Šatna je malá.

The changing room is small.

Breakdown of Šatna je malá.

• být: to be
• malý: small
• šatna: the changing room

Questions & Answers about Šatna je malá.

What gender is šatna, and how can I tell?

Šatna is feminine.

A useful clue is the ending -a. In Czech, many nouns ending in -a are feminine. Because šatna is feminine, any adjective describing it must also use a feminine form, which is why you get malá and not malý or malé.

Why is it malá and not malý?

Because the adjective has to agree with the noun.

Since šatna is:

• feminine
• singular
• nominative

the adjective must also be:

• feminine
• singular
• nominative

So:

• masculine: malý
• feminine: malá
• neuter: malé

That is one of the most important patterns in Czech grammar: adjectives change their endings to match the noun.

What does je mean here?

Je is the 3rd person singular form of the verb být = to be.

So:

• jsem = I am
• jsi/jseš = you are
• je = he/she/it is

In Šatna je malá, je means is.

Can Czech leave out , like some other Slavic languages do?