Class V: -á- Verbs (dělat)

Czech verbs fall into five present-tense classes, and the best one to learn first is the -á- class — traditionally numbered class V. It is the largest class, it is the most regular, and it is the safest default for new and borrowed verbs. If you only had time to learn one conjugation pattern, this would be the one, because it covers an enormous slice of everyday vocabulary with a single, exception-free set of endings.

The model verb for the whole class is dělat ("to do, to make"). Every verb in this class behaves exactly like it: you take the present stem, which ends in the vowel -á-, and add a short personal ending. There are no stem changes to worry about, no consonant alternations, no irregular forms inside the class. Once dělat is automatic, you have the entire class for free.

The one thing to anchor in your ear from the start is the long -á- vowel that gives the class its name. It runs through almost every form: dělám, děláš, dělá. Keeping that long vowel clear is what stops you from confusing this class with the -í- class, where the dominant vowel is a long -í- instead.

The full paradigm: dělat

Notice that, as is standard in Czech, the subject pronouns in parentheses are normally dropped — the endings already tell you who the subject is. Děláš can only be "you (sg.) do."

Watch the third person plural: -ají, not *-ajou

The one ending that trips learners up is the third person plural. In the standard written and spoken language it is -ají: dělají ("they do"). It is not -ajou, even though the parallel ending sounds tempting by analogy with other classes.

That said, you will absolutely hear (informal) colloquial variants. In Common Czech (the everyday spoken variety, regional: Bohemia), the 3pl is often shortened to -aj — dělaj, čekaj, hledaj — and the 1sg/2pl endings can be relaxed too. These are normal in casual speech but should not appear in writing or formal contexts. For learning purposes, master the standard -ají first; the colloquial forms are covered separately on the colloquial present endings page.

Common members of the class

These all conjugate identically to dělat. Learn the pattern once and apply it to every one of them.

The verb ptát se is reflexive — it always travels with the little word se — but the verb itself conjugates as a perfectly ordinary -á- verb: ptám se, ptáš se, ptá se.

The safe default for new verbs

There is a practical reason this class matters so much: it is the productive class. When Czech borrows a foreign verb or coins a new one, it almost always lands in the -á- class. Loanwords like trénovat would actually go to the -ovat type, but informal coinages and many adapted verbs follow the dělat model. The upshot is that when you meet an unfamiliar verb and have to guess, the -á- pattern is the statistically smart bet far more often than any other.

Don't confuse -á- with -í-

The single most useful contrast to fix in your mind is the difference between this class and the -í- class (class IV), whose model verb is prosit ("to ask, to request"). They share the same skeleton of endings but differ in the stem vowel.

The vowel does all the distinguishing work: dělá has a long -á-, prosí has a long -í-. Mispronouncing one as the other can change which verb the listener hears, so the vowel really matters.

A trap: the infinitive -at does not guarantee this class

It would be wonderfully tidy if every verb whose infinitive ends in -at belonged to the -á- class. It does not. The most important counterexample is psát ("to write"): its infinitive ends in -at, but its present tense is píšu, píšeš, píše — a completely different class (the -e- class, where the stem even changes from ps- to píš-). So you cannot read the class off the infinitive's ending alone.

Common Mistakes

Key Takeaways

• The -á- class (class V), modelled on dělat, is the largest, most regular present class.
• Endings: -ám, -áš, -á, -áme, -áte, -ají.
• The standard 3pl is -ají (dělají); colloquial -aj is conversational only, and *-ajou is simply wrong.
• Common members: čekat, hledat, snídat, dávat, ptát se.
• It's the safe default for many new verbs — but the infinitive -at does not guarantee membership (psát → píšu).
• Keep the long -á- distinct from the -í- of the prosit class.