Breakdown of Angličtina je pro moji sestru nejdůležitější jazyk, protože chce pracovat v cizině.
Questions & Answers about Angličtina je pro moji sestru nejdůležitější jazyk, protože chce pracovat v cizině.
Moje is the basic form of můj / moje (my), but it changes with case and gender.
- The noun sestra (sister) is:
- feminine,
- in the accusative singular (because of the preposition pro = for).
For feminine accusative singular, the possessive pronoun můj has the form moji:
- moje sestra – nominative (subject): my sister.
- pro moji sestru – accusative (object after pro): for my sister.
So moji is the correct accusative form here.
In spoken Czech, you will often hear pro mojí sestru (with mojí) instead of pro moji sestru.
- In standard written Czech, the correct form is pro moji sestru (short i).
- The form mojí is considered colloquial in this position.
- You will see mojí as a correct form in other cases (e.g. s mojí sestrou – with my sister, instrumental), but in pro moji sestru the recommended standard is moji.
As a learner, use pro moji sestru in writing and exams. You will hear pro mojí sestru in everyday speech.
Pro means for (in the sense of intended for someone / important for someone) and it always takes the accusative case in Czech.
Examples:
- pro moji sestru – for my sister (accusative)
- pro děti – for children (accusative)
- pro mě – for me (accusative)
So sestru is in the accusative because it follows pro.
The adjective důležitý means important.
To form the comparative and superlative in Czech:
- comparative: důležitější – more important
- superlative: nejdůležitější – most important
So the pattern is:
- důležitý → důležitější → nejdůležitější
You can use it in different genders without changing the form in nominative singular, because adjectives in -í are “soft” adjectives with the same nominative singular form:
- nejdůležitější jazyk – the most important language
- nejdůležitější kniha – the most important book
- nejdůležitější věc – the most important thing
You could say Angličtina je pro moji sestru nejdůležitější, and people would understand jazyk from context. However:
- Angličtina je pro moji sestru nejdůležitější jazyk is more explicit and neutral.
- Angličtina je pro moji sestru nejdůležitější often sounds like something is missing and begs the question: nejdůležitější co? (the most important what?).
So the version with jazyk is stylistically clearer and more natural in isolated sentences, like in textbooks.
Both are actually possible, but slightly different grammatically:
Angličtina je pro moji sestru nejdůležitější jazyk.
- jazyk is in the nominative as a predicate noun.
- Literally: English is for my sister the most important language.
Angličtina je pro moji sestru nejdůležitějším jazykem.
- jazykem is in the instrumental as a predicate instrumental.
- Literally: English is, for my sister, the most important language.
Both are correct. The instrumental version (nejdůležitějším jazykem) sounds a bit more formal/“bookish”. As a learner, you can use either; the nominative version in your sentence is completely fine.
In Czech, protože (because) introduces a subordinate clause. The rule is:
- A main clause and a subordinate clause are usually separated by a comma.
So:
- Angličtina je pro moji sestru nejdůležitější jazyk, protože chce pracovat v cizině.
Main clause: Angličtina je pro moji sestru nejdůležitější jazyk.
Subordinate clause: protože chce pracovat v cizině.
Therefore, the comma before protože is required in standard Czech.
In Czech, modal verbs (like chtít – to want, muset – must, mít (za povinnost) – have to, moci – can) are followed by the infinitive of the main verb.
So:
- chce pracovat – she wants to work
- musí pracovat – she must work
- může pracovat – she can work
You never say *chce pracuje. That would be ungrammatical, because chtít always links to the bare infinitive: chtít + infinitive.
The noun cizina (foreign countries / abroad) is used here in the locative singular:
- nominative: cizina
- locative: v cizině – in a foreign country / abroad
The preposition v (in) can take either locative or accusative, depending on the meaning:
- v cizině (locative) – in a place = static location → abroad
- v obchodě (locative) – in the shop
With cizina, to express “abroad, in foreign countries” as a location, you use v + locative → v cizině.
Both often translate as abroad, but there are small differences:
v cizině
- More general, literally in foreign lands.
- Slightly more emotional/colloquial in some contexts.
- Very common in everyday speech.
v zahraničí
- Closer to in a foreign country / abroad in a more neutral or formal way.
- Often used in official or written contexts (business, news, etc.).
In this sentence, both are fine:
- … protože chce pracovat v cizině.
- … protože chce pracovat v zahraničí.
The meaning is practically the same here.
No, that would be wrong in this context.
The difference:
v + locative = in a place (location)
- pracovat v cizině – to work in a foreign country (already there).
do + genitive = to, into a place (direction)
- jet do ciziny – to go to a foreign country.
- stěhovat se do ciziny – to move abroad.
Your sentence talks about working in a foreign country (location), so v cizině is correct.
Names of languages in Czech are normally written with a small letter, for example:
- angličtina, čeština, němčina, francouzština
In your sentence it is capitalized only because it is the first word of the sentence:
- Angličtina je pro moji sestru nejdůležitější jazyk…
If the word appeared in the middle of a sentence, it would be:
- Mluvím anglicky a studuji angličtinu.
Sestra (sister) is a feminine noun. In your sentence it follows pro, which always takes the accusative.
So we need accusative singular of sestra:
- nominative: sestra – my sister is here → Moje sestra je tady.
- accusative: sestru – I see my sister → Vidím svoji sestru.
- accusative with pro: pro moji sestru – for my sister.
Very simplified singular paradigm:
- N: sestra
- G: sestry
- D: sestře
- A: sestru
- L: sestře (v sestře – rarely used)
- I: sestrou
In your sentence: pro moji sestru = accusative.
Yes, you can say:
- Angličtina je pro moji sestru nejdůležitější jazyk.
- Angličtina je nejdůležitější jazyk pro moji sestru.
Both are grammatically correct and mean the same thing. The difference is only a slight nuance in emphasis:
…pro moji sestru nejdůležitější jazyk
– light emphasis on for my sister (for her, English is the most important).…nejdůležitější jazyk pro moji sestru
– light emphasis on the most important language (as the main piece of new information, then explaining for whom).
In everyday speech, both orders are perfectly natural.