Complete Czech Beginner to Intermediate Course

Learn to read, write, speak and understand a new language with Teach Yourself

David Short

• Publisher: Teach Yourself
• Year: 2012
• Print ISBN: 9781444106015
• eBook ISBN: 9781444134643
• Topic: Languages & Linguistics
• Subtopic: Languages
• Index: Languages & Linguistics

This product is most effective when used in conjunction with the corresponding audio support.
- You can purchase the book and audio support as a pack (ISBN: 9781444106916)
- The audio support is also sold separately (ISBN: 9781444107012)
(copy and paste the ISBN number into the search bar to find these products)
Are you looking for a complete course in Czech which takes you effortlessly from beginner to confident speaker? Whether you are starting from scratch, or are just out of practice, Complete Czech will guarantee success!Now fully updated to make your language learning experience fun and interactive. You can still rely on the benefits of a top language teacher and our years of teaching experience, but now with added learning features within the course and online.
The course is structured in thematic units and the emphasis is placed on communication, so that you effortlessly progress from introducing yourself and dealing with everyday situations, to using the phone and talking about work. By the end of this course, you will be at Level B2 of the Common European Framework for Languages: Can interact with a degree of fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with native speakers quite possible without strain for either party.Learn effortlessly with a new easy-to-read page design and interactive features: NOT GOT MUCH TIME?
One, five and ten-minute introductions to key principles to get you started.AUTHOR INSIGHTS
Lots of instant help with common problems and quick tips for success, based on the author's many years of experience.GRAMMAR TIPS
Easy-to-follow building blocks to give you a clear understanding.USEFUL VOCABULARY
Easy to find and learn, to build a solid foundation for speaking.DIALOGUES
Read and listen to everyday dialogues to help you speak and understand fast.PRONUNCIATION
Don't sound like a tourist! Perfect your pronunciation before you go.TEST YOURSELF
Tests in the book and online to keep track of your progress.EXTEND YOUR KNOWLEDGE
Extra online articles at: www.teachyourself.com to give you a richer understanding of the culture and history of the Czech Republic.TRY THIS
Innovative exercises illustrate what you've learnt and how to use it.The course is also available as a print book (9781444106015), as a pack comprising the book and double CD (9781444106916) and as a double CD (9781444107012).

1

Dobrý den. Jak se máte? Good morning. How are you?

In this unit you will learn

• How to handle first encounters with greetings and responses

• How to spot some words that are common to Czech and English

• How to say I (first person singular)

Dialogue 1

Alan Smith has just arrived in Prague to be met by Zdeněk Navrátil. It is evening.

CD1, TR 5

QUICK VOCAB

dobrý večer good evening

jak se máte? how are you?

velmi dobře, děkuji very well, thank you

velmi very

a and

vy you

na shledanou goodbye (pron. naschledanou)

dobrou noc goodnight

dobré ráno good morning

dobrý den good morning, good day, good afternoon

1 Dobré ráno and other greetings

This is only used to greet someone first thing in the morning, say up to 8 a.m.; an alternative is dobré jitro. After 8 a.m. and through the day use dobrý den (Lit. good day). Dobrý večer is used to greet someone in the evening; dobrou noc on parting for the night or before bedtime. Na shledanou (Lit. ‘au revoir’) can be used at any parting.

2 dobrý, dobré, dobrou – ‘good’

These are all forms of the same adjective good, which is in dictionaries in the form of dobrý. Note that the various forms of such an adjective end in a long vowel or the two-vowel sound ou. Contrast this with the related adverb dobře (well), which ends in a short vowel. You may remember meeting, in the section on pronunciation, a similar pair rychlé (quick), rychle (quickly).

3 Velmi – ‘very’

As in English, velmi (very) is an adverb that qualifies adjectives or other adverbs.

4 Děkuju – ‘Thank you’

You may also hear a more formal version of this: děkuji.

5 Jak se máte? – ‘How are you?’

This expression is an idiom which has to be learned as a piece; the word you does not actually occur, though in the return question it does, as vy. You will understand the whole structure better in later units.

Exercises

1 Respond in kind to the following greetings:

a Dobré ráno.

b Dobrý den.

c Dobrý večer.

2 a You have just met someone; it is 11 a.m. How would you greet him/her? Supply the missing information. D…. d.. J.. .. m…?

b You are asked how you are: Jak se máte? and you respond positively: V…. d…., d…..

c You are asked how you are and you have replied: (Jak se máte? Dobře, děkuju.) It is now your turn to ask: A … .. …. v.?

d On parting, you say goodnight to your host and say you hope to meet again: D….. n.. a n. s……..

Dialogue 2

Zdeněk is meeting Alan on his second visit to Prague.

CD1, TR 6

Zdeněk	Dobré jitro. Vítám vás znova v Praze.
Alan	Děkuju. Jak se máte?
Zdeněk	Jde to. A jak se máte vy?
Alan	Dnes špatně, bolí mě v krku, ale jsem rád, že jsem tady v Praze.
At the hotel.
Zdeněk	Dobrou noc.
Alan	Na shledanou zítra.

QUICK VOCAB

vítám vás welcome (Lit. I welcome you)

znova again

jde to so, so (Lit. goes it)

dnes today

špatně badly

krk throat

Praha Prague

v Praze in Prague (pron. fpraze)

ale but

že that

tady here

zítra tomorrow

bolí mě v krku I’ve got a sore throat (Lit. it hurts me in the throat) (pron. fkrku)

jsem rád, že jsem tady I’m glad that I’m here (ráda for female speaker)

6 More on spelling and pronunciation

CD1, TR 6, 0:36

Most Czech words are stressed (given more forceful pronunciation) on the first syllable, irrespective of the length of the vowels in the word. This means that, among the words that you now know, dobrý is stressed on the first half of the word, though with the short vowel o, and the second syllable is unstressed but has a long ý. This is a stress pattern matched by such English words as ‘’blackbird’ (as opposed to ‘black ’bird’), or some people’s pronunciation of ‘’garage’, as opposed to the American pronunciation ‘ga’rage’. Try to imitate some of the contrasting patterns using the following words:

mile	kindly
milé	kind
míle	mile
nakládat	to load
náklady	lo...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Contents
• Meet the author
• Only got a minute?
• Only got ten minutes?
• Introduction
• 1 Dobrý den. Jak se máte? Good morning. How are you?
• 2 Jak se jmenujete? What’s your name?
• 3 Kde pracujete? Where do you work?
• 4 Jak bydlíte? What is your house like?
• 5 Je tu někde knihkupectví? Is there a bookshop near here?
• 6 Na celnici At customs
• 7 Kde jste vlastně studoval? Where exactly did you study?
• 8 Nemůžu najít klíč I can’t find the key
• 9 Kolik je hodin? What’s the time?
• 10 Co mám koupit rodině? What should I buy the family?
• 11 Ve čtvrtek k nám přijde návštěva We’ve got visitors coming on Thursday
• 12 Děti do školy vodí manželka It’s my wife who takes the children to school
• 13 Prší! It’s raining!
• 14 Nehádejte se! Stop arguing!
• 15 Kdybych věděla, že přijdete … If I knew you were coming …
• 16 Tak to bude rychlejší It’ll be quicker that way
• 17 Kvůli politice se nerozčiluj! Don’t get worked up over politics!
• 18 Nejdřív uděláme pořádek v Líbině skříni First we’ll tidy Líba’s wardrobe
• 19 Dejte si něco na ochutnání Have something to taste
• Supplement: selected features of high- and low-style Czech
• Taking it further
• Key to the exercises
• Glossary of grammatical terms
• Appendices: reference tables and voicing and devoicing
• Czech–English vocabulary
• English–Czech vocabulary
• Credits
• Copyright