Breakdown of Tipneme si odpověď a odevzdáme odpovědní arch.
a
and
odpověď
the answer
odpovědní arch
the answer sheet
tipnout si
to make a guess
Questions & Answers about Tipneme si odpověď a odevzdáme odpovědní arch.
Why do tipneme and odevzdáme look like present tense forms if the sentence means something in the future?
In Czech, these are perfective verbs, and perfective verbs normally use their “present-tense” forms to express a future completed action.
So:
- tipneme si = we will make a guess
- odevzdáme = we will hand in / submit
This is very common in Czech. A literal form that looks present to an English speaker often has future meaning when the verb is perfective.
For comparison:
- tipujeme = we are guessing / we guess repeatedly or generally
tipneme si = we’ll take a guess
- odevzdáváme = we are handing in / we hand in
- odevzdáme = we will hand in
What does si mean in tipneme si? Can I translate it directly?
Usually, no direct English word is needed.
Si is a short reflexive/dative particle that often appears in idiomatic verbs. In tipnout si, it helps form the natural Czech expression meaning to take a guess or to make a guess.
So:
- tipnout odpověď is less natural here
- tipnout si odpověď is the normal idiomatic phrasing
You can think of it as something like have oneself a guess, but that is only a rough aid. In normal English translation, you usually just ignore si and say guess.
Why is there no word for we in the sentence?