Questions & Answers about Počkejte prosím v parku.
Počkejte is the imperative form (a command or request) of the perfective verb počkat (to wait for a while / to wait until something happens).
- čekat = to wait (imperfective, ongoing process)
- počkat = to wait (perfective, focuses on the completion or a limited period)
Počkejte therefore means something like “Wait (for a bit / until then)”, not just “be in a state of waiting”. It suggests the action will have a natural end point (e.g., until someone arrives, until something happens).
The ending tells you who you are speaking to and the politeness level:
- Počkej – informal 2nd person singular (to one person you know well: a friend, child, someone your age in a casual setting).
- Počkejte –
- formal 2nd person to one person you address as “vy” (like French vous, German Sie), or
- 2nd person plural to more than one person (formal or informal).
In this sentence, počkejte is the polite or plural form, so it means “(You – polite or you all) wait…”.
Formation of the imperative here is regular:
- Take the infinitive: počkat.
- Form the 3rd person plural present: počkají (they will wait a bit).
- Remove -í: počkaj-.
- Add the imperative endings:
- - (or -Ø) / -j for ty (informal singular): počkej
- -te for vy (plural or formal): počkejte
So počkejte = imperative “you (plural/formal) wait (for a bit)”.
Both are imperatives, but they differ in aspect:
čekejte – from čekat (imperfective)
- Focuses on the process: “keep waiting”, “be in the state of waiting”
- Often used when you emphasize the ongoing nature.
počkejte – from počkat (perfective)
- Focuses on a limited period or completion: “wait (until something happens / for a while)”
- Often used when there is a clear endpoint.
In everyday speech, počkejte is very common when asking someone to wait for a moment, as in “Please wait in the park (for now / until I come)”.
Czech usually omits subject pronouns because the verb ending shows the person and number.
- English: You wait.
- Czech: Počkejte. (no vy, because -te already shows “you (plural/formal)”)
You can add the pronoun vy for emphasis or contrast:
- Vy počkejte v parku, já přijdu později.
You wait in the park, I will come later.
But in neutral speech, Vy is not necessary, so Počkejte prosím v parku. is completely natural.
Yes, in this sentence prosím functions as “please”, softening the imperative počkejte.
However, prosím is a very flexible word in Czech and can mean:
- please (in requests): Počkejte prosím v parku.
- you’re welcome (in reply to “thank you”)
- pardon? / sorry? (when you didn’t hear)
- here you are (when handing something to someone)
In this context, it is clearly the polite “please” before or after a request.
Yes. Word order in Czech is quite flexible, especially for words like prosím. Common variants include:
- Prosím, počkejte v parku. – Slightly more formal; prosím as a separate politeness phrase at the start.
- Počkejte, prosím, v parku. – Very natural; commas show prosím as a parenthetical “please”.
- Počkejte prosím v parku. – Also natural; often written without commas in short sentences.
- V parku prosím počkejte. – Emphasizes “in the park” (not somewhere else).
The basic meaning stays the same; differences are mostly in emphasis and rhythm.
Because v requires a particular case, and parku is the locative singular of park.
- Nominative (dictionary form): park – “a park”
- Locative singular: v parku – “in the park”
The preposition v can take:
- locative: v parku = in the park (location)
- accusative: usually in other meanings (like movement entering a place, but that is more typical with do: do parku = into the park)
Here, we talk about location (“where?”), so we use v + locative: v parku.
Parku here is locative singular.
The locative case (often called 6th case in Czech school terminology):
- Is almost always used with prepositions (like v, na, o).
- Typically answers “where?”, “in/at/on what?”, or “about what?”
Examples:
- v parku – in the park
- na stole – on the table
- o filmu – about the movie
So v parku answers “Where should I wait?” → in the park.
Czech does not use articles (a/an, the) at all. There is no direct equivalent.
Whether English would use “a park” or “the park” must be understood from context, word order and sometimes additional words.
- Počkejte prosím v parku.
Can mean either:- Please wait in the park. (a specific park you both know)
- Please wait in a park. (if no specific park is identified – though this is less likely in real context)
Czech simply says v parku and leaves specificity to context.
Approximate phonetic transcription (IPA):
Počkejte → [ˈpotʃkɛjtɛ]
- po – as in “pot” but shorter.
- č – like “ch” in “church”.
- ej – like the English “ay” in “day”.
- Stress is on the first syllable: PO-čkejte.
prosím → [ˈprosɪːm]
- r is rolled.
- í is a long ee sound.
v parku → [fparku] in fast speech (the v may merge with the p)
- v – like v in “very”, but before p it can sound like f.
- park – similar to English “park”, but with a shorter a and a trilled r.
- u – like “oo” in “book” but a bit tighter.
Word stress in Czech is always on the first syllable of each word, so:
PO-čkejte PRO-sím v PAR-ku.
You change the verb to the informal 2nd person singular imperative:
- Počkej prosím v parku. – to one friend or child
Only the verb ending changes:
- Počkej (informal singular ty)
- Počkejte (formal or plural vy)
The rest of the sentence stays the same.