nést "to carry" is one of the most important verbs to know cold, and not only because you carry things all day long. It is the model verb for the whole Class I conjugation — the so-called -e- type — so its endings -u / -eš / -e / -eme / -ete / -ou are the template against which dozens of other verbs are measured. On top of that, nést is a determinate verb of motion: it describes carrying in one direction, on one specific occasion, and it pairs with the indeterminate verb nosit for habitual or back-and-forth carrying. Learn nést properly and you get two things at once: a conjugation pattern and a window into how Czech splits up "carry" by manner.
Present tense — the Class I model
The present stem is nes-, and onto it go the bare Class I endings. There is no vowel inserted before the ending, which is exactly what makes this the cleanest model in the class.
| Person | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | nesu | neseme |
| 2nd | neseš | nesete |
| 3rd | nese | nesou |
Notice the shape: -u in the first person, -ou in the third-person plural, and -e- running through everything in between. Every verb in the Class I -e- paradigm — péct, vést, vézt, číst, brát — answers to this same skeleton, even when its stem is harder to spot.
Nesu těžkou tašku, můžeš mi otevřít dveře?
I'm carrying a heavy bag, can you open the door for me?
Co to neseš?
What are you carrying there?
Číšník nese na tácu čtyři piva.
The waiter is carrying four beers on the tray.
Past tense
The past is built on the same nes- stem plus the -l participle, agreeing in gender and number with the subject, with the auxiliary být in second position (dropped in the third person).
| Subject | Participle |
|---|---|
| masculine sg. | nesl (jsem / jsi) |
| feminine sg. | nesla (jsem / jsi) |
| neuter sg. | neslo |
| masculine animate pl. | nesli (jsme / jste) |
| masc. inanimate / feminine pl. | nesly |
| neuter pl. | nesla |
Nesl jsem ten kufr přes celé nádraží a teď mě bolí ruka.
I carried that suitcase across the whole station and now my arm hurts (said by a man).
Děvčata nesla košíky na trh.
The girls were carrying baskets to the market.
Future tense — why it is ponesu, not budu nést
Here is the single most surprising thing about nést, and the reason it earns a page of its own. Because it is a determinate verb of motion, it does not form its future with budu the way ordinary imperfective verbs do. Instead it takes the prefix po-, exactly like jít → půjdu and jet → pojedu:
| Person | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | ponesu | poneseme |
| 2nd | poneseš | ponesete |
| 3rd | ponese | ponesou |
The synthetic po- future is the standard, correct form. You will hear budu nést in casual speech, but careful speakers and all textbooks treat it as nonstandard — so default to ponesu. The same goes for the small closed set of determinate motion verbs (půjdu, pojedu, poletím, poběžím, povezu, povedu, ponesu); they all build futures with po-/pů- instead of budu. See the motion futures for the full set.
Kufry jsou těžké — kdo je ponese?
The suitcases are heavy — who'll carry them?
Ten batoh ti ponesu já, ty máš dost.
I'll carry that backpack for you, you've got enough to handle.
Imperative
The imperative is built straight off the present stem nes-, with no added vowel: nes for ty, nesme for "let's," neste for vy and the polite form.
Nes to opatrně, je to křehké!
Carry it carefully, it's fragile!
Neste to prosím rovnou do kuchyně.
Please carry it straight to the kitchen.
Determinate nést vs. indeterminate nosit
Czech makes you choose how the carrying happens. nést is determinate — one direction, one occasion, usually happening right now or at a specific point. nosit is indeterminate — habitual, repeated, multidirectional, or "carrying around." English uses "carry" for both, so this distinction is invisible to an English speaker until they make the wrong choice and a Czech ear flinches.
| nést (determinate) | nosit (indeterminate) |
|---|---|
| one trip, one direction, now | habitual, repeated, back-and-forth |
| nesu, neseš, nese… | nosím, nosíš, nosí… |
| Nesu tašku domů. (right now) | Nosím tašku každý den. (every day) |
A bonus: nosit also covers "to wear (clothes, glasses)," which is inherently habitual — you wear something repeatedly. You would never use nést for that.
Teď nesu kufr na nádraží, ale jinak nosím jenom batoh.
Right now I'm carrying a suitcase to the station, but otherwise I just carry a backpack.
Nosím brýle už od dětství.
I've worn glasses since childhood.
The full det/indet contrast lives on the nést / nosit page.
The perfective přinést
Prefix nést with při- and you get the perfective přinést "to bring (here)" — carrying with a completed arrival. Its present-tense forms (přinesu, přineseš…) carry future meaning, because it is perfective, and its past is přinesl.
Přines mi prosím sklenici vody.
Please bring me a glass of water.
Zítra ti přinesu ty knížky, co jsi chtěl.
Tomorrow I'll bring you the books you wanted.
What nést governs
nést takes a plain accusative object — the thing carried — with no preposition. Don't be tempted to insert s ("with"), as English "I'm carrying along…" might suggest.
Nese kytici růží.
She's carrying a bouquet of roses (kytici = the accusative object; růží = genitive plural 'of roses').
Common Mistakes
❌ Budu nést ten kufr na nádraží.
Incorrect (nonstandard) — determinate nést builds its future with po-.
✅ Ponesu ten kufr na nádraží.
I'll carry that suitcase to the station.
❌ Teď nosím tašku domů.
Incorrect — one trip, one direction, happening now needs the determinate nést.
✅ Teď nesu tašku domů.
I'm carrying the bag home right now.
❌ Včera jsem nesil dva kufry.
Incorrect — there is no *nesil; the masculine past participle is nesl.
✅ Včera jsem nesl dva kufry.
Yesterday I was carrying two suitcases (said by a man).
❌ Děvčata nesly košíky.
Incorrect — děvčata is neuter plural, so the participle is nesla, not nesly.
✅ Děvčata nesla košíky.
The girls were carrying baskets.
❌ Nesu se sebou jenom batoh.
Incorrect — the thing carried is a plain accusative object, no preposition needed for it.
✅ Nesu jenom batoh.
I'm only carrying a backpack.
Key Takeaways
- nést is the Class I -e- model: endings -u / -eš / -e / -eme / -ete / -ou on the stem nes-.
- Future is the synthetic ponesu (with po-), not budu nést — it is a determinate motion verb.
- Past plural: nesli (masc. anim.), nesly (fem. / masc. inan.), nesla (neuter).
- nést = one trip now (determinate); nosit = habitual / "to wear" (indeterminate).
- Perfective přinést "to bring"; object is plain accusative.
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Start learning Czech→Related Topics
- Class I (-e-): the nést patternB1 — Reference table for the Class I -e- conjugation with the model verb nést.
- nést / nosit — to carry (determinate/indeterminate)B1 — Reference table for the determinate nést vs. indeterminate nosit.
- Class I: -e- Verbs (nést, brát)A2 — The -e- conjugation, where the present stem can look nothing like the infinitive and has to be memorised verb by verb.
- přinášet / přinést — to bringB1 — Side-by-side conjugation of imperfective přinášet and perfective přinést, the secondary-imperfective -ášet vs prefixed nést pattern, and the accusative-thing-plus-dative-recipient government.
- Special Motion Futures (půjdu, pojedu)B1 — The irregular prefixed futures of jít and jet.