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Questions & Answers about Odpočet začíná teď.
What does odpočet mean, and what kind of noun is it?
Odpočet means countdown.
It is a masculine inanimate noun in Czech. In this sentence, it is in the nominative singular, because it is the subject of the verb:
- Odpočet začíná teď. = The countdown starts now.
A few singular case forms are:
- nominative: odpočet
- genitive: odpočtu
- dative: odpočtu
- accusative: odpočet
- locative: odpočtu
- instrumental: odpočtem
Why is začíná used here, and what form is it?
Začíná is the 3rd person singular present tense of začínat, which means to begin / to start.
It agrees with odpočet, which is singular:
- odpočet začíná = the countdown begins / is beginning
Basic present-tense forms of začínat:
- začínám = I begin
- začínáš = you begin
- začíná = he/she/it begins
- začínáme = we begin
- začínáte = you (plural/formal) begin
- začínají = they begin