The present tense of mít ("to have") is one of the easiest paradigms in Czech and one of the most useful. It expresses possession (mám velký dům), but it also carries a whole set of everyday idioms where English uses "to be" — mám hlad ("I'm hungry"), mám pravdu ("I'm right"). So learning these six forms unlocks far more than ownership.
The pleasant surprise is the regularity. Even though the infinitive mít is short and a bit irregular-looking, in the present it behaves like a textbook -á- class verb — the same family as dělat ("to do"). If you already know the -á- class, you already know mít.
This page drills the paradigm and its negatives. For what mít means and its idiom families, see the introduction to mít; for the full multi-tense paradigm, see the mít reference page.
The full present paradigm
| Person | Affirmative | Negative | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| (já) | mám | nemám | I have / don't have |
| (ty) | máš | nemáš | you have / don't have |
| (on / ona / ono) | má | nemá | he/she/it has / doesn't have |
| (my) | máme | nemáme | we have / don't have |
| (vy) | máte | nemáte | you (pl./formal) have / don't have |
| (oni / ony / ona) | mají | nemají | they have / don't have |
Negation could not be simpler: prefix ne- to every form. There is no irregularity here of the kind you met with být's není — mít is regular all the way down.
Mám velký dům.
I have a big house.
Nemáme čas.
We don't have time.
The -á- vowel runs through the whole verb
The long -á- is the signature of this class, and you can hear it in nearly every form: mám, máš, má, máme, máte. Only the 3rd-person plural breaks the pattern slightly, ending in -ají: mají ("they have"). Keep that long vowel clear — clipping mám to a short mam makes you hard to understand.
Máš hezký byt.
You have a nice flat.
Mají dvě děti.
They have two children.
The object of mít stands in the accusative
Whatever you have is a direct object, so it takes the accusative case. This makes mít a perfect everyday drill for accusative endings. With masculine animate nouns the change is most visible — nový pes becomes nového psa:
Mám nového psa.
I have a new dog.
Nemám žádné peníze.
I don't have any money.
Máte volný stůl pro dva?
Do you have a free table for two?
Don't worry about producing every accusative ending perfectly yet — just notice that mít always points to the accusative. The accusative as direct object page lays out the endings.
High-frequency idioms
Several mít expressions are so common they should be learned as whole chunks. Crucially, in many of them Czech uses mít where English uses be.
| Czech | Literally | Natural English |
|---|---|---|
| mít hlad | to have hunger | to be hungry |
| mít žízeň | to have thirst | to be thirsty |
| mít pravdu | to have truth | to be right |
| mít rád | to have glad | to like |
| mít se | to have oneself | to be doing / feel |
Máš pravdu, je to moje chyba.
You're right, it's my fault.
Mají se dobře, díky.
They're doing well, thanks.
Máte hlad? Můžeme se najíst.
Are you hungry? We can grab something to eat.
Asking and answering "How are you?"
The reflexive idiom mít se is the standard way to ask how someone is. The verb conjugates normally; the reflexive se simply travels along (and, like other clitics, prefers second position).
Jak se máš?
How are you doing? (informal)
Jak se máte?
How are you doing? (formal/plural)
Mám se fajn, a ty?
I'm doing fine, and you?
Questions and short answers
Czech forms yes/no questions with mít simply by intonation — there is no helper verb like English "do." So "Do you have time?" is just Máš čas? with a rising tone. This is a relief for English speakers, who tend to reach for an extra word that Czech does not need.
Máš čas?
Do you have time?
Máte to ještě?
Do you still have it?
In short answers, Czech repeats the verb rather than using "do." To answer Máš auto? ("Do you have a car?") you say Mám ("I do / I have one") or Nemám ("I don't"). The bare verb is the natural, idiomatic reply.
Máš sourozence? – Mám, mám bratra.
Do you have siblings? – I do, I have a brother.
Máte drobné? – Bohužel nemám.
Do you have any change? – Unfortunately I don't.
Common Mistakes
❌ Jsem hladový. (everyday speech, ordering food)
Unnatural — Czech expresses hunger with mít + noun, not být + adjective.
✅ Mám hlad.
I'm hungry.
❌ Mám velký dům? Ne, nejsem velký dům.
Incorrect — negate the verb mít with ne-, giving nemám.
✅ Mám velký dům? Ne, nemám velký dům.
Do I have a big house? No, I don't have a big house.
❌ Oni májí dvě děti.
Incorrect — the 3pl is mají (short a in the ending), not *májí; the long -á- of mám, máš does not carry into the -ají ending.
✅ Oni mají dvě děti.
They have two children.
❌ Jak máš?
Incorrect — 'How are you?' is the reflexive idiom mít se; the se is obligatory.
✅ Jak se máš?
How are you doing?
Key Takeaways
- Present of mít: mám, máš, má, máme, máte, mají; negatives are regular ne- forms (nemám...).
- Mít conjugates like the regular -á- class (dělat); the long -á- runs through the paradigm.
- Its object is in the accusative (Mám nového psa).
- Czech "has" states English "is": mám hlad (hungry), mám žízeň (thirsty), mám pravdu (right).
- Mít se ("to be doing") is how you ask Jak se máš? — the se is part of the idiom.
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Start learning Czech→Related Topics
- Mít — To Have (Introduction)A1 — The verb mít for possession, obligation, and many idioms.
- mít — to haveA1 — Full conjugation of mít (to have), its accusative object, the obligation construction mít + infinitive, and the everyday idioms mít se and mít rád.
- Present of BýtA1 — The full present paradigm of být and its negative forms.
- Class V: -á- Verbs (dělat)A1 — The largest and most regular present class, ending in -á-.
- The Accusative as Direct ObjectA1 — How the Czech accusative case marks the direct object — the noun that receives the action — and why the ending, not word order, does the work.