Czech Past Tense Secrets: Why We Write -l, -la, -li, -ly (and What It Tells You About Who Did It)
Have you ever seen a Czech sentence like Muži pracovali and Ženy pracovaly and thought, “Wait... why do the guys get i and the girls get y?”
Don’t worry, you’ve just met the mighty příčestí minulé, a.k.a. the past participle, one of the most logical (and funniest) grammar inventions of the Czech language.
What Is Příčestí minulé?
Let’s keep it simple. Czech past tense is built with two parts:
A tiny helper (a form of být = “to be” → jsem, jsi, jsme, jste)
The past participle – the real action word, wearing its -l ending.
Example:
Já jsem pracoval – I worked (male)
Já jsem pracovala – I worked (female)
So the -l / -la / -lo at the end is the past participle.
That’s the part that carries the meaning of what happened, while the helper verb tells you who did it (and keeps the grammar happy).
The Famous -l Family
Most Czech verbs form their past participle by swapping the final -t in the infinitive for -l.
So far, so good. But… what happens if the person is not a guy?
Meet Gender & Number: The Czech Plot Twist
In English, “I worked” is always the same. In Czech, your verb endings change depending on who you are: male, female, group, etc.
It’s like your verb politely looks around the room and says:
“Aha, we’re all girls here? Okay, I’ll end with -ly.”
“Oh, there’s one guy in the group? Fine, -li it is.”
Here’s how it works:
Why i vs y?
Both -li and -ly sound almost the same, but they’re not just random letters.
In Czech grammar, this difference shows who did the action:
-li → used for masculine animate plural (men or mixed groups)
Muži pracovali. – The men worked.
Pavel a Jana pracovali. – Pavel and Jana worked.-ly → used for feminine plural or inanimate plural
Ženy pracovaly. – The women worked.
Stroje pracovaly. – The machines worked.
Basically:
If there’s at least one man, the group “wins” the -li ending.
If not, it’s -ly.
(Sorry, ladies – Czech grammar is old-school.)
Real-Life Czech Moment
🧍♂️: Byl jsem na pivě. – I went for a beer.
👩🦰: Byla jsem na pivě. – I went for a beer.
👫: Byli jsme na pivě. – We went for a beer.
👭: Byly jsme na pivě. – We went for a beer (all girls).
So yes, even your beer outing reveals your gender in Czech.
Why Sometimes -a Appears (Neuter Plural Magic)
Okay, so you already know that -li is for guys (or mixed groups) and -ly is for women or things.
But then… you see sentences like:
Děvčata spala.
Štěňata běžela.
Okna byla otevřená.
And suddenly your brain goes:
“Wait. Why -a again? Aren’t děvčata plural?”
Excellent question — and welcome to the wonderful world of Czech neuter plurals!
The rule: plural neuter nouns → verb ends in -a
When the subject is neuter plural, the past participle ends with -a.
It doesn’t matter if there are two, ten, or a hundred of them — neuter plural verbs always wear -a.
Wait, “girls” are neuter?!
Yup. Welcome to one of Czech’s favorite grammar jokes. Some words that sound like they describe people are actually neuter — because they end in -e, -ě, or -a in the plural (děvče – děvčata, kotě – koťata, štěně – štěňata).
So grammatically speaking, děvčata (“girls”) behave like okna (“windows”).
They both make the verb end with -a.
Děvčata tancovala. = The girls danced.
Okna byla otevřená. = The windows were open.
Totally different meaning — but same grammar pattern.
Quick Recap
Easy way to remember: If your noun is plural and ends in -a, your verb probably ends in -a too.
Memory Trick
If you ever forget which ending to use, think of it this way:
If there’s even one guy, it’s -li.
If not, it’s -ly.
If it’s just me, I get -l or -la, depending on what kind of human I am.
And that’s it. You just decoded one of the most mysterious parts of Czech grammar.
Want to practice this (and sound like you were really there)? Check out my Czech Past Tense Sheet: Easy, Funny, and Finally Clear. It breaks down -l, -la, -lo, -li, -ly, -la endings with humor, examples, and real-life Czech sentences.
