Questions & Answers about Ten dům je drahý.
In English we say This house or That house. What does ten mean exactly in Ten dům je drahý?
Ten is a basic demonstrative pronoun that can cover both this and that in English.
- It usually refers to something specific and already known in the situation: that particular house / this particular house.
- Czech does not always distinguish as sharply between this (near) and that (far) as English does in everyday speech.
If you really want to emphasize distance, you can use:
- tento dům – more like this house (here)
- tamten dům – more like that house (over there)
But in most normal situations, ten dům can be translated as either this house or that house, depending on context.
Is ten like the English article the? Why do we use ten dům, not just dům?
Ten is not an article; it is a demonstrative pronoun (similar to this / that).
Czech has no articles at all (no a, an, or the). So:
- dům alone can mean a house, a/the house, or just house depending on context.
- ten dům is more specific, like that house / this house.
Both are possible:
- Dům je drahý. – The house is expensive. / A house is expensive. (depending on context)
- Ten dům je drahý. – That house (you know which one) is expensive.
Czech speakers often add ten / ta / to where English would use the, especially when they want to point out a particular, already mentioned thing.