Plášť a ventilek jsou špinavé.

The tyre and valve are dirty.

Breakdown of Plášť a ventilek jsou špinavé.

• být: to be
• a: and
• špinavý: dirty
• plášť: the bicycle tyre

Questions & Answers about Plášť a ventilek jsou špinavé.

Why is the verb jsou plural here?

Because the subject has two things: plášť a ventilek = the tire and the valve. In Czech, just like in English, two nouns joined by a (and) make a plural subject, so the verb must also be plural.

• je = is (singular)
• jsou = are (plural)

So:

• Plášť je špinavý. = The tire is dirty.
• Ventilek je špinavý. = The valve is dirty.
• Plášť a ventilek jsou špinavé. = The tire and the valve are dirty.

Why is it špinavé and not špinaví or špinavá?

This is about adjective agreement.

The adjective špinavý (dirty) has to agree with the whole subject in number and, in the plural, also in gender type.

Both plášť and ventilek are masculine inanimate nouns. When a plural subject is masculine inanimate, the adjective takes the plural ending -é:

• masculine inanimate plural: špinavé

So:

• špinaví is used for masculine animate plural (for example men or animals in some contexts)
• špinavá is used for feminine singular or neuter plural, depending on context
• špinavé is correct here because the combined subject is treated as masculine inanimate plural

What genders are plášť and ventilek?