Breakdown of Pohyb na obrazovce je pomalý.
Questions & Answers about Pohyb na obrazovce je pomalý.
Why is it na obrazovce? Does that literally mean on the screen?
Yes. Na obrazovce literally means on the screen.
Czech often uses na with things understood as surfaces or display areas, so na obrazovce is the normal way to say on the screen.
- na = on
- obrazovce = screen, in the form required after na here
So the phrase works very much like English on the screen.
Why does obrazovka become obrazovce?
Because after na in this meaning, Czech uses the locative case.
The dictionary form is obrazovka = screen.
After na, it changes:
- obrazovka → base form
- na obrazovce = on the screen
This is a normal case change. A learner does not need to know every detail at once, but it helps to notice that prepositions often force a noun into a different case.
Why is it pomalý and not pomalu?
Because pomalý is an adjective, while pomalu is an adverb.
In this sentence, pomalý describes the noun pohyb:
- pohyb = movement
- pomalý = slow
So the structure is basically:
- Movement is slow.
If you used pomalu, that would mean slowly, which describes how something happens, not what something is like.
Compare:
Why does pomalý end in -ý?
Because it agrees with pohyb, which is:
- masculine
- singular
- nominative
In Czech, adjectives change form to match the noun they describe.
Here:
- pohyb = masculine singular
- so the adjective is pomalý
If the noun were different, the adjective would change too:
What exactly is je here?
Can Czech leave out je here?
Normally, no. In standard Czech, you usually keep je in this kind of present-tense sentence.
So:
- Pohyb na obrazovce je pomalý. = correct
Leaving out je would sound incomplete in normal modern Czech.
This is different from some other Slavic languages where to be can be omitted in the present tense.
Why is there no word for the?
Because Czech does not have articles like a, an, and the.
So pohyb can mean:
- movement
- the movement
- sometimes even a movement
The exact meaning depends on context.
That is why Pohyb na obrazovce je pomalý can naturally mean The movement on the screen is slow even though there is no separate word for the.
Is Pohyb na obrazovce the subject of the sentence?
Yes. The subject is pohyb = movement.
The phrase na obrazovce simply adds more information about that movement: it tells you where the movement is.
So the sentence breaks down like this:
- pohyb = subject
- na obrazovce = prepositional phrase modifying pohyb
- je pomalý = predicate, is slow
In natural English terms, the subject is the movement on the screen.
Could the word order be different?
Yes. Czech word order is more flexible than English word order.
The neutral version here is:
- Pohyb na obrazovce je pomalý.
But other orders are possible for emphasis, for example:
- Na obrazovce je pohyb pomalý.
That might emphasize on the screen a bit more, depending on context.
Even though Czech word order can move around, the neutral textbook-style version is the one you were given.
Is this sentence natural Czech?
Yes, it is natural and correct.
It could be used in contexts like:
- describing lag in a game or app
- talking about animation quality
- commenting that motion on a display looks slow
Depending on context, a Czech speaker might also say something more specific, such as:
- Obraz na obrazovce se pohybuje pomalu. = The image on the screen moves slowly.
- Animace na obrazovce je pomalá. = The animation on the screen is slow.
But your original sentence is perfectly normal.
How is the sentence pronounced?
A rough pronunciation guide is:
POH-hyib na o-bra-ZOV-tseh ye PO-mah-lee
A few useful notes:
- Czech stress is almost always on the first syllable of each word.
- ch in pohyb is like the ch in German Bach or Scottish loch.
- c in obrazovce sounds like ts.
- ý is a long ee-like vowel.
A more careful approximation:
- Pohyb ≈ POH-hib / POH-hyib
- na ≈ nah
- obrazovce ≈ OH-bra-zov-tseh
- je ≈ yeh
- pomalý ≈ PO-ma-lee
What is the basic dictionary form of each word?
Here are the dictionary forms:
- pohyb = movement, motion
- na = on
- obrazovka = screen
- být = to be
- pomalý = slow
So in the sentence, two words appear in changed forms:
- obrazovka → obrazovce because of the preposition na
- být → je because it is conjugated as is
Could na obrazovce mean in the screen instead of on the screen?
In this sentence, the normal translation is on the screen.
Even though English sometimes uses in for things displayed visually, Czech idiom strongly prefers na obrazovce for what appears or happens on a screen.
So if you are talking about images, text, or movement shown by a display, na obrazovce is the phrase to remember.
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