Learn Hardcore Czech: V knihovně stojí dlouhá fronta studentů, kteří si chtějí půjčit učebnice. - In the library there is a long line of students who want to borrow textbooks.

v (= in) with a static location normally takes the locative case.
The noun knihovna (library) is feminine:
- Nominative singular (dictionary form): knihovna
- Locative singular: knihovně

So after v (in), when you mean “in the library” (not movement into it), you must use locative → v knihovně.

V knihovna is incorrect because knihovna is nominative, not locative.

Why does the sentence use stojí (“stands”) instead of something like “is”?

Czech often uses stát (to stand) to describe things that are physically upright or formed like a line:

Fronta stojí. – The queue is (standing there / is formed).

This feels natural in Czech for a queue of people. You could say:

V knihovně je dlouhá fronta studentů.

That is also correct and means almost the same, but:

stojí emphasizes the physical presence, the line “standing there”.
je is more neutral, simply saying “there is a long queue”.

So stojí fits well with fronta (queue/line) and sounds very idiomatic.

Why is it dlouhá fronta studentů and not dlouhá fronta studenty?

Czech often uses “noun + noun in genitive” to mean “a/an X of Y”:

fronta studentů = a queue of students

The second noun (studentů) is in genitive plural, showing what the queue consists of.

Nominative singular: student
Genitive plural: studentů

So:

dlouhá fronta studentů = a long queue (of what?) → of students.

Using fronta studenty would be wrong; studenty is accusative plural, not the right case for this relationship.

What case is studentů, and what is it agreeing with?

Studentů is genitive plural of student.

It does not agree in case with fronta; instead it forms a “of” relationship:

fronta – nominative singular, feminine (the main noun)
studentů – genitive plural, masculine animate (specifies what kind of queue)

So the structure is:

dlouhá (adj.) fronta (noun in nominative) studentů (dependent genitive)
→ a long queue of students

The adjective dlouhá only agrees with fronta, not with studentů.

Why is the relative pronoun kteří and not something like která, since fronta is feminine?

The relative clause refers not to fronta itself, but to the students standing in the queue.

fronta – feminine singular
studentů – masculine animate plural

The pronoun must agree with the word it logically refers to:

It’s the students who want to borrow books, not the queue.
Therefore the relative pronoun is masculine animate plural: kteří.

If the clause were about the queue itself, you’d use která (feminine singular):

V knihovně stojí dlouhá fronta, která blokuje vchod.
– There is a long queue that is blocking the entrance.

Why is there a comma before kteří?

In Czech, relative clauses introduced by words like který, která, kteří, které are almost always separated by a comma from the main clause.

V knihovně stojí dlouhá fronta studentů, kteří…

Even when English doesn’t require or strictly distinguish “restrictive” vs “non‑restrictive” with commas, Czech writing keeps the comma. So in standard written Czech, you should always put a comma before kteří in this kind of sentence.

What does the si in kteří si chtějí půjčit actually do?

[ANSWERER]
Si is a reflexive dative pronoun. With půjčit si, it shows that someone is borrowing for themselves / for their own use.

půjčit si něco – to borrow something (for oneself)
půjčit někomu něco – to lend something to someone

Examples:

Chci si půjčit učebnici. – I want to borrow a textbook (for myself).
Můžu ti půjčit učebnici. – I can lend you a textbook.

So in the sentence:

kteří si chtějí půjčit učebnice → who want to borrow textbooks (for themselves).

Without si, it would sound more like “want to lend textbooks”, or at least be unclear.

Can the word order be kteří chtějí si půjčit učebnice or kteří chtějí půjčit si učebnice?

No, those word orders are not natural. In Czech, short pronouns like “si” are clitics and have preferred positions in the clause.

The usual, natural pattern here is:

kteří si chtějí půjčit učebnice

Placing si after chtějí (kteří chtějí si půjčit) sounds wrong to native speakers. In most neutral sentences, si tends to stand right after the first stressed element of the clause, often after the subject or a conjunction/relative pronoun (here: kteří).

So you should keep:

kteří si chtějí půjčit …

Why is it chtějí (3rd person plural) and not something singular like chce?

The verb in the relative clause agrees with the real subject of that clause.

In kteří si chtějí půjčit učebnice:

Subject: kteří → referring to studenti (students)
Number/person: 3rd person plural
Therefore the verb must be: chtějí (they want).

If the subject were singular, you’d use chce:

Student, který si chce půjčit učebnice. – A student who wants to borrow textbooks.

Why is the verb půjčit (perfective) and not půjčovat?

Czech verbs often come in aspect pairs:

půjčovat – imperfective (ongoing, repeated, process)
půjčit – perfective (single, completed action, result)

In chtějí půjčit si učebnice / si chtějí půjčit učebnice, the students want to perform a single, complete action: borrow the textbooks once, get them, and that’s it.

So půjčit (si) is used because the focus is on achieving the result – having the textbooks.

If you said chtějí si půjčovat učebnice, that would suggest repeated or habitual borrowing, like “they want to be borrowing textbooks (regularly)”, which is a different meaning.

What form and case is učebnice here, and how do I know it’s plural?

Učebnice (textbook) is a feminine noun with the same form for several cases. Relevant forms:

Singular:
- Nominative: učebnice
- Accusative: učebnici
Plural:
- Nominative: učebnice
- Accusative: učebnice

In our sentence, učebnice is accusative plural – it’s the direct object of půjčit (si):

(kteří si chtějí půjčit) co? → učebnice

We know it’s plural (not singular) from context and meaning: they are students in a queue, so it’s natural that they want to borrow textbooks (plural), and the verb/object combination matches that understanding.

Is the word order V knihovně stojí dlouhá fronta studentů… fixed, or can I move parts around?

Czech word order is flexible, but changes can affect emphasis. All of these are grammatically possible:

V knihovně stojí dlouhá fronta studentů, kteří si chtějí půjčit učebnice.
– Neutral, sets location first: In the library, there is…
Dlouhá fronta studentů stojí v knihovně, kteří si chtějí půjčit učebnice.
– Grammatically possible, but a bit awkward; the relative clause still clearly refers to studentů, not fronta. Usually we’d leave it as in (1).
V knihovně dlouhá fronta studentů stojí…
– Also possible, but sounds slightly marked; it may emphasize dlouhá fronta studentů more.

The original version is the most natural and neutral in standard usage.