"František and Žofie live at her parents'."

Translation: František a Žofie žijí u jejích rodičů.

[chris95041]

I'm wondering if bydlet isn't the better verb in this sentence, since we're talking about living as in dwelling...

[VladaFu]

Bydlet is also accepted, but žít is as natural as is the Ebhlish to live.

[chris95041]

Ahoj Vlad! Thanks for the clarification. I'll try to practice using žít more then :)

[simeki]

František a Žofie žijí u jejích(their) / její (her) rodičů.

[endless_sleeper]

You have to decline the possessive pronoun. The correct form of její 'her' is in this case jejích (masculine plural, genitive case) The pronoun and the noun it refers to (rodiče) have to match. (same case, same gender, same number...)

'Their' is jejich. It's not declined. Note the difference in vowel length.

[Chessnecof]

Thanks, that's tricky. Is it normal that rodiče feels rather famine, as words with familiar endings are famine? Or is this wrong

[VladaFu]

Rodiče should feel rather plural. Then, the -ič ending is chiefly masculine and denotes an actor of some process, like the Latin -tor, english -er. Řidič, vodič, vařič. The feminine complement is -ička.

rodit is a verb and means to give birth. There is also feminine rodička, but that is a woman actually about to give birth and soon after giving birth.

Do not get confused with the -ice ending, which is indeed feminine. podvodník/podvodnice, služebník/služebnice, slepice, krabice, opice.

The -ička can also a dimunitive of these: slepička, krabička, opička. However, there is no rodice (there was rodicě in Old Czech).

[BoneheadBass]

Would "František and Žofie live BY her parents''" work in the reverse sentence? At least in AmE, that phrase would be used, with "by" having the sense of "near." Or does "u" not translate to "by" in this particular context? Just wondering.

[VladaFu]

The "u" here normally means they live together in the same house if not even in the same flat.

However, in the right context, it could likely also mean they live nearby.

[tenpenny2]

How would you say "Frantisek and Zofie live at their parents?"

[VladaFu]

František a Žofie žijí u svých/jejich rodičů. Depending whether the "their" belongs to František and Žofie or to someone else.

[tenpenny2]

Dekuji moc!

[horsthartm2]

I wonder why it's not locative? Thx

[BoneheadBass]

U is followed by the genitive. If you're wondering why a phrase that uses "u" is used when speaking of where someone lives instead of a phrase that uses a different preposition, perhaps one of the Czech natives on the team will jump in.

[AgnusOinas]

Well, what is there to add? :) Prepositions... "U + person(genitive)" means "at that person's place/home". It corresponds to the German "bei" and French "chez".

• u Františka - at František's place
• u tebe, u vás - at your place
• u našich - at my/our parent's place

If you remember "u" as "in the (close) vicinity OF (object)" or "at the place/home OF (person)", it could help you remember the genitive valence.