Brzy ráno tam jsou ptáci a vítr je studený.

Early in the morning there are birds there and the wind is cold.

Breakdown of Brzy ráno tam jsou ptáci a vítr je studený.

• být: to be
• a: and
• ráno: the morning
• brzy: early
• tam: there
• studený: cold
• pták: the bird
• vítr: the wind

Questions & Answers about Brzy ráno tam jsou ptáci a vítr je studený.

In Brzy ráno, why is ráno used without a preposition like v (as in v ráno) to mean in the morning?

In Czech, some time expressions are used without a preposition and function almost like adverbs.

Ráno by itself already means in the morning. So:

• ráno = in the morning
• brzy ráno = early in the morning

Other similar words are:

• večer = in the evening
• odpoledne = in the afternoon

You do not say v ráno in standard Czech. You just say ráno (or brzy ráno, každé ráno, etc.).

What cases are ráno, ptáci, vítr, and studený in this sentence?

• ptáci – nominative plural (subject of jsou)
• vítr – nominative singular (subject of je)
• studený – nominative singular masculine, agreeing with vítr
• ráno – formally nominative singular, but used adverbially as a time expression (meaning in the morning)

So, the real grammatical subjects are ptáci and vítr; the rest are adverbials or predicates.

Why is it jsou ptáci and not je ptáci?

Czech verbs must agree in number (and usually person) with the subject.

• ptáci = birds → plural
• The verb být in 3rd person plural is jsou.

So:

• ptáci jsou = there are birds / birds are
• ptáci je would be wrong in standard Czech.

By contrast:

• vítr = wind → singular
• 3rd person singular of být is je → vítr je studený.

Why is it studený and not studená or studené?

Adjectives in Czech agree with the noun in:

• gender
• number
• case

Here, vítr is:

• masculine
• singular
• nominative (subject)

So the adjective must also be masculine singular nominative:

• studený vítr (cold wind)
• vítr je studený (the wind is cold)

You would use other forms with different nouns, for example:

• voda je studená (water is cold – voda is feminine)
• moře je studené (the sea is cold – moře is neuter)

Why is it tam jsou ptáci and not jsou tam ptáci? Are both possible?

Both tam jsou ptáci and jsou tam ptáci are grammatically correct. The difference is in emphasis and typical word order.

• Tam jsou ptáci. – Neutral, or with slight emphasis on tam = There, there are birds.
• Jsou tam ptáci. – Also normal; often feels like you are answering What is there?

In your full sentence, common variants are:

• Brzy ráno tam jsou ptáci a vítr je studený.
• Brzy ráno jsou tam ptáci a vítr je studený.

Both are fine. Word order in Czech is flexible, and you mainly use it to highlight what is new or important information.

Can I change the order of the whole sentence, for example: Tam jsou ptáci brzy ráno a vítr je studený?

Yes, you can change the order, but the flow and emphasis change.

Some natural variants (all correct):

1. Brzy ráno tam jsou ptáci a vítr je studený.
   – Neutral description: Early in the morning there are birds there and the wind is cold.

2. Brzy ráno jsou tam ptáci a vítr je studený.
   – Similar, maybe slightly more neutral.

3. Tam jsou ptáci brzy ráno a vítr je studený.
   – Stronger focus on the place: There, there are birds early in the morning…

4. Tam brzy ráno jsou ptáci a vítr je studený.
   – Also possible, but sounds a bit more marked/emphatic.

All are grammatical; a Czech speaker would choose based on what they want to stress (time, place, or existence of the birds).

Why is it vítr je studený and not je studený vítr?

Both orders are possible, but they sound different:

• Vítr je studený.
  – Neutral statement: The wind is cold. Subject (vítr) first, then verb, then predicate.

• Je studený vítr.
  – Feels more emphatic or stylistically marked, like: It is a cold wind.
  – Often used in contexts like: Venku je studený vítr. (Outside, there is a cold wind.)

In your original sentence, vítr je studený is the most neutral and typical word order.

Can the verb je be left out, like in some other Slavic languages (e.g. Russian)?

In standard Czech, you normally must include the present tense of být (jsem, jsi, je, jsme, jste, jsou) in sentences like this.

So:

• Vítr je studený. – correct
• Vítr studený. – would sound poetic, telegraphic, or dialectal, not normal prose.

Czech is different from Russian in this respect; present-tense být is not usually dropped in ordinary sentences.

What is the difference between brzy and brzo? Could I say Brzo ráno instead of Brzy ráno?

Brzy and brzo mean the same thing: early or soon.

• brzy ráno
• brzo ráno

Both are used and both are correct. In modern Czech, brzo is somewhat more common in everyday speech, but brzy is fully standard and not old‑fashioned.

So yes, you can say Brzo ráno tam jsou ptáci a vítr je studený. as well.

Why is there no separate word for there are like in English? How does Czech express there is / there are?

Czech uses the normal verb být (je / jsou) plus adverbs like tam, tady, tu to express there is / there are.

• Tam jsou ptáci. = There are birds (there).
• Tady je kočka. = There is a cat here.

There is no special verb like English there is / there are; it is just být with the right subject and often a place adverb.

What is the difference between tam, tady, and tu? Could I say Brzy ráno tady jsou ptáci?

Yes, you can replace tam with other location adverbs, but the meaning changes slightly:

• tam = there (farther away from the speaker)
• tady = here (near the speaker)
• tu = here, around here (colloquial/less formal, often interchangeable with tady)

Examples:

• Brzy ráno tam jsou ptáci. – Early in the morning there (in that place) are birds.
• Brzy ráno tady jsou ptáci. – Early in the morning here (where I am) are birds.

All are grammatical; you choose based on the location you mean.

Why is the conjunction a used, and not i or ale?

In this sentence, a simply means and, connecting two independent clauses:

• tam jsou ptáci
• vítr je studený

a is the default and.

Other conjunctions:

• i – also/too, often adds something of the same type with a slightly stronger sense of addition:

  • Jsou tam ptáci i veverky. – There are birds and also squirrels there.

• ale – but/however (contrast):

  • Jsou tam ptáci, ale vítr je studený. – There are birds there, but the wind is cold.

In your sentence, there is no contrast or special emphasis, so a is the natural choice.