Nechci odejít z práce pozdě.

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Breakdown of Nechci odejít z práce pozdě.

• chtít: to want
• z: from
• práce: the work

Questions & Answers about Nechci odejít z práce pozdě.

Why is it z práce and not just práci or z práci?

In Czech, the preposition z (from, out of) always governs the genitive case.

• The noun práce (work, job) is feminine.
• Its genitive singular form is also práce (same spelling as nominative).
• Accusative would be práci, but z does not take accusative, so z práci is wrong.

So:

• z práce = from work (correct: preposition z
  • genitive)
• práci alone = (to) work, work (accusative; used, for example, after mám, dělat, etc., but not after z)

Why is it odejít z práce and not odejít práci?

Odejít (to leave, to go away) usually takes a prepositional phrase, not a direct object in accusative.

• You leave from somewhere: odejít z práce, odejít z domu, odejít z kanceláře.
• Using a bare accusative odejít práci would sound wrong; it suggests a direct object, but odejít doesn’t work that way.

Think of it like English: you say leave work, but in Czech you must mark the relationship explicitly: odejít z práce.