Tolik lidí čeká venku.

Tolik means something like so many, that many, or this many, depending on context.

In Tolik lidí čeká venku, it most naturally means so many people. It expresses a large quantity, often with a feeling of surprise, emphasis, or pointing something out.

A useful pattern is:

• tolik lidí = so many people
• tolik práce = so much work
• tolik času = so much time

So tolik can be used with both countable and uncountable nouns.

Because after quantity words like tolik, Czech normally uses the genitive plural.

So:

• lidé = people, in the nominative plural
• lidí = of people, in the genitive plural

That means:

• Lidé čekají venku. = People are waiting outside.
• Tolik lidí čeká venku. = So many people are waiting outside.

Also, this word family is irregular:

• singular: člověk = person
• plural nominative: lidé = people
• plural genitive: lidí

So lidí is not the basic dictionary form; it is a case form used after expressions of quantity.

Because Czech often treats quantity expressions like tolik lidí as a kind of amount, and the verb is then commonly put in the singular.

So:

• Lidé čekají venku. = People are waiting outside.
• Tolik lidí čeká venku. = So many people are waiting outside.

This is very common with expressions like:

• mnoho lidí
• hodně lidí
• tolik lidí
• pět lidí

For an English speaker, this can feel strange, because English still uses a plural verb: so many people are. Czech does not always match that pattern.

Čeká is the 3rd person singular present tense of čekat.

The verb forms are:

• čekám = I wait / I am waiting
• čekáš = you wait / you are waiting
• čeká = he, she, it waits / is waiting

In this sentence, it is singular because of the quantified subject tolik lidí.

Also, Czech present tense often covers what English expresses with either:

• waits
• is waiting

So čeká can correspond to either waits or is waiting, depending on context.

Because Czech does not use a separate progressive form like English be + -ing.

So Czech čeká can mean:

• waits
• is waiting

The context tells you which is more natural in English. In this sentence, the ongoing situation is obvious, so English usually says are waiting.

This is normal in Czech:

• Sedí doma. = He/She is sitting at home.
• Pracuju. = I am working.
• Čeká venku. = He/She is waiting outside.

Venku is an adverb, not a noun in a case form.

It means outside or outdoors as a location.

So in this sentence:

• venku = outside

Because it is an adverb, you do not analyze it as nominative, accusative, and so on.

This is a very useful distinction:

• venku = outside, meaning a location
• ven = out, often showing direction or movement

Compare:

• Čeká venku. = He/She is waiting outside.
• Jde ven. = He/She is going out.

So in your sentence, venku is correct because it describes where the people are waiting, not movement toward outside.

Yes. Czech word order is flexible, and changing it usually changes emphasis, not the basic meaning.

For example:

• Tolik lidí čeká venku.
  Neutral, with emphasis on so many people.

• Venku čeká tolik lidí.
  Brings outside forward, as if setting the scene first.

• Čeká venku tolik lidí.
  Possible, but less neutral; it may sound more stylistic or context-dependent.

English word order is much more fixed, but Czech often uses word order to highlight what is new, important, or contrasted.

Because Czech has no articles like English a/an and the.

Whether something is definite or indefinite is usually understood from context.

So Tolik lidí čeká venku can be understood naturally without any article. Czech does not need a separate word for the people or some people here.

This is one of the biggest differences from English.

Yes. They are all possible, but the tone is a little different.

• tolik lidí = so many people / that many people
  Often more expressive or context-linked.

• hodně lidí = a lot of people
  Very common in everyday speech.

• mnoho lidí = many people
  Correct, but often a bit more formal or written.

• spousta lidí = lots of people
  Informal and very natural in speech.

So these are all possible:

• Hodně lidí čeká venku.
• Mnoho lidí čeká venku.
• Spousta lidí čeká venku.

But tolik lidí specifically adds the idea of so many or that many.

Then čekat usually takes na + accusative.

Examples:

• Čekám na autobus. = I’m waiting for the bus.
• Tolik lidí čeká venku na koncert. = So many people are waiting outside for the concert.
• Čekají na kamaráda. = They are waiting for a friend.

In your sentence, there is no expressed object, so čeká stands on its own:

• Tolik lidí čeká venku. = So many people are waiting outside.