Pes běží přes ulici.

Czech does not have articles like English the and a/an.

So Pes běží přes ulici. can mean:

• The dog is running across the street
• A dog is running across the street

Which one is meant depends on context.

Pes is the nominative singular form, which is the form typically used for the subject of the sentence.

• pes = dog
• It is a masculine animate noun.

Because pes is the subject, it stays in the nominative.

Běží is the 3rd person singular present form of the verb běžet (to run).

So běží means:

• runs
• is running

In Czech, the present tense often covers both the simple present and the present continuous, depending on context.

Czech does not usually make a separate grammatical distinction like English does between:

• he runs
• he is running

Instead, Czech often uses the same present-tense form, and the exact meaning comes from the situation.

So Pes běží přes ulici would usually be understood as The dog is running across the street, because it describes an action happening right now.

Because the preposition přes requires the accusative case.

The noun ulice (street) is feminine, and its accusative singular form is ulici.

So:

• ulice = nominative
• ulici = accusative

That is why the sentence uses přes ulici.

Yes, přes normally takes the accusative.

It often means:

• across
• through
• sometimes over

Examples:

• přes ulici = across the street
• přes most = across the bridge
• přes řeku = across the river

So in your sentence, přes ulici is a very standard prepositional phrase.

Because Czech nouns change their endings depending on their role in the sentence.

Ulice is a feminine noun, and when it follows přes, it must be in the accusative singular:

• nominative: ulice
• accusative: ulici

This kind of change is called declension.

Yes. Czech word order is more flexible than English word order because case endings show the grammatical roles.

The neutral order here is:

• Pes běží přes ulici.

But other orders are possible, for example:

• Přes ulici běží pes.

That might be used if you want to emphasize across the street first, or if it fits the flow of the conversation better.

Even so, Pes běží přes ulici is the most straightforward, neutral version.

A rough guide:

• Pes ≈ pes
• běží ≈ bye-zhee or bye-zhee with a soft b
• přes is the hardest part, because of ř
• ulici ≈ oo-lee-tsee

A few pronunciation notes:

• ž sounds like the s in measure
• c sounds like ts
• ě often softens the consonant before it; after b, it sounds roughly like bje
• ř is a special Czech sound, something like a mix of r and zh

If ř is difficult, that is completely normal. Many learners need a long time to get comfortable with it.

In Czech, stress usually falls on the first syllable of each word.

So you would stress:

• PES
• BĚ-ží
• PŘES
• U-li-ci

This regular stress pattern is one thing that makes Czech pronunciation more predictable than English.

Yes, but it means something slightly different.

• běží usually describes one current act of running
• běhá often suggests repeated, habitual, or frequent running

So:

• Pes běží přes ulici. = the dog is running across the street right now
• Pes běhá přes ulici. = the dog runs across the street regularly / keeps running across the street

So běží is the natural choice for a single ongoing action.

No. Czech usually does not need a subject pronoun if the subject is already expressed or understood.

Here, the subject is explicitly given as pes, so adding on would be unnecessary.

Czech verb endings also help show the person and number, so subject pronouns are often omitted unless they are needed for emphasis or contrast.