Learn Hardcore Czech: Kde je teď tvůj syn?

The most neutral order for a where-question with to be is:
- Kde + je + (časové slovo) + podmět
- Kde je teď tvůj syn?
You can also hear:
- Kde je tvůj syn teď? – still natural; teď is moved to the end for emphasis.
- Kde teď je tvůj syn? – possible, but sounds a bit more expressive or emotional.
- Kde tvůj syn je teď? – unusual, marked word order; might sound poetic or strongly emphatic.

For everyday speech, Kde je teď tvůj syn? is the most natural version.

What is the difference between kde and kam?

Both relate to location, but:

kde = where (something/someone is) – location, no movement
- Kde je tvůj syn? – Where is your son?
kam = where (to) / to where – direction, movement
- Kam jde tvůj syn? – Where is your son going (to)?

So in this sentence, you use kde because you are asking about his current position, not his destination.

Why is je used here, and what verb is it from?

Je is the 3rd person singular present of the verb být (to be).

být = to be
je = he/she/it is

So Kde je…? literally means Where is…?

Other present forms of být:

jsem – I am
jsi – you are (singular informal)
je – he/she/it is
jsme – we are
jste – you are (plural or formal singular)
jsou – they are

Why is syn in this form? Why not something like syna?

In Kde je teď tvůj syn?, syn is the subject of the sentence (the thing that is somewhere). Subjects in Czech stand in the nominative case.

syn = son in nominative (dictionary form)

Other cases (just to see the difference):

Vidím tvého syna. – I see your son. (syna = accusative)
Dám to tvému synovi. – I’ll give it to your son. (synovi = dative)

Here you are asking who is (where), so nominative syn is correct.

How does tvůj work, and why is it tvůj and not something like tvá or tvé?

Tvůj means your (singular, informal). It behaves like an adjective and must agree in gender, number, and case with the noun.

syn is masculine singular (animate), nominative.
The matching form of tvůj in nominative masculine singular is tvůj.

Some nominative singular forms of tvůj:

tvůj syn – your son (masculine)
tvá sestra / tvoje sestra – your sister (feminine)
tvé dítě / tvoje dítě – your child (neuter)

So with syn, you must say tvůj syn.

What is the difference between tvůj and váš?

Both mean your, but the usage is different:

tvůj – informal singular
- used when speaking to one person you’re on ty terms with (friends, family, peers).
váš – either:
- formal singular (speaking politely to one person, vy)
- or plural (speaking to more than one person, familiar or formal)

So:

Kde je teď tvůj syn? – speaking informally to one person.
Kde je teď váš syn? – either:
- politely to one person, or
- to several people (your collective son, or whose son you’re asking about in group context).

Can I drop tvůj and just say Kde je teď syn?

You can, but the meaning changes:

Kde je teď tvůj syn? – clearly your son.
Kde je teď syn? – the son in general; whose son is understood from context (e.g. everyone knows which son is being discussed).

Without tvůj, it no longer explicitly says your, just the son.

Where can teď go in the sentence? Are other positions correct?

Teď means now, and it is relatively flexible. All of these are possible:

Kde je teď tvůj syn? – most neutral.
Kde je tvůj syn teď? – neutral, slight emphasis on now at the end.
Kde teď je tvůj syn? – more emphatic, can sound slightly emotional.
Teď kde je tvůj syn? – unusual, sounds quite marked or rhetorical.

For normal conversation, prefer Kde je teď tvůj syn? or Kde je tvůj syn teď?

How do you pronounce teď and tvůj? The consonants look tricky.

teď

t – like English t.
e – like e in bed.
ď – a softened d, made with the middle/front of the tongue, somewhat like dy in dune (in many accents), but shorter and palatal.
The ď is soft because of the accent mark (háček).

Approximate pronunciation: tyed (but with a softer, more palatal d).

tvůj

t – like English t.
v – like English v.
ů – a long oo sound, like in food.
j – like English y in yes.

Approximate pronunciation: tvooy (one syllable).

Why doesn’t Czech use a word for the in the son?

Czech has no articles like a/an or the. Definiteness (whether you mean a son or the son) is usually clear from context.

syn can mean a son or the son, depending on the situation.
Possessives like tvůj, váš, můj make things specific:
- tvůj syn – your son (definite because of the possessive).

So in Kde je teď tvůj syn?, no separate word for the is needed.

How would I say this if I were asking about more than one son?

You need plural for both the noun and the verb:

Kde jsou teď tvoji synové? – Where are your sons now?

Changes:

je → jsou (3rd person plural of být)
tvůj syn → tvoji synové (masculine animate plural, nominative)

Informal vs formal is the same pattern:

informal: tvoji synové
formal/plural: vaši synové → Kde jsou teď vaši synové?

How is this question pronounced as a whole, and what about intonation?

Approximate pronunciation (in rough English-like spelling):

Kde je teď tvůj syn? → gde ye tyed tvooy sin?

Notes:

K in kde is pronounced; it’s not silent.
The stress in Czech is almost always on the first syllable of the word:
- Kde – stress on Kde
- je – stress on je
- teď – stress on teď
- tvůj – stress on tvůj
- syn – stress on syn

Intonation:

Wh‑questions (with kde, kdo, co, etc.) usually have a falling intonation at the end, similar to English Where is your son now?
So your voice typically goes down on syn.