Breakdown of V kurzu používáme novou učebnici, která je pro mě nejlepší.
Questions & Answers about V kurzu používáme novou učebnici, která je pro mě nejlepší.
V kurzu literally means “in the course / in class”.
- v = preposition “in”
- kurz = “course” (e.g. a language course)
- v kurzu is “in the course” (locative case)
Grammatically:
- The preposition v requires the locative case when it means “in/inside”.
- The basic (dictionary) form is kurz (nominative).
- Locative singular of kurz is kurzu (that’s why the ending changes).
So: v + kurz (N) → v kurzu (L).
Czech shows the subject in the verb ending, so the pronoun my (we) is usually dropped.
- používám = I use
- používáš = you (sg) use
- používá = he/she/it uses
- používáme = we use
- používáte = you (pl/formal) use
- používají = they use
Because -áme clearly shows 1st person plural, the sentence V kurzu používáme… already means “In the course we use…”, even without my.
You can say My v kurzu používáme…, but it’s only for emphasis or contrast (e.g. “We in our course use…”).
Because novou učebnici is the direct object of the verb používáme, and direct objects in this kind of sentence are in the accusative case.
- Dictionary forms: nová učebnice (new textbook)
- nová = feminine nominative singular (used for subjects)
- učebnice = feminine noun
In the sentence:
- Používáme co? → novou učebnici
(We use what? → a new textbook)
So we need accusative:
- nová → novou (feminine accusative singular)
- učebnice → učebnici (feminine accusative singular)
Hence: používáme novou učebnici = “we use a new textbook” (object).
Učebnice is a feminine noun.
- Nominative singular: (ta) učebnice
- Accusative singular: (tu) učebnici
Since it’s feminine, adjectives must agree in gender, number, and case:
- Nominative (subject):
- nová učebnice = a new textbook (as subject)
- Accusative (object):
- novou učebnici = a new textbook (as object)
So the endings -á → -ou (for nová → novou), and -e → -i (for učebnice → učebnici) are driven by:
- feminine gender
- singular number
- accusative case
Která is a relative pronoun, similar to English “which / that”.
The clause která je pro mě nejlepší is a relative clause describing učebnici:
- novou učebnici, která je pro mě nejlepší
= “a new textbook which is the best for me”
Agreement:
- která is feminine singular nominative, because it refers back to učebnici (feminine singular) and is the subject of the clause:
- (která) je pro mě nejlepší
- (which) is the best for me
If it were referring to a masculine noun, you would get který, for a neuter noun které, etc.
In Czech, relative clauses introduced by který / která / které… are normally separated by a comma.
- novou učebnici, která je pro mě nejlepší
→ main clause: V kurzu používáme novou učebnici
→ relative clause: která je pro mě nejlepší
Even if in English you might sometimes omit the comma (restrictive vs. non-restrictive), in Czech the comma is regularly used before který / která / které in this role.
After the preposition pro (for), the standard spoken form is mě (accusative form of já = I).
- pro koho? → pro mě = for me
There are three related forms learners see:
- mě – common after many prepositions, especially pro; usual in spoken and neutral written Czech
- mne – a bit more formal or stylistic variant of mě, also accusative
- mně – dative or locative (e.g. mně se to líbí = “I like it” / “it is pleasing to me”)
Here, because pro governs the accusative, we use mě / mne, not mně. In everyday usage, pro mě is the default.
Both pro mě nejlepší and nejlepší pro mě are possible and natural; Czech word order is relatively flexible.
- která je pro mě nejlepší
literally: “which is for me the best” - která je nejlepší pro mě
literally: “which is the best for me”
The meaning is the same; the difference is subtle emphasis:
- pro mě nejlepší slightly highlights “for me it is the best (maybe not for others)”.
- nejlepší pro mě sounds a bit more neutral or bookish in some contexts, but it’s fine.
In this sentence, pro mě nejlepší feels very natural and idiomatic.
Používáme is imperfective, from the verb používat = to use (habitually, repeatedly, over time).
Imperfective aspect:
- Focus on ongoing, repeated, or habitual action
- V kurzu používáme novou učebnici…
= “In the course we use / are using a new textbook” (as a standard practice)
The corresponding perfective verb is použít = “to use once / to make use of (on one occasion)”.
A form like použijeme (“we will use once”) wouldn’t fit this context of a regular course resource.
So používáme is correct, because it describes something done regularly in the course.
You sometimes see both v kurzu and na kurzu, but they can feel a bit different:
- v kurzu – more like “in the course (as part of the course content/structure)”
- na kurzu – more like “at the course / at the class (as an event/place)”
In this particular sentence, where we talk about the materials used in the course, V kurzu používáme… feels more natural because it refers to what’s used within the framework/content of the course.
Na kurzu používáme… is not wrong, but sounds a little less typical in this specific context.
They are related but not the same:
kurz = course (a whole program: e.g. a 10‑week Czech course)
- V kurzu používáme novou učebnici = In the course (overall), we use a new textbook.
třída = class, often the group of students or the classroom
- Ve třídě je deset studentů. = There are ten students in the class.
hodina = lesson / (class) hour
- Na hodině češtiny jsme psali test. = In the Czech lesson, we wrote a test.
So V kurzu is talking about the whole course, not one individual lesson.
Yes, Czech allows flexible word order, and Používáme v kurzu novou učebnici, která… is grammatically correct.
Common natural options:
- V kurzu používáme novou učebnici, která… (very natural, neutral)
- Používáme v kurzu novou učebnici, která… (slight emphasis on používáme)
- Novou učebnici používáme v kurzu, která… (this last one sounds off because the která should follow directly after the noun it describes – you’d normally say Novou učebnici, která je pro mě nejlepší, používáme v kurzu.)
The best is to keep učebnici directly before its relative clause:
- V kurzu používáme novou učebnici, která je pro mě nejlepší.
- Novou učebnici, která je pro mě nejlepší, používáme v kurzu.