Tolik lidí čeká venku.

to wait

Breakdown of Tolik lidí čeká venku.

• venku: outside
• člověk: the person
• tolik: so much; so many

Questions & Answers about Tolik lidí čeká venku.

What exactly does tolik mean here?

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.

Why is it lidí and not lidé?

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.

Why is the verb čeká singular, not čekají?