Class V (-á-): the dělat pattern | Czech Grammar

Class V is the conjugation every learner wishes the whole language looked like. Its stem vowel -á- runs cleanly through almost every cell, the personal endings are the transparent -m / -š / Ø / -me / -te / -jí set, and the infinitive (-at) usually predicts the present (-ám) with no surprises. This page is the full paradigm reference for Class V, built on the model verb dělat ("to do, to make"). For the bigger picture of how the five classes fit together, see The Five Conjugation Classes; for the index grid, the class overview.

Present tense — the core table

Person	Form	Gloss
já	dělám	I do
ty	děláš	you do (sg.)
on / ona / ono	dělá	he / she / it does
my	děláme	we do
vy	děláte	you do (pl./formal)
oni / ony / ona	dělají	they do

Notice that the -á- is constant everywhere except the 3rd-person plural, where it absorbs into -ají. That single irregularity (dělají, not dělaí) is the only thing you have to remember about the present.

Co děláš dneska večer? Nemáš chuť na kino?

What are you doing tonight? Do you fancy a film?

Manžel vaří a já zatím dělám salát.

My husband is cooking and meanwhile I'm making the salad.

Rodiče dělají na zahradě celé odpoledne.

My parents have been working in the garden all afternoon.

Why -at usually means -ám

The friendly thing about Class V is that the infinitive ending -at maps directly onto a present in -ám: drop the -t, and you already have the 1st-person singular. This is why Class V is the safe default for any new -at verb you meet — guess Class V and you will be right far more often than not.

Infinitive	1sg present	3sg present	Meaning
dělat	dělám	dělá	to do, make
znát	znám	zná	to know (be acquainted)
čekat	čekám	čeká	to wait
dávat	dávám	dává	to give
volat	volám	volá	to call
ptát se	ptám se	ptá se	to ask
snídat	snídám	snídá	to have breakfast

Znáš dobrou hospodu tady poblíž?

Do you know a good pub nearby?

Čekám na tramvaj už dvacet minut.

I've been waiting for the tram for twenty minutes already.

Máma každé ráno dává dětem k snídani ovesnou kaši.

Mum gives the kids porridge for breakfast every morning.

Past tense (the l-participle)

The past is built the same way for every class: take the stem, add -l- plus a gender/number ending, and (in the 1st and 2nd person) add the present of být as an auxiliary — dělal jsem, dělala jsi. The class only supplies the stem děla-.

	Singular	Plural
masculine animate	dělal	dělali
masculine inanimate	dělal	dělaly
feminine	dělala	dělaly
neuter	dělalo	dělala

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Watch the bottom-right cell. The neuter plural past participle ends in -a (Auta stála, Dělala se zázraky), not in -ly. The -ly form (dělaly) is the masculine-inanimate and feminine plural — never the neuter. Mixing these up is one of the most persistent A2 errors.

Celý víkend jsme dělali na chalupě.

We spent the whole weekend working on the cottage.

Před domem čekala dvě auta.

Two cars were waiting in front of the house.

Imperative

The Class V imperative is formed from the present stem and ends in -ej: dělej (you sg.), dělejme (let's), dělejte (you pl./formal). The same shape gives čekej, volej, dávej, ptej se.

Dávej pozor na schody, jsou kluzké.

Watch the steps, they're slippery.

Dělej, ať nezmeškáme vlak!

Hurry up, so we don't miss the train! (informal — 'dělej' as 'get a move on')

The -at verbs that are NOT Class V

Here is the honest catch: the -at infinitive is a strong hint, not a guarantee. A small group of very common verbs end in -at but belong to Class I or III, with a completely different present stem. There is no rule that predicts them — you simply learn these by heart:

Infinitive	Looks like…	Actually (1sg)	Class
hrát	*hrám	hraju / hraji	III
brát	*brám	beru	I
psát	*psám	píšu / píši	I
zvát	*zvám	zvu	I

Hraju fotbal každou středu.

I play football every Wednesday. (hrát → hraju, Class III)

Píšu si deník už od dětství.

I've kept a diary since childhood. (psát → píšu, Class I)

Beru si k obědu jen polévku.

I just have soup for lunch. (brát → beru, Class I)

How Czech differs from English here

English has a single present form (I do, you do, they do) and bolts on auxiliaries for everything else. Czech packs person and number into the ending itself — dělám already says "I", so the pronoun já is normally dropped. The flip side is that the infinitive does not reliably tell you the present: where English speakers expect to do → I do to be mechanical, Czech makes you store the present stem with the verb. Class V is the one corner where that storage is almost free, because -at so reliably yields -ám.

Common Mistakes

❌ Já dělaju domácí úkol.

Incorrect — Class V takes 1sg -ám, not the Class III -uju.

✅ Já dělám domácí úkol.

I'm doing my homework.

❌ Rodiče dělajou na zahradě.

Incorrect — the standard 3pl is -ají; -ajou is colloquial/regional.

✅ Rodiče dělají na zahradě.

My parents are working in the garden.

❌ Hrám tenis s kamarádem.

Incorrect — hrát is not Class V despite the -át; the present is hraju/hraje.

✅ Hraju tenis s kamarádem.

I play tennis with a friend.

❌ Před domem čekaly dvě auta.

Incorrect — the neuter plural participle is -a, not -y: čekala.

✅ Před domem čekala dvě auta.

Two cars were waiting in front of the house.

Key Takeaways

Class V is the -á- / -ám pattern, modelled on dělat; the only present-tense quirk is the 3pl -ají.
An -at infinitive usually predicts an -ám present — guess Class V for unknown -at verbs.
But hrát, brát, psát, zvát are traps: they end in -at yet conjugate as Class I/III. Memorise them.
The past stem is děla- (neuter plural -a: čekala dvě auta); the imperative is dělej.

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