Learn Hardcore Czech: Před nemocnicí je malé parkoviště, kde řidiči parkují auta. - In front of the hospital there is a small parking lot where drivers park cars.

In the sentence Před nemocnicí je malé parkoviště, we are talking about a static location: the small car park is in front of the hospital. So před must be followed by the instrumental case:

nemocnice (dictionary form, nominative singular – hospital)
nemocnicí (instrumental singular – with/by/in front of the hospital)

If we expressed movement towards that place, we would use accusative, for example:

Jdu před nemocnici. – I am going (to) in front of the hospital.

What gender is nemocnice, and why does it become nemocnicí?

Nemocnice (hospital) is a feminine noun. It belongs to the type of feminine nouns that end in -e in the nominative singular.

Its instrumental singular ending is -í, often with a consonant change if needed. For nemocnice, the pattern is:

Nominative sg.: nemocnice – (a) hospital
Genitive sg.: nemocnice – of a hospital
Dative sg.: nemocnici – to/for a hospital
Accusative sg.: nemocnici – (I see) a hospital
Locative sg.: v nemocnici – in a hospital
Instrumental sg.: s nemocnicí / před nemocnicí – with / in front of a hospital

So nemocnicí is just the regular instrumental form of a feminine noun of this type.

Why is there a comma before kde in ..., kde řidiči parkují auta?

In Czech, a comma is used before most dependent clauses introduced by conjunctions or relative words such as:

že (that)
kde (where)
který (which/who)
protože (because), etc.

The part kde řidiči parkují auta is a relative clause (it describes the parkoviště – car park). Czech punctuation rules require a comma before this type of clause, even though in English we might or might not use a comma depending on the style.

So:

Před nemocnicí je malé parkoviště, kde řidiči parkují auta.
– Literally: In front of the hospital is a small parking lot, where drivers park cars.

What does kde do here, and could we use na kterém instead?

Kde means where and here it introduces a relative clause referring back to parkoviště:

kde řidiči parkují auta – where drivers park cars

You could say:

Před nemocnicí je malé parkoviště, na kterém řidiči parkují auta.

This is grammatically correct, but it sounds more formal and heavier. Typical everyday speech prefers kde in this kind of sentence. The nuance:

kde – neutral, light, very common
na kterém – more explicit (literally: on which), more formal or precise

Both are fine; kde is simpler and more natural here.

Why is the word order Před nemocnicí je malé parkoviště, and not something like Malé parkoviště je před nemocnicí?

Both sentences are grammatical, but the information structure is different:

Před nemocnicí je malé parkoviště.
– Topic: in front of the hospital
– New info/focus: there is a small parking lot there
– Roughly like: In front of the hospital, there is a small parking lot.
Malé parkoviště je před nemocnicí.
– Topic: the small parking lot
– New info/focus: its location is in front of the hospital
– More like: The small parking lot is in front of the hospital (not somewhere else).

Czech word order is relatively flexible, and speakers often put known or contextual information first, and new or important information later. In the original sentence, the location is the starting point.

Why is malé used before parkoviště, not malý or malá?

Parkoviště (car park, parking lot) is a neuter noun. In the nominative singular, a regular adjective agrees with the noun in gender, number, and case:

Masculine animate: malý pán – small gentleman
Masculine inanimate: malý stůl – small table
Feminine: malá nemocnice – small hospital
Neuter: malé parkoviště – small car park

Here parkoviště is the subject in nominative singular neuter, so the adjective must also be nominative singular neuter: malé.

What kind of noun is parkoviště, and why does it end in -iště?

Parkoviště is a neuter noun ending in -iště. Nouns in -iště often mean a place designated for some activity:

hřiště – playground, playing field (from hrát – to play)
letiště – airport (from letět – to fly)
smetiště – dump, landfill (from smetí – trash)
parkoviště – parking lot (from parkovat – to park)

As a neuter noun in -iště, its nominative singular and accusative singular both end in -iště with no extra ending, and the plural nominative is typically -iště as well:

to parkoviště – the parking lot
ta parkoviště – the parking lots

Why is it just je malé parkoviště and not something like tam je malé parkoviště (there is)?

In English, we often need there is / there are to introduce the existence of something. Czech does not need an equivalent word like there in this structure.

The verb být (to be) in the 3rd person je can work on its own to mean there is / there exists when followed by a noun phrase:

Je problém. – There is a problem.
Je tu někdo? – Is there someone here?
Před nemocnicí je malé parkoviště. – There is a small parking lot in front of the hospital.

You can add tam for emphasis on the location (literally there), but it’s not necessary:

Před nemocnicí je tam malé parkoviště. – a bit redundant unless contrasting multiple places.

Why is řidiči in the form řidiči and not řidičové or řidiče?

Řidič (driver) is a masculine animate noun. The common plural nominative form is řidiči:

Nominative sg.: řidič – (a) driver
Nominative pl.: řidiči – drivers

Řidičové is a possible, but rather bookish or emphatic variant. In normal, everyday Czech you very rarely hear řidičové; řidiči is standard.

Řidiče is a different case (e.g., accusative plural: Vidím řidiče. – I see the drivers), but here in the sentence řidiči is the subject of the clause řidiči parkují auta, so it must be nominative plural.

What tense and aspect is parkují, and what would zaparkují mean instead?

Parkují is:

present tense
3rd person plural
of the imperfective verb parkovat (to park, be parking)

Imperfective aspect focuses on ongoing, repeated, or habitual actions. Here it means:

kde řidiči parkují auta – where drivers (habitually / generally) park cars.

Zaparkují is the future tense of the perfective verb zaparkovat, which focuses on a completed action:

kde řidiči zaparkují auta – where the drivers will (successfully) park the cars (once, at some point in the future).

For a general description of what typically happens at that place, parkují (imperfective present) is the natural choice.

Why is it auta after parkují? Isn’t auto singular? And isn’t auta also genitive singular?

Auto (car) is a neuter noun. Its forms are a bit special:

Nominative sg.: auto – (a) car
Genitive sg.: auta – of a car
Nominative pl.: auta – cars
Accusative pl.: auta – cars (object)

In the sentence řidiči parkují auta, auta is the direct object of the verb parkují, so it must be in the accusative plural: (they) park cars.

Yes, the form auta is identical in genitive singular and nominative/accusative plural, so you determine which one it is from the context and the role in the sentence:

Barva auta – the color of the car (genitive sg.)
Řidiči parkují auta. – drivers park cars (accusative pl.).

Could we omit auta and just say kde řidiči parkují?

Yes, you can. Czech often drops objects that are obvious from context. Both are possible:

kde řidiči parkují auta – where drivers park cars (explicit)
kde řidiči parkují – where drivers park (implied object: cars)

The shorter version is very natural in speech if it is clear what is being parked. The original sentence is just a bit more explicit.

How would you say “in front of the hospital” versus “near the hospital” in Czech? Is před the same as u?

They are different:

před nemocnicí – in front of the hospital (specifically in front of the front side, on the side facing the entrance, etc.)
u nemocnice – near the hospital / by the hospital (somewhere in the vicinity, not necessarily directly in front)

So:

Před nemocnicí je malé parkoviště. – The parking lot is in front of the hospital.
U nemocnice je malé parkoviště. – The parking lot is by/near the hospital (could be at the side, behind, etc.).

How is řidiči pronounced, especially the sound ř?

Řidiči is pronounced approximately like ři-di-chi, but Czech ř is a special sound that doesn’t exist in English. Rough description:

Start with a trilled r (like Spanish r in pero, but shorter)
At the same time, add some friction like the zh sound in measure
It’s voiced in řidiči (because it’s between vowels)

Syllable by syllable:

ři – [ři]
di – [dɪ] or [dɪ] ~ [dɪ̞] (depending on accent)
či – [tʃɪ] (like chi in cheese, but shorter)

It’s one of the most difficult Czech sounds for foreigners, so it’s completely normal if it takes a long time to get it right.

Could we change the word order in the relative clause, for example kde auta parkují řidiči?

Grammatically, Czech allows quite a bit of flexibility, but not all orders are natural or clear.

kde řidiči parkují auta – neutral, natural: subject (řidiči) – verb (parkují) – object (auta)
kde auta parkují řidiči – odd and confusing; it suggests that auta (cars) might be the subject and řidiči (drivers) the object, which doesn’t make sense

You can move elements for emphasis, but you must still respect who is the subject and who is the object. Natural variants would be things like:

kde auta parkují – where (they) park the cars (subject omitted)
kde řidiči auta parkují – possible with a strong emphasis on auta, but sounds a bit marked and less neutral

For a standard, clear sentence, kde řidiči parkují auta is the best choice.