Tato píseň je skvělá.

to be

Breakdown of Tato píseň je skvělá.

• skvělý: great
• tento: this
• píseň: the song

Questions & Answers about Tato píseň je skvělá.

Why is it tato and not ten, ta, or to?

Tato is the feminine singular nominative form of the Czech demonstrative ten (this / that, depending on context).

It has to match píseň, which is a feminine singular noun.

A quick overview:

• ten = masculine
• ta = feminine
• to = neuter
• tato = also feminine, but more specifically the full form often used before a noun

So because píseň is feminine singular, tato píseň is the correct match.

You will also hear ta píseň in normal speech. That is very common too, but tato píseň can sound a bit more explicit or careful, like this song.

How do I know that píseň is feminine?

You mostly have to learn the gender of each noun, but there are patterns.

Píseň is a feminine noun, even though it does not end in -a, which is what many learners first expect from feminine nouns.

Czech has a group of feminine nouns that end in a soft consonant, such as:

• píseň = song
• dlaň = palm
• kost = bone
• noc = night

So the gender is not always obvious from the ending alone. In practice, it is best to learn nouns together with their gender.