Word
Než abych čekal na opravu, raději utáhnu šroub na řídítkách.
Meaning
Rather than wait for a repair, I would rather tighten the screw on the handlebars.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Než abych čekal na opravu, raději utáhnu šroub na řídítkách.
než
than
na
for
na
on
čekat
to wait
Questions & Answers about Než abych čekal na opravu, raději utáhnu šroub na řídítkách.
What does Než abych mean here?
In this sentence, než abych means something like rather than or instead of.
So:
- Než abych čekal na opravu = Rather than wait for the repair
- more literally: Than that I would wait for the repair
This is a very common Czech pattern:
- Než abych X, raději Y.
= Rather than X, I’d rather Y.
It expresses a preference between two options.
Why is it abych čekal and not just čekat?
Because Czech often uses the construction než abych + conditional form where English would often use an infinitive or rather than + -ing.
So English says:
- Rather than waiting...
- Instead of waiting...
But Czech commonly says:
- Než abych čekal...
Here:
- abych = a form meaning so that I would / for me to
- čekal = the masculine singular past-form element used in the conditional
Together, abych čekal means that I would wait.
This is not past tense here. It is part of the conditional-style structure.
Is past tense in this sentence?