Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Czech grammar and vocabulary.
Questions & Answers about Koupil jsem nám jablko.
Why is the verb split into koupil and jsem instead of a single word?
Czech forms the past tense with two parts: the past participle (koupil) plus the auxiliary present-tense verb jsem (1st person singular of být). Together they mean “I bought.”
Why do we say koupil jsem and not jsem koupil?
The neutral word order in affirmative sentences is participle + auxiliary. You can swap them for emphasis, but koupil jsem is the most natural.
Why is it nám and not nás?
Nám is the dative form “to/for us,” used for indirect objects. Nás is the accusative form “us” as a direct object, which wouldn’t fit here because you didn’t buy “us,” you bought something for us.
Why isn’t there a preposition like pro in front of nám?
In Czech you normally mark the indirect object with the dative case alone, without a preposition. Saying koupil jsem pro nás jablko is grammatically correct but less idiomatic.
Why is jablko unchanged in this sentence?
Jablko is a neuter noun. Neuter nouns have identical nominative and accusative singular forms, so as the direct object it stays jablko.
Could I use the imperfective verb kupovat instead of perfective koupit?
You could, but kupovat implies a repeated or habitual action: Kupoval jsem nám jablka (“I used to buy us apples”). For a single completed purchase you need the perfective koupit → koupil jsem.
Why isn’t the subject pronoun já included?
Czech verbs in conjugated form already encode the subject. Jsem shows it’s 1st person singular, so já is redundant and normally omitted unless you want to emphasize “I.”
Can I move nám before the verb? For example: Nám jsem koupil jablko.
Yes. Czech word order is flexible. Fronting nám emphasizes for us (“It was for us that I bought an apple”). Otherwise, the basic meaning stays the same.