vést — to lead (determinate) | Czech Grammar

vést means "to lead," "to take (someone) somewhere on foot," "to conduct" or "to run (a company, a meeting)." It is a high-frequency verb you will need early, and it carries two specific traps: its present stem looks nothing like its infinitive, and it has a near-identical twin, vézt "to transport (by vehicle)," that means something quite different. Get vést solid and you also unlock a productive family of prefixed perfectives like přivést and odvést.

The stem story: vést but vedu

The infinitive is vést, but the present and past stem is ved-. Historically the d of the stem collided with the infinitive ending and surfaced as -st (ved- + t → vést), so the d only "comes back" once you start conjugating. This is the same shape as several class I verbs — compare nést "to carry," whose stem is nes-. The practical takeaway: never build forms off vés-. The stem is ved-.

Person	Present
já	vedu
ty	vedeš
on/ona/ono	vede
my	vedeme
vy	vedete
oni	vedou

Vedu psa k veterináři, něco mu je.

I'm taking the dog to the vet, something's wrong with him.

Tahle cesta vede přímo k nádraží.

This road leads straight to the station.

Past, future and imperative

The past is built on the -l participle vedl, which agrees with the subject like any other (note the neuter plural vedla, never vedly):

Subject	Past participle
masculine sg	vedl
feminine sg	vedla
neuter sg	vedlo
masculine animate pl	vedli
feminine / masc. inanimate pl	vedly
neuter pl	vedla

Because vést is imperfective, its future is the analytic budu vést type: budu vést, budeš vést, bude vést, budeme vést, budete vést, budou vést. The imperative softens the stem-final d to ď: veď (you, singular), veďme (let's), veďte (you, plural/formal).

Vedl jsem hosty rovnou do obýváku.

I led the guests straight into the living room. (past, vedl jsem)

Příští rok bude tým vést nová trenérka.

Next year a new coach will be leading the team. (future, bude vést)

Veď nás, ty tu cestu znáš nejlíp.

You lead the way, you know the route best. (imperative, veď)

vést is determinate: contrast with vodit

Vést belongs to the motion-verb system, where each verb of motion has two imperfectives. Vést is the determinate partner — one specific trip, in one direction, happening now or at a definite time. Its indeterminate partner is vodit, used for habitual, repeated or aimless leading-about. Both are imperfective; they differ in how they frame the motion, not in completion.

Každé ráno vodím děti do školy, ale dnes je vede manželka.

Every morning I take the kids to school, but today my wife is taking them. (habitual vodím vs this-once vede)

💡

Keep the pair straight by the question it answers. Vodit = "regularly, around, in general" (vodím psa ven třikrát denně "I take the dog out three times a day"). Vést = "right now, this particular journey" (právě vedu psa ven "I'm taking the dog out right now").

Government and common idioms

Vést takes a direct object in the accusative: vedu psa "I'm leading the dog," vede skupinu "she's leading the group." Beyond literal leading, it anchors a cluster of everyday idioms:

jak se vede? — "how's it going?" (literally "how does it lead itself?")
vést rozhovor / debatu — "to hold a conversation / debate"
vést firmu / tým — "to run a company / team"
vést si dobře — "to do well, to perform well"
vést k + dative — "to lead to (a result)"

Jak se vede? — Ujde to, díky, a co ty?

How's it going? — Not bad, thanks, and you? (idiom)

Naše dcera si ve škole vede výborně.

Our daughter is doing excellently at school. (vést si)

Celý večer jsme vedli dlouhý rozhovor o politice.

We held a long conversation about politics all evening. (vést rozhovor)

The perfective: přivést and friends

Vést has no "empty" perfective of its own; instead, prefixes give it perfective partners with specific meanings, each conjugated on the same ved- stem (so the perfective present is future in meaning):

přivést "to bring (someone) along, lead to" → přivedu, přivedeš
odvést "to lead away, take off" → odvedu
zavést "to introduce, take in, install" → zavedu
dovést "to lead all the way / to be able to" → dovedu

Přivedu kamaráda, jestli ti to nevadí.

I'll bring a friend along, if that's okay with you. (perfective přivést → přivedu, future meaning)

Beware the twin: vést versus vézt

This is the trap that catches everyone. vést "to lead (on foot)" and vézt "to transport (by vehicle)" are pronounced identically in the infinitive — the z of vézt devoices to [s] before the t, so both sound like [vɛːst]. They split apart only once you conjugate, because their present stems differ: ved- versus vez-.

	vést (lead, on foot)	vézt (transport, by vehicle)
1sg present	vedu	vezu
3sg present	vede	veze
3pl present	vedou	vezou
past (masc.)	vedl	vezl
imperative	veď	vez
indeterminate partner	vodit	vozit

Vedu psa na vodítku, ale domů ho vezu autem.

I'm walking the dog on a leash, but I'm driving him home by car. (vedu = on foot, vezu = by vehicle)

Common Mistakes

❌ Vesu psa ven.

Incorrect — the stem is ved-, not ves-; the infinitive's s is misleading.

✅ Vedu psa ven.

I'm taking the dog out.

❌ Veď mě domů autem.

Incorrect — by car you need vézt; veď is for leading on foot.

✅ Vez mě domů autem.

Drive me home.

❌ Každý den vedu děti do školy.

Incorrect — for a daily, habitual trip use the indeterminate vodit.

✅ Každý den vodím děti do školy.

Every day I take the kids to school.

❌ Jak se vedeš?

Incorrect — this greeting is impersonal; it doesn't take a personal ending.

✅ Jak se vede?

How's it going?

The two things to lock in: the present stem is ved- (so vedu, never vesu), and vést is "lead on foot, conduct," cleanly distinct from its sound-alike vézt "transport by vehicle." Once those click, the prefixed perfectives and idioms fall into place around them.

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