The Genitive Case: Possession, Absence, and More
The Genitive case indicates possession (like 'of' or 's), absence (with bez - without), origin (with z/ze - from), or location at/having ('at' or 'have' with u). Its primary role is showing belonging or relation, or being required by certain prepositions.
Nouns: Endings vary based on gender, number, and hard/soft stem.
- Singular Masculine/Neuter: hard -a (animate/some inanimate) / -u (most inanimate), soft -e (animate) / -e or -í (inanimate). (e.g., dům bratra - brother's house, kniha učitele - teacher's book, okno města - city window, barva pole - field color, cukru - sugar, moře - sea, stavení - building)
- Singular Feminine: ending -y (hard) / -i (soft). (e.g., kniha sestry - sister's book, hlas země - voice of the earth)
- Plural (all genders): Variable, often -ů (masculine hard), -ů (masculine soft), or a zero ending (feminine and neuter). (e.g., domy bratrů - brothers' houses, knihy učitelů - teachers' books, knihy žen∅ - women's books, okna měst∅ - city windows)
Adjectives:
- Singular (all genders): hard -ého, soft -ího. (e.g., dům dobrého bratra - house of a good brother, kniha nové učitelky - book of a new teacher, okno jarního moře - window of the spring sea)
- Plural (all genders): hard -ých, soft -ích. (e.g., domy dobrých bratrů - houses of good brothers, knihy jarních květin - books of spring flowers)
Prepositions: Used after bez (without), z/ze (from), u (at/by/have), and others like do (to/until), od (from).
Examples: To je práce mého otce (This is my father's work). Já jsem z města (I am from the city). U mě je hodinka (I have a watch - literally "At me there is a watch"). Oni jedou bez vody (They are going without water). Viděl jsem mnoho krásných žen (I saw many beautiful women).