Karoserie je čistá.

Breakdown of Karoserie je čistá.

být
to be
čistý
clean
karoserie
the car body

Questions & Answers about Karoserie je čistá.

Why is karoserie ending in -e here?

Because karoserie is a feminine noun in the nominative singular. Its dictionary form is also karoserie, so the form in this sentence is the basic subject form.

In Karoserie je čistá, karoserie is the subject of the sentence, so it stays in the nominative.

What gender is karoserie?

Karoserie is feminine in Czech. You can tell this matters because the adjective čistá also appears in a feminine singular form to match it.

So the agreement is:

  • karoserie — feminine singular
  • čistá — feminine singular
Why is it je and not something else?

Je is the 3rd person singular form of the verb být (to be).

So:

  • já jsem = I am
  • ty jsi = you are
  • on / ona / ono je = he / she / it is

Since karoserie is a singular noun, Czech uses je: Karoserie je čistá.

Why is it čistá and not čistý or čisté?

Czech adjectives must agree with the noun they describe in gender, number, and case.

Because karoserie is:

the adjective must also be feminine singular nominative:

  • masculine: čistý
  • feminine: čistá
  • neuter: čisté

So čistá is used because it matches karoserie.

Is karoserie the same as English body?

Not usually. In this context, karoserie means the body of a vehicle, especially a car — often translated as bodywork, car body, or vehicle body.

So it does not normally mean a human body. For a human body, Czech would usually use tělo.

Why is there no word for the?

Czech has no articles, so there is no direct equivalent of the or a/an in ordinary sentences.

That means Karoserie je čistá can mean:

  • The bodywork is clean
  • A body is clean
  • The car body is clean

Which one sounds best depends on the context.

Can the verb je be left out?

Normally, no. In the present tense, Czech usually keeps the verb být in sentences like this.

So:

  • Karoserie je čistá. = correct
  • Karoserie čistá. = not normal standard Czech

Czech often drops subject pronouns, but not the verb to be here.

What is the basic word order, and can it change?

The basic word order here is:

So it follows a pattern similar to English: Subject + is + adjective.

Czech word order is more flexible than English, so other orders are possible for emphasis, for example:

  • Čistá je karoserie.
  • Je čistá karoserie.

But the most neutral, ordinary version is Karoserie je čistá.

How is čistá pronounced?

Čistá is pronounced approximately like chis-taa.

A few pronunciation points:

  • č sounds like ch in check
  • i is a short vowel
  • stá has a long á, so that vowel is held a little longer

So the stress is on the first syllable, as usual in Czech: ČIS-tá.

What case is čistá in?

It is in the nominative singular feminine, because it agrees with karoserie, which is also nominative singular feminine.

In this sentence, čistá is a predicate adjective after je, but in Czech it still matches the subject in gender, number, and case.

Would this sentence still work if we were talking about more than one car body?

No, the forms would need to change to plural.

For example:

  • singular: Karoserie je čistá.
  • plural: Karoserie jsou čisté.

Here the changes are:

  • je → jsou because the subject is plural
  • čistá → čisté because the adjective must agree with a plural noun

So Czech changes both the verb and the adjective to match the number.

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