Opatrně otevři tu velkou skříň, protože dveře jsou ještě rozbité.

Questions & Answers about Opatrně otevři tu velkou skříň, protože dveře jsou ještě rozbité.

What does opatrně mean here, and what kind of word is it?

Opatrně is an adverb, and here it means carefully / cautiously.

It comes from the adjective opatrný = careful / cautious. In this sentence it tells you how to open the wardrobe:

  • Opatrně otevři... = Open ... carefully

So it modifies the verb otevři.

Why is it otevři and not otevřít?

Otevři is the imperative form, used to give a command to one person informally.

  • otevřít = to open (infinitive)
  • otevři = open! (command to one person)

So:

  • Opatrně otevři... = Open ... carefully

If you were speaking to more than one person, or using polite/formal you, you would say otevřete.

Why is the command otevři perfective? Could Czech also use an imperfective verb here?

Yes, and the choice matters.

Otevři comes from otevřít, which is perfective. Perfective imperatives usually focus on a single completed action:

  • Otevři skříň. = Open the wardrobe.

An imperfective imperative such as otvírej / otevírej would sound more like:

  • be opening it
  • open it gradually / keep opening it
  • sometimes repeated or process-focused

In this sentence, the speaker wants one complete action, so otevři is the natural choice.

Why do we get tu velkou skříň? What case is that?

It is accusative singular feminine, because skříň is the direct object of otevři.

The base forms are:

  • ta = that / the (feminine nominative)
  • velká = big / large (feminine nominative)
  • skříň = wardrobe / cabinet

But after a transitive verb like open, Czech uses the accusative for the thing being opened:

  • tatu
  • velkávelkou
  • skříňskříň

So:

  • tu velkou skříň = that/the big wardrobe
Why doesn’t skříň change in the accusative, while tu and velkou do?

Because skříň is a feminine soft noun, and in this declension pattern the nominative singular and accusative singular are the same.

So you get:

  • nominative: ta velká skříň
  • accusative: tu velkou skříň

The noun skříň stays the same, but the demonstrative and adjective show the case clearly.

This is very common in Czech: sometimes the noun changes, and sometimes only the words around it show the case.

Does tu mean that or the here?

Grammatically, tu is the accusative feminine form of ten/ta/to, which literally corresponds to that.

But in real Czech, ten/ta/to is often used in a way that feels closer to the in English, especially when the object is already known or identifiable from context.

So tu velkou skříň can feel like:

  • that big wardrobe
  • or simply the big wardrobe

depending on context.

Since Czech has no articles, words like ten/ta/to often help specify something in a way English uses the for.

Why is dveře plural? English would often say the door.

Because dveře is a noun that is normally used in the plural in Czech.

So even when English says door, Czech often says dveře:

  • Otevři dveře. = Open the door.
  • Dveře jsou zavřené. = The door is closed.

This is similar to how some nouns in other languages are plural by form even when English treats them as singular.

So in your sentence:

  • dveře jsou ještě rozbité = the door is still broken / the doors are still broken

The exact English translation depends on context, but Czech grammar treats dveře as plural.

Why is it jsou and not a singular form of to be?

Because dveře is grammatically plural, so the verb must agree with it.

  • dveře jsou = the door/doors are
  • not dveře je

This is normal agreement in Czech:

  • plural subject → plural verb

Even if English might translate the idea with singular door, Czech still uses the plural verb because dveře is plural in form and grammar.

What does ještě mean here?

Here ješ means still.

So:

  • dveře jsou ještě rozbité = the door/doors are still broken

That suggests the damage has not been fixed yet.

A useful note:

  • in affirmative sentences, ještě often means still
  • in some other contexts, especially negatives or questions, it can correspond to yet

For example:

  • Ještě spí. = He is still sleeping.
  • Ještě ne. = Not yet.
Why is it rozbité? What form is that?

Rozbité is an adjective-like form meaning broken. It comes from the verb rozbít = to break.

It agrees with dveře, so it must be plural. Since dveře is treated as a feminine plural noun, the agreeing form is rozbité.

So:

  • rozbitý = broken (basic dictionary form, masculine singular)
  • rozbité dveře = broken door/doors

In the sentence:

  • dveře jsou rozbité = the door/doors are broken

This describes a state: the doors are in a broken condition.

How does protože affect the word order? Why doesn’t the verb go to the end?

Protože means because and introduces a subordinate clause:

  • protože dveře jsou ještě rozbité

Unlike German, Czech does not send the verb to the end in this kind of clause. The word order stays relatively normal.

So this is perfectly natural:

  • ..., protože dveře jsou ještě rozbité.

You may also hear other orders depending on emphasis, for example:

  • ..., protože jsou dveře ještě rozbité.

Czech word order is flexible, but it is guided by information structure and emphasis, not by a strict rule like verb-final after because.

Could the word order in the first part be different, like Otevři opatrně...?

Yes. Czech word order is flexible, and changing it changes the emphasis more than the core meaning.

Compare:

  • Opatrně otevři tu velkou skříň.
  • Otevři tu velkou skříň opatrně.

Both can mean the same thing, but the first version puts opatrně first, so it highlights the careful manner right away. That makes sense here, because the next clause explains the reason: the door(s) are still broken.

So the original order is very natural because it emphasizes the warning.

How would this sentence change if I were speaking politely or to several people?

You would change the imperative otevři to otevřete.

So the sentence becomes:

  • Opatrně otevřete tu velkou skříň, protože dveře jsou ještě rozbité.

That can mean either:

  • Open the big wardrobe carefully... when speaking to more than one person
  • or the same thing to one person in a formal/polite way

Everything else stays the same.

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