Czech Pronouns & the Verb 'To Be'
Two building blocks unlock most first sentences: the personal pronouns, and the verb být (to be). Unlike Russian — which drops "to be" entirely in the present — Czech keeps a full set of forms, and they're worth knowing cold.
The Cast of Pronouns
On / ona / ono follow grammatical gender, not just people: a masculine noun like stůl (table) is on, feminine káva is ona, neuter pivo is ono. You'll meet gender properly in noun gender.
Být — To Be
Jsem z Ameriky a jsem tady na dovolené.
I'm from America and I'm here on holiday.
Note: One já covers both clauses — jsem already means 'I am'.
Drop the Pronoun
Because each ending already tells you who, Czech normally drops the pronoun. Jsem can only mean "I am," so já is unnecessary. You add the pronoun back only for emphasis or contrast.
Saying 'I'm Not'
To negate být, glue ne- onto the front of the verb — one word, no separate particle:
The one to memorise is není — "isn't" — which breaks the pattern (not neje).
Nejsem z Prahy, jsem z Brna.
I'm not from Prague, I'm from Brno.
Note: ne- attaches directly: ne + jsem → nejsem.
To není moje káva.
That's not my coffee.
Note: není — the irregular negative of je. You'll hear it constantly.
Next: turn these blocks into real sentences with first sentence patterns.