Záhon jsme přece zalévali.

We did water the garden bed, after all.

Breakdown of Záhon jsme přece zalévali.

• být: to be
• záhon: the garden bed
• zalévat: to water plants
• přece: after all

Questions & Answers about Záhon jsme přece zalévali.

What case is záhon, and why does it look the same as the dictionary form?

Here záhon is in the accusative singular, because it is the direct object of zalévat (to water).

It looks the same as the dictionary form because záhon is a masculine inanimate noun, and in the singular its nominative and accusative are often identical.

So:

• nominative: záhon
• accusative: záhon

You know it is accusative here from its role in the sentence, not from a special ending.

Why is záhon at the beginning of the sentence instead of after the verb?

Czech word order is much freer than English word order. Putting záhon first gives it special discourse importance: it becomes the topic or a contrastive element.

So Záhon jsme přece zalévali feels a bit like:

• As for the flower bed, we did water it
• The flower bed, we were watering it, after all

This can suggest contrast, for example:

• maybe someone thinks the flower bed was neglected
• maybe something else was not watered, but the flower bed was
• maybe the speaker is correcting someone

So the fronted object is not random; it helps shape the emphasis.

Why is jsme in second position?