Ten bůh je starý.

to be

Breakdown of Ten bůh je starý.

• ten: that
• starý: old
• bůh: a god

Questions & Answers about Ten bůh je starý.

What does ten mean here?

Ten is the masculine singular form of the demonstrative that.

So Ten bůh je starý most literally means That god is old.

In real Czech, ten can also sometimes feel a bit like the, depending on context, since Czech does not have articles like English does. So in some situations, a learner may see it translated more loosely as The god is old.

Why is it ten and not ta or to?

Because bůh is a masculine singular noun.

Czech demonstratives change according to gender:

• ten = masculine
• ta = feminine
• to = neuter

Since bůh is masculine, the correct form is ten bůh.

What does bůh mean, and why is it lowercase?

Bůh / bůh means god.

In your sentence it is written as bůh with a lowercase b, which normally means a god in a general sense.

If Czech is referring specifically to the monotheistic God, it is often written Bůh with a capital B.

So:

• bůh = a god
• Bůh = God

In your sentence, Ten is capitalized only because it is the first word of the sentence.

What does je mean?