Před prohlídkou jsem zdokumentoval příčinu a rozsah škody.

Because před requires the instrumental case here.

In this sentence, před means before in a time sense: before the inspection. With that meaning, Czech uses před + instrumental.

• prohlídka = inspection, examination
• instrumental singular: prohlídkou

So:

• před prohlídkou = before the inspection

This same pattern appears in other examples too:

• před schůzkou = before the meeting
• před obědem = before lunch
• před odjezdem = before departure

Prohlídka is a noun meaning something like inspection, examination, or viewing, depending on context.

In this sentence, it most naturally means an inspection or assessment visit—for example, an inspection related to damage.

Common meanings of prohlídka include:

• medical examination: lékařská prohlídka
• property viewing: prohlídka bytu
• inspection/check: technická prohlídka

So here, před prohlídkou most likely means before the inspection took place.

Jsem is the auxiliary verb to be used to form the past tense in Czech.

The past tense is built like this:

• auxiliary být in the present tense
• plus a past participle

So:

• jsem zdokumentoval = I documented

Compare:

• jsem udělal = I did
• jsem napsal = I wrote
• jsem zdokumentoval = I documented

In Czech, the subject pronoun já is usually omitted because jsem already shows the person clearly.

So:

• (Já) jsem zdokumentoval ... = I documented ...

Both are possible, but omitting já is more natural unless you want emphasis.

The form zdokumentoval tells you the speaker is male.

In the Czech past tense, the participle agrees with the subject’s gender:

• male speaker: zdokumentoval
• female speaker: zdokumentovala

So:

• Před prohlídkou jsem zdokumentoval ... = said by a man
• Před prohlídkou jsem zdokumentovala ... = said by a woman

This is a very common feature of Czech past tense verbs.

Because zdokumentovat is a perfective verb, and here it emphasizes a completed action.

• dokumentovat = to document, to be documenting, to document in an ongoing sense
• zdokumentovat = to document fully / to finish documenting

In this sentence, the speaker means that before the inspection, they completed the documentation of the cause and extent of the damage. So the perfective verb makes sense.

Very roughly:

• dokumentoval jsem = I was documenting / I documented (focus on process)
• zdokumentoval jsem = I documented it completely (focus on completion/result)

Both nouns are the direct objects of the verb, so both are in the accusative case. The reason they look different is simply that different noun types have different accusative forms.

1. příčina → příčinu

This is a feminine noun, and feminine nouns of this type usually change in the accusative singular:

• nominative: příčina = cause
• accusative: příčinu

2. rozsah → rozsah

This is a masculine inanimate noun, and for many masculine inanimate nouns, the accusative singular is the same as the nominative singular:

• nominative: rozsah = extent, scope
• accusative: rozsah

So in the sentence:

• příčinu = accusative
• rozsah = also accusative, even though it looks unchanged

Because škody is in the genitive case.

Here, škody depends on the nouns příčinu and rozsah:

• příčina škody = the cause of the damage
• rozsah škody = the extent of the damage

So the full phrase means:

• příčinu a rozsah škody = the cause and extent of the damage

The base noun is:

• škoda = damage, loss

Its genitive singular is:

• škody = of the damage

This is a very common Czech pattern, similar to English of:

• konec filmu = end of the film
• barva auta = color of the car
• příčina škody = cause of the damage

It belongs to both.

The sentence is understood as:

• příčinu škody a rozsah škody

But Czech often avoids repeating the same noun, so škody appears only once at the end.

So:

• příčinu a rozsah škody
  means
• the cause and the extent of the damage

This is very normal and natural in Czech.

Because Czech word order is flexible, and short forms like jsem often appear in the second position of the clause.

The sentence begins with:

• Před prohlídkou = before the inspection

Then the clitic-like auxiliary jsem comes next:

• Před prohlídkou jsem zdokumentoval ...

This is very natural Czech word order.

You could also say:

• Zdokumentoval jsem před prohlídkou příčinu a rozsah škody.

That is also grammatical, but it changes the emphasis a little. The original sentence foregrounds the time element: before the inspection.

Yes, but usually já is omitted unless you want emphasis or contrast.

Normal, neutral Czech:

• Před prohlídkou jsem zdokumentoval ...

With emphasis:

• Já jsem zdokumentoval ...
  = I documented it

You might use já if you are contrasting yourself with someone else:

• Já jsem zdokumentoval příčinu, ale on posoudil rozsah škody.
  = I documented the cause, but he assessed the extent of the damage.

So in most ordinary contexts, leaving out já is more natural.

A woman would say:

• Před prohlídkou jsem zdokumentovala příčinu a rozsah škody.

The only change is:

• zdokumentoval → zdokumentovala

Everything else stays the same.

A rough pronunciation guide:

• příčinu ≈ PREE-chee-noo

Key sounds:

• ří: the ř sound is uniquely Czech and can be difficult for English speakers. It is somewhat like a rolled or buzzing rzh sound, though there is no perfect English equivalent.
• č = ch in church
• u = oo in boot

So although the exact Czech ř takes practice, a learner-friendly approximation is:

• příčinu ≈ pree-chee-noo

But if you want to sound more accurate, you will eventually need to work specifically on ř.

It breaks down like this:

• Před prohlídkou = before the inspection
  
  • preposition + instrumental
• jsem zdokumentoval = I documented
  
  • past tense, masculine speaker
• příčinu a rozsah škody = the cause and extent of the damage
  
  • direct objects in the accusative, with škody in the genitive

So the structure is:

time expression + past tense verb + object

A literal gloss would be:

• Before the inspection, I documented the cause and extent of the damage.

That is a very natural and standard Czech sentence.