- Forum >
- Topic: Czech >
- "Ta velká ryba žere tu malou."
25 Comments
Where is the word "one" in the sentence, or do you not require the word one in the sentence?
correct. Not in Czech. There really is no equivalent of the word 'one' (outside math of course) and if anything, you would have to repeat 'ryba' -in this case 'rybu' if you wanted to point out that it, too, is a fish.
"That big fish is eating the small one." was counted incorrect. Debatable or definitely wrong?
From what I've seen sprinkled throughout the course, you can use "jíst" with animals as well as with people. But it would be considered rude to use "žrát" with people... although one actually may intend to be rude in that way on occasion... :-)
It's a little odd to use "jíst" with animals. It sounds childish to me - "Look mommy, the horsey is eating an apple" - "Hele maminko, koník jí jablíčko". Or senile - an old woman might use "jíst" when talking about her cats or dogs. The standard/neutral verb for animals is "žrát". When used with people, it's often rude, but in informal situations - when used with relatives or friends in a light tone, it can just mean "to eat messily" or "to eat too much".
"Nežer!" = "Stop stuffing yourself!"
Help! It was my understanding (from somewhere, don't remember where) that it is normal to use jíst with pets, which is what I actually meant when I commented. Is what (I thought) I learned incorrect, then? Thanks.
I guess it's individual. I have found a lot of instances of "kočka jí" and "pes jí" in articles by/for pet owners, so it's definitely OK. Personally, I would never use "jíst" for animals. I used to own a cat and I often visit a friend who owns 3 dogs - he, I and people in my close circle simply just use "žrát".
Like I said, "zvíře jí" sounds silly to me, like pretending the pet is a peer, a human friend. https://www.bohemiapetfood.cz/cs/novinky/2018-12-proc-ji-muj-pes-travu
@BoneheadBass: It's not about seeing dogs as possessions :D It's more about the manner of consuming food. "Jíst" generally conjures up the image of eating like a civilized human, usually with cutlery. If a human ate from a bowl on the floor using nothing but his/her mouth, I wouldn't use "jíst" either ;)
But there's definitely an overlap where pets might be said to "jíst" while messy/noisy human eaters or overeaters may "žrát". It's a matter of personal preference.
I just asked several of my friends if they'd ever use "jíst" when talking about dogs or cats. The only one who said yes was my Moravian mother. She has not passed this part of her idiolect onto me, go figure...
It reminds me the discussion after the Christian politician told someone that her dog did not "umřel" but "chcípl".
Um... as a long-time dog owner (notice I do not use the currently-fashionable-at-least-in-the-US "pet parent"), I have always considered my dogs as much more than, well, just animals. But I have been fortunate to have highly intelligent and very sensitive dogs in my life, and I can't even imagine thinking of them as mere possessions that happen to be alive. So silly or not, I'm stickin' with jíst until someone beats me into submission :-)
I agree with you, everyone of my dogs is definitely a member of our family. My daughter was (jokingly) calling one her younger brother. And we use equivalent of Chech "jíst" for our dogs, unless it was something bad he ate outside, that he was not supposed to eat, that was called using equivalent of "žrát". We have the same verbs in Polish and the meaning/usage is probably exactly the same.
Helpful to read these comments, because mine was corrected with this English statement "the big fish eats the small" which makes no sense. Even if there is no word for "one" in Czech in this context, in English it is important in order to understand the translation.
I eat = žeru; you eat = žereš; he/she eats = žere; we eat = žereme; you eat = žerete; they eat = žerou.
No, the Czech sentence is clearly singular.
- Ta velká ryba žere tu malou. - The big fish is eating the small one.
- Ta velká ryba žere ty malé. - The big fish is eating the small ones.
- Ty velké ryby žerou tu malou. - The big fish are eating the small one.
- Ty velké ryby žerou ty malé. - The big fish are eating the small ones.
