Autobus je plný lidí.

The bus is full of people.

Breakdown of Autobus je plný lidí.

• být: to be
• autobus: the bus
• plný: full
• člověk: the person

Questions & Answers about Autobus je plný lidí.

Why does Czech say Autobus je plný lidí instead of something like “Autobus je plný of lidí”? Where is the word of?

Czech usually doesn’t need a separate word like English of here. Instead, it shows this relationship by using the genitive case on the noun that follows the adjective.

• plný lidí literally means full (of) people
• The “of” idea is expressed by lidí being in the genitive case, not by a separate preposition.

This is common with adjectives that describe quantity or contents, such as:

• plný vody – full of water
• plný jídla – full of food
• plný energie – full of energy

Why is it lidí and not lidé in Autobus je plný lidí?

Lidé and lidí are two different forms of the same plural word:

• lidé – nominative plural (used for the subject of the sentence)
• lidí – genitive plural (used after plný, and in many other contexts)

In this sentence:

• The subject is autobus, not the people.
• The people are just specifying what the bus is full of, so they go into the genitive: plný lidí.

So:

• Lidé jsou v autobuse. – People are in the bus. (people = subject → nominative plural)
• Autobus je plný lidí. – The bus is full of people. (people = contents → genitive plural)

What is the base word behind lidí and why is it so irregular?

The singular word is člověk (a person, a human being).

Its plural is irregular:

• nominative plural: lidé – people
• genitive plural: lidí

So the pattern is:

• 1 person: člověk
• many people (subject): lidé
• many people (after plný, quantity expressions, etc.): lidí – e.g.
  
  • hodně lidí – a lot of people
  • bez lidí – without people
  • plný lidí – full of people

You simply need to memorize člověk – lidé – lidí as a special set.

What is the grammatical gender of autobus, and why is the adjective plný in that form?

Autobus is masculine inanimate.

The adjective plný agrees with autobus in:

• gender: masculine
• number: singular
• case: nominative (because it’s a predicate after je)

Masculine singular nominative forms of this adjective are:

• plný – masculine animate & inanimate
• plná – feminine
• plné – neuter

So:

• Autobus je plný lidí. – The bus is full of people. (masc. sg.)
• Tramvaj je plná lidí. – The tram is full of people. (fem. sg.)
• Náměstí je plné lidí. – The square is full of people. (neut. sg.)

Can I change the word order in Autobus je plný lidí?

Basic neutral order is exactly what you see: Autobus je plný lidí.

Other possibilities:

• Autobus je lidí plný. – possible, but sounds more emphatic or stylistic
• Je plný lidí autobus? – as a yes/no question, sounds unusual; you’d normally keep autobus earlier:
  • Je autobus plný lidí? – Is the bus full of people?

In everyday speech, the most natural versions are:

• Statement: Autobus je plný lidí.
• Question: Je autobus plný lidí?

Could I say Autobus je plný lidmi instead of lidí?

No, not in standard modern Czech.

• plný normally takes the genitive case for contents: plný lidí, plný vody, plný jídla, etc.
• lidmi is instrumental plural, and that case does not work with plný in this meaning.

You might encounter instrumental in some older or literary phrases after certain adjectives, but with plný + “full of X”, the standard pattern is plný + genitive.

Is there any difference between plný and words like přeplněný or narvaný?

Yes, there’s a nuance of degree and style:

• plný – full, filled; neutral and standard

  • Autobus je plný lidí. – The bus is full of people. (no empty seats, but not necessarily extremely uncomfortable)

• přeplněný – overfilled, overcrowded; more formal/neutral

  • Autobus je přeplněný. – The bus is overcrowded.

• narvaný – crammed, packed; very colloquial, expressive

  • Autobus je narvaný lidmi. – The bus is crammed with people.

So plný just states “full”; přeplněný/narvaný suggest more than full / overcrowded.

Can plný be used with other things than people, and is the structure always the same?

Yes. The pattern is the same: plný + genitive of what something is full of.

Examples:

• Sklenice je plná vody. – The glass is full of water.
• Košík je plný jablek. – The basket is full of apples.
• Město je plné turistů. – The city is full of tourists.
• Email je plný chyb. – The email is full of mistakes.

So you can generalize: [something in nominative] + je plný / plná / plné + [contents in genitive].

How do you pronounce Autobus je plný lidí?

Approximate pronunciation (with English-like hints):

• Autobus – [OW-too-bus]

  • Au like in “house”
  • stress on the first syllable: AU-tu-bus

• je – [yeh]

  • short e, like in “get”

• plný – [PL-nee]

  • pln- is a bit tricky: p
    • l
      • a very short, neutral vowel; it can sound to English ears like pln with almost no vowel
  • ý is a long “ee” sound; length is important

• lidí – [LI-dee]

  • stress on li-
  • í at the end is also a long “ee” sound

Czech stress is almost always on the first syllable of each word, and long vowels (ý, í, á, etc.) are held longer than short ones.

Why is there no word for “the” in Autobus je plný lidí?

Czech has no articles (no a/an, no the). Definite and indefinite meanings are expressed by:

• context
• word order
• sometimes by demonstratives (ten, ta, to)

So Autobus je plný lidí can mean:

• The bus is full of people.
• A bus is full of people.

In a real conversation, context usually makes it clear, and English naturally chooses the bus in most realistic situations. If you really wanted to emphasize “that specific bus”, you could say:

• Ten autobus je plný lidí. – That (or the particular) bus is full of people.

Can I combine people and things in this structure, like “The bus is full of people and bags”?

Yes. You just keep the same genitive pattern for each noun:

• Autobus je plný lidí a zavazadel.
  
  • lidí – genitive plural of lidé
  • zavazadel – genitive plural of zavazadlo (luggage, bags)

More examples:

• Město je plné turistů a aut. – The city is full of tourists and cars.
• Skříň je plná oblečení a bot. – The wardrobe is full of clothes and shoes.

I heard people say plnej instead of plný. Is Autobus je plnej lidí correct?

plnej is a colloquial spoken form of plný.

• Autobus je plný lidí. – standard, correct everywhere (spoken and written).
• Autobus je plnej lidí. – very common in informal speech, but not recommended in formal writing, school essays, official documents, etc.

So yes, you will hear plnej a lot in everyday conversation, but you should learn and actively use plný as the standard form.