Znám toho pána.

Because ten pán is the nominative form, used for the subject of a sentence.

In Znám toho pána, the man is the direct object of znám, so Czech uses the accusative.

For a masculine animate noun like pán, the accusative changes:

• ten pán = nominative
• toho pána = accusative

So the sentence uses the correct object form.

Pán is a masculine animate noun. In Czech, masculine animate nouns often have:

• nominative singular: pán
• accusative singular: pána

This is a very important pattern in Czech grammar: for masculine animate nouns, the accusative often looks like the genitive.

Other examples:

• vidím studenta
• mám bratra
• znám učitele

So pána is just the accusative form required by the verb.

Because the demonstrative word must agree with the noun in gender, number, and case.

Here:

• the noun is masculine animate
• singular
• accusative

So ten becomes toho.

A quick comparison:

• nominative: ten pán
• accusative: toho pána

This agreement is normal in Czech and happens with adjectives and similar words too.

Znám is the 1st person singular present tense form of the verb znát.

So:

• znát = the dictionary form, to know / be acquainted with
• znám = I know

Other present-tense forms:

• znám = I know
• znáš = you know
• zná = he/she/it knows
• známe = we know
• znáte = you know
• znají = they know

This is one of the most common questions for learners.

Use znát when you mean:

• to know a person
• to be familiar with something
• to know a place, book, song, etc.

Use vědět when you mean:

• to know a fact
• to know information
• to know that something is true

So:

• Znám toho pána. = I know that man / I am acquainted with him.
• Vím to. = I know it.
• Vím, kde bydlí. = I know where he lives.

English uses know for both ideas, but Czech usually separates them.

Yes, you can.

But Czech often omits subject pronouns like já, because the verb ending already shows who the subject is.
Znám already clearly means I know.

So:

• Znám toho pána. = the neutral, natural version
• Já znám toho pána. = adds emphasis, contrast, or clarification

For example, já might be used if you want to stress I:

• Já znám toho pána, ale ty ne. = I know that man, but you don’t.

Yes. Czech word order is flexible, although the meaning stays basically the same because the case endings show the grammatical roles.

Possible versions include:

• Znám toho pána.
• Toho pána znám.

Both are correct, but they do not sound exactly the same.

A rough guide:

• Znám toho pána. = neutral
• Toho pána znám. = puts more emphasis on that man

So word order in Czech often affects focus or emphasis, not the core meaning.

Literally, toho is from ten, so it most directly means that.

However, Czech does not have articles like the and a, so in context this kind of phrase can sometimes feel more definite than the English word that might suggest.

Depending on context, English might translate it as:

• that man
• the man
• that gentleman

But grammatically, Czech is using the demonstrative ten/toho, not an article.

Not exactly.

• muž = man, male person
• pán = gentleman, man, sir, mister

Pán can sound a bit more polite or refer to a specific man in a more respectful way. In some contexts it is also used like Mr.:

• pan Novák = Mr. Novák

So toho pána often feels more like that man / that gentleman than just that male person.

A simple pronunciation guide is:

znahm TO-hoh PAA-nah

A few useful points:

• Czech stress is usually on the first syllable of each word.
• á is a long vowel, so:
  • znám has a long á
  • pána also has a long á
• h in toho is pronounced, unlike in English silent h words.

So the rhythm is roughly:

• ZNÁM toho PÁna

Znát is imperfective.

With a verb like znát, that is normal, because it describes a state: being acquainted with someone or something. Czech does not usually use a perfective partner here in the same way it would with action verbs.

So in this sentence, znám simply expresses the present state:

• I know / I am acquainted with that man

This is one of those verbs where aspect is less dramatic for beginners than with action pairs like psát / napsat.