Češu kočku, když si olizuje srst.

the cat

Breakdown of Češu kočku, když si olizuje srst.

• když: when
• si: oneself
• srst: the fur

Questions & Answers about Češu kočku, když si olizuje srst.

What exactly is češu?

Češu is the 1st person singular present tense form of česat, meaning to comb or to brush.

So češu = I comb / I am combing / I brush / I am brushing.

A learner may also notice that the form does not look exactly like the infinitive:

• infinitive: česat
• present stem: češ-
• 1st singular: češu

That stem change is normal for this verb.

Why is it kočku and not kočka?

Because kočku is in the accusative singular, which is the case used for the direct object.

In this sentence, the cat is the thing being brushed, so Czech uses the accusative:

• kočka = nominative singular, the dictionary form, usually used for the subject
• kočku = accusative singular, used here because the cat is the object of češu

So:

• Kočka... = The cat...
• Češu kočku. = I brush the cat.

Why is there no word for I in the sentence?