Tah soupeře je dobrý.

to be

Breakdown of Tah soupeře je dobrý.

• dobrý: good
• tah: the move; the turn in a game
• soupeř: the opponent

Questions & Answers about Tah soupeře je dobrý.

What does each word do in Tah soupeře je dobrý?

A word-by-word breakdown:

• tah = move (for example in a game such as chess)
• soupeře = of the opponent / the opponent’s
• je = is
• dobrý = good

So the structure is basically:

• Tah soupeře = the opponent’s move
• je dobrý = is good

The subject of the sentence is tah soupeře.

Why is it soupeře and not soupeř?

Because Czech changes noun endings according to case.

The basic dictionary form is soupeř = opponent.
Here, it is not standing alone. It means of the opponent / the opponent’s, so Czech uses the genitive case:

• soupeř = opponent
• soupeře = of the opponent

So:

• tah soupeře = the opponent’s move

This is one of the most common uses of the genitive in Czech: showing possession or relationship.

What case is soupeře here?

It is genitive singular.

Why genitive? Because after one noun, Czech often uses the genitive to mean of X:

• tah soupeře = move of the opponent
• natural English: the opponent’s move

So if you see a pattern like noun + noun in genitive, it often works like English possession.