Kvásek musí vykynout.

must/to have to

Breakdown of Kvásek musí vykynout.

• kvásek: the sourdough starter
• vykynout: to finish rising; proof

Questions & Answers about Kvásek musí vykynout.

What case is kvásek in here?

Kvásek is in the nominative singular, because it is the subject of the sentence — the thing that must do the action.

• kvásek = the starter / leaven
• musí = must / has to
• vykynout = to rise fully

So grammatically, kvásek is simply the noun acting as the subject.

Why is there no word for the or a in Czech?

Czech normally does not use articles like English the and a/an.

So Kvásek musí vykynout can mean:

• The starter must rise
• A starter must rise
• The sourdough starter has to rise

Which one sounds best depends on the context. Czech leaves that information unstated unless something else makes it clear.

Why is it musí?

Musí is the 3rd person singular present tense form of the verb muset (to have to, must).

Because kvásek is singular, the verb is singular too:

• já musím = I must
• ty musíš = you must
• on / ona / ono musí = he / she / it must
• kvásek musí = the starter must

So musí agrees with the singular subject kvásek.

Why is vykynout in the infinitive?