Totožnost a podpis jsou důležité.

to be

Breakdown of Totožnost a podpis jsou důležité.

• a: and
• důležitý: important
• podpis: the signature

Questions & Answers about Totožnost a podpis jsou důležité.

Why is jsou plural when totožnost and podpis are both singular words?

Because together they make a compound subject: totožnost a podpis = identity and signature.

In Czech, just like in English, two singular nouns joined by a (and) normally take a plural verb:

• Podpis je důležitý. = The signature is important.
• Totožnost a podpis jsou důležité. = Identity and signature are important.

So jsou is plural because the sentence is talking about two things.

Why is it důležité and not důležitý, důležitá, or důležití?

Because the adjective has to agree with the subject.

Here the subject is totožnost a podpis, which is plural overall, so the adjective must also be plural.

The two nouns have different genders:

• totožnost = feminine
• podpis = masculine inanimate

With this kind of mixed plural subject, Czech uses the plural adjective form důležité.

So:

• důležitý = singular masculine
• důležitá = singular feminine
• důležití = plural masculine animate
• důležité = the correct form here

A useful shortcut: if the subject is plural and does not include a masculine animate noun, -é is often what you will see in this kind of predicate adjective.

What genders are totožnost and podpis, and how can I tell?