrumental: postelí — position)
nad: above, to above
Pták vylétl nad les.
The bird flew up above the forest. (nad + accusative: les — rising to above)
Pták krouží nad lesem.
The bird is circling above the forest. (nad + instrumental: lesem — staying above)
The nad les / nad lesem pair is the sharpest illustration of the split: nad les means the bird crosses a boundary and ends up over the forest; nad lesem means it is already there, holding position. English says "flew above" and "circling above" with the same word above — Czech splits them by case.
před: in front of, to in front of
Před is where the vocalized forms bite. Before an awkward consonant cluster it lengthens to přede, and the personal pronoun combines into set forms — přede mnou (in front of me), přede mě (to in front of me). This is not optional; před mnou would be hard to pronounce.
Postav se přede mě.
Stand in front of me. (před + accusative: mě — move to in front of me)
Stojí přede mnou ve frontě.
He's standing in front of me in the queue. (před + instrumental: mnou — position)
Zaparkoval před domem.
He parked in front of the house. (před + instrumental: domem — position)
Notice přede mě (accusative, motion) versus přede mnou (instrumental, position) — the vocalized přede appears in both, but the pronoun ending flips with the case. The full set of vocalized prepositions is covered on the vocalized forms page.
za: behind, to behind
Za overlaps with the na/v/o/za page because it belongs to both families. Its static case is the instrumental (not the locative), which is exactly why it sits here too.
Slunce zašlo za mrak.
The sun slipped behind a cloud. (za + accusative: mrak — motion behind)
Slunce je schované za mrakem.
The sun is hidden behind a cloud. (za + instrumental: mrakem — position)
mezi: between, to between
Mezi already ends in a vowel, so unlike před/nad/pod it never needs a vocalized form — it stays mezi everywhere, including before pronouns (mezi námi — between us). It takes the accusative for moving into a gap and the instrumental for sitting in it.
Sedni si mezi nás.
Sit down between us. (mezi + accusative: nás — moving into the gap)
Seděl mezi námi celý večer.
He sat between us all evening. (mezi + instrumental: námi — position)
Zůstane to mezi námi.
It'll stay between us. (mezi + instrumental: námi — a fixed idiom for confidentiality)
The choice is motion, not the verb
The commonest English-speaker error here is to pick the case from the verb — reaching for the instrumental with a past-tense verb, or the accusative with a "movement" verb, regardless of what the sentence actually means. But a past-tense verb can perfectly well describe a completed motion, and a present-tense verb can describe rest. Watch:
Schoval se pod stůl.
He hid under the table. (past tense, but it's motion — accusative: pod stůl)
Sedí pod stolem.
He's sitting under the table. (present tense, but it's rest — instrumental: pod stolem)
Both verbs are ordinary, one past one present, yet the first is accusative (he moved to under the table) and the second is instrumental (he is under it). The tense told you nothing; the motion-vs-rest meaning told you everything. Ask kam? / kde?, never "what tense is the verb?"
Common mistakes
❌ Leží to pod stůl.
Incorrect — at-rest position takes the instrumental: pod stolem.
✅ Leží to pod stolem.
It's lying under the table.
❌ Dej to pod stolem.
Incorrect — putting it there is motion, so the accusative: pod stůl.
✅ Dej to pod stůl.
Put it under the table.
❌ Stojí před mnou / postav se před mě (before a cluster).
Incorrect before clusters — před must vocalize to přede: přede mnou, přede mě.
✅ Stojí přede mnou.
He's standing in front of me.
❌ Pták krouží nad les.
Incorrect — circling is a static position, so the instrumental: nad lesem.
✅ Pták krouží nad lesem.
The bird is circling above the forest.
❌ Schoval se pod stolem.
Incorrect — hiding is a motion to under, so the accusative: pod stůl, even in the past tense.
✅ Schoval se pod stůl.
He hid under the table.
Key takeaways
- nad, pod, před, za, mezi all take accusative for motion (kam?) and instrumental for rest (kde?).
- This is the instrumental-side twin of the na/v/o split — same logic, different rest-case (instrumental, not locative).
- The choice is driven by directed motion vs. position, never by the verb's tense (schoval se pod stůl is motion in the past tense).
- Remember the vocalized forms before clusters and pronouns: přede mnou, pode mnou, nade mnou, mezi námi.
- za belongs to both families; its rest-case is the instrumental (za rohem, za mrakem).
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
- Two-Case Prepositions: na, v, o, za with Accusative vs LocativeB2 — How na, v, o, and za change meaning depending on whether they take accusative or locative.
- Prepositions That Take Two CasesB2 — How na, v, o, za, nad, pod, před, mezi change case to switch between location and motion.
- Prepositions with the Instrumental: s, před, za, nad, pod, meziA2 — Instrumental-governing prepositions for accompaniment and static position.
- The Instrumental of MeansA2 — Using the instrumental to express the tool or means by which something is done.
- Vocalized Prepositions: k/ke, s/se, v/ve, z/ze, od/odeA2 — When a preposition gains an extra -e to ease pronunciation before consonant clusters.
- The Accusative as Direct ObjectA1 — How the Czech accusative case marks the direct object — the noun that receives the action — and why the ending, not word order, does the work.