Breakdown of Veterinář přijel z jiné země.
z
from
jiný
other
přijet
to arrive
veterinář
the veterinarian
země
country; land
Questions & Answers about Veterinář přijel z jiné země.
What kind of noun is veterinář?
Why is there no word for the or a before veterinář?
Czech does not have articles like English a and the. Whether veterinář means a veterinarian or the veterinarian depends on context. So Czech often leaves that distinction unstated unless something else in the sentence makes it clear.
What exactly is přijel?
Přijel is the past tense of the verb přijet, which means to arrive or to come in the sense of traveling and reaching a destination. It is masculine singular, matching veterinář. In the 3rd person past tense, Czech does not use an extra word like he has or he did, so přijel by itself means he arrived / he came.
Why is it přijel and not přišel?
Why is it z jiné země instead of jiná země?
Because the preposition z means from, and z requires the genitive case. The basic form is jiná země, but after z both words change: jiná becomes jiné, and země stays země in form, though it is now genitive singular. So z jiné země means from another/different country.
Why does jiná change to jiné?
Adjectives in Czech change their endings to match the noun in gender, number, and case. The noun země is feminine singular, and after z it must be in the genitive. The feminine singular genitive form of jiná is jiné, so you get z jiné země.
Does jiné mean another or different here?
It can cover both ideas. The adjective jiný often means other, another, or different, depending on context. In this sentence, English would most naturally say from another country or from a different country.
What case is země here?
It is genitive singular. The dictionary form is země, and the genitive singular is also země, so the form happens to look the same. The preposition z is what tells you it must be genitive.
Could I say ze jiné země instead of z jiné země?
Normally, no. Here the usual form is z jiné země. Czech uses ze instead of z mainly when pronunciation would otherwise be awkward, such as before some consonant clusters or certain words, but jiné does not need that extra vowel.
Can the word order be changed?
Yes. Czech word order is flexible because the case endings show the grammatical relationships. Veterinář přijel z jiné země is a neutral, straightforward order, but you could also say Z jiné země přijel veterinář if you want to emphasize where he came from, or Přijel veterinář z jiné země in a more narrative style.
How do you pronounce the tricky parts of this sentence?
The stress in Czech normally falls on the first syllable of each word: VE-terinář PŘI-jel z JI-né ZE-mě. The long á in veterinář is held a bit longer. The hardest sound for many learners is ř, which is a special Czech sound somewhat like a rolled r mixed with a zh sound.
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