Breakdown of Svědek však popsal zloděje.
zloděj
the thief
svědek
the witness
popsat
to describe
však
however
Questions & Answers about Svědek však popsal zloděje.
What case is svědek, and what role does it play in the sentence?
Svědek is in the nominative singular. It is the subject of the sentence — the person who performed the action.
- svědek = witness
- nominative is the basic dictionary form for many nouns and is typically used for the subject
So here, svědek is the witness who did the describing.
Why is it zloděje and not zloděj?
Because zloděje is the accusative singular form of zloděj.
The verb popsat takes a direct object, and in Czech the direct object is usually in the accusative case.
- nominative: zloděj = thief
- accusative: zloděje = the thief as the object of the verb
So:
- Svědek = the subject
- popsal zloděje = described the thief
This is also a good example of how masculine animate nouns often change in the accusative.
What tense is popsal?