nést / nosit — to carry (determinate/indeterminate) | Czech Grammar

Czech does not have a single verb for "to carry." It has two imperfective verbs, nést and nosit, split along the same fault line as jít / chodit and jet / jezdit. nést is determinate: carrying in one direction, on one specific occasion, usually right now. nosit is indeterminate: carrying habitually, repeatedly, back and forth — and, by a natural extension, wearing clothes. They are not an aspect pair; both are imperfective. The choice is about the shape of the carrying, not whether it is finished. This page conjugates both in full and shows exactly when each is required.

The core distinction in one line

💡

nést = this load, this direction, now (Nesu ta šku domů — I'm carrying the bag home, right now). nosit = the habit (Nosím tašku každý den — I carry a bag every day) and, crucially, to wear (Nosím brýle — I wear glasses). English uses "carry" for both directions, which is why learners never think to choose.

Nesu tašku domů, je strašně těžká.

I'm carrying the bag home, it's terribly heavy (one trip, now).

Nosím tašku každý den do práce.

I carry a bag to work every day (habit).

nést — determinate (one load, one direction, now)

nést belongs to the Class I -e- paradigm. The present stem is nes-, with the bare endings -u / -eš / -e / -eme / -ete / -ou.

Person	Singular	Plural
1st	nesu	neseme
2nd	neseš	nesete
3rd	nese	nesou

Because nést is a determinate verb of motion, its future is not built with budu. It takes the prefix po-, exactly like jít → půjdu and jet → pojedu. The synthetic ponesu is the standard form; budu nést is heard in casual speech but is treated as nonstandard, so default to ponesu. The full closed set lives at the motion futures.

	Singular	Plural
Future (synthetic)	ponesu, poneseš, ponese	poneseme, ponesete, ponesou
Past (l-participle)	nesl (m), nesla (f), neslo (n)	nesli (m anim.), nesly (f / m inan.), nesla (n)
Imperative	nes (ty)	nesme (let's), neste (vy)

💡

The plural past is a classic trap: masculine animate nesli (-i), feminine and masculine-inanimate nesly (-y), but neuter plural is nesla (-a) — spelled like the feminine singular. So Děvčata nesla dárky ("The girls were carrying presents") uses nesla, because děvčata is grammatically neuter plural, never nesly.

Co to neseš v té krabici?

What are you carrying there in that box?

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 (male speaker).

Děvčata nesla dárky až ke dveřím.

The girls carried the presents all the way to the door.

Kufry jsou těžké — kdo je ponese?

The suitcases are heavy — who'll carry them?

nosit — indeterminate (habitual, repeated, "to wear")

nosit is a regular Class IV (-í-) verb. Its present stem is nos-, and because it is an ordinary indeterminate imperfective, its future is the plain budu + infinitive.

Person	Singular	Plural
1st	nosím	nosíme
2nd	nosíš	nosíte
3rd	nosí	nosí

	Singular	Plural
Future	budu nosit, budeš nosit, bude nosit	budeme nosit, budete nosit, budou nosit
Past (l-participle)	nosil (m), nosila (f), nosilo (n)	nosili (m anim.), nosily (f / m inan.), nosila (n)
Imperative	nos (ty)	nosme (let's), noste (vy)

The trigger words for nosit are the adverbs of frequency: každý den (every day), vždycky (always), často (often), nikdy (never). Any of them forces the indeterminate verb.

Pošťák nám nosí poštu kolem desáté.

The postman brings us the mail around ten (every day).

Nikdy nenosím hotovost, platím kartou.

I never carry cash, I pay by card.

nosit = to wear

Because wearing a piece of clothing is by nature something you do repeatedly, "to wear" is nosit, never nést. This covers clothes, glasses, jewellery, even a hairstyle.

Nosím brýle už od dětství.

I've worn glasses since childhood.

V zimě nosím čepici a šálu.

In winter I wear a hat and a scarf.

Tehdy nosila dlouhé vlasy.

Back then she wore her hair long.

Putting both in one breath

The neatest demonstration is a sentence that needs both verbs at once — a single trip happening now against the background habit.

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.

What they govern

Both verbs take a plain accusative object — the thing carried or worn — with no preposition. Don't insert s ("with"); the load is a direct object, not company.

Nese velkou kytici růží.

He's carrying a big bouquet of roses.

The perfective přinést — to bring

Prefix the determinate 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. Its own imperfective partner is přinášet; see přinášet / přinést.

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.

Common Mistakes

❌ Nesu brýle každý den.

Incorrect — wearing glasses is a habit, so it needs nosit, not the determinate nést.

✅ Nosím brýle každý den.

I wear glasses every day.

❌ 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.

❌ Budu nést ten kufr na nádraží.

Incorrect (nonstandard) — determinate nést builds its future with po-: ponesu.

✅ Ponesu ten kufr na nádraží.

I'll carry that suitcase to the station.

❌ 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 (male speaker).

❌ Děvčata nesly dárky.

Incorrect — děvčata is neuter plural, so the participle is nesla, not nesly.

✅ Děvčata nesla dárky.

The girls were carrying presents.

Key Takeaways

nést = one load, one direction, now (determinate); nosit = habitual, repeated, and to wear (indeterminate). Both are imperfective.
Present: nesu, neseš, nese… vs nosím, nosíš, nosí…. Past: nesl vs nosil.
nést builds its future synthetically (ponesu), like other determinate motion verbs; nosit uses budu nosit.
Past plural neuter is nesla / nosila (-a), distinct from feminine nesly / nosily (-y).
Both govern the plain accusative; the perfective přinést means "to bring."

Now practice Czech

Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.

Start learning Czech→