Zámek je na truhle.

to be

Breakdown of Zámek je na truhle.

• na: on
• zámek: the lock
• truhla: the chest

Questions & Answers about Zámek je na truhle.

Why is it truhle and not truhla?

Because na here means on in the sense of location, and with location Czech uses the locative case.

• basic form: truhla = chest, trunk
• locative singular: na truhle = on the chest

So the sentence uses:

• zámek = the lock
• je = is
• na truhle = on the chest

This is a very common pattern in Czech:

• na stole = on the table
• na židli = on the chair
• na truhle = on the chest

What case is truhle?

Truhle is in the locative singular.

The noun truhla is a feminine noun, and after na when talking about location, it changes into the locative:

• nominative: truhla
• locative: na truhle

A learner often notices that many feminine nouns ending in -a change to -e or -ě in the locative singular.

Why does na mean on here? Can it ever mean something else?