Publikum čeká.

The audience is waiting.

Breakdown of Publikum čeká.

• čekat: to wait
• publikum: the audience

Questions & Answers about Publikum čeká.

Is publikum singular or plural in Czech?

It is singular.

Publikum is a collective noun: it refers to a group of people, but grammatically it behaves like a singular noun. That is very similar to English the audience.

So in this sentence:

• Publikum čeká. = The audience is waiting.

Even though many people are involved, Czech treats publikum as one whole group.

Why is the verb čeká singular and not čekají?

Because the subject publikum is grammatically singular.

• publikum = singular neuter noun
• čeká = 3rd person singular present tense

So the agreement is:

• Publikum čeká. = The audience waits / is waiting.

If the subject were a normal plural noun, then you would use čekají:

• Lidé čekají. = The people are waiting.

What is the basic form of čeká?