"We have many yellow coats."
Translation:Žlutých kabátů máme mnoho.
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463
Remembering a comment from Jamie 08MD, I guess that the word order of the Czech sentence could be imagined as an answer to the question "What about the yellow coats, do you have any?". ... "Of course we have! ŽLUTÝCH KABÁTŮ (1) MÁME (2) MNOHO (3). So, the first part of the sentence contains a rather emphasized part and connect the new sentence with the previous one, the question. The second structure (máme, we have) is clitic, no emphasis. The last position is the most important and emphasized one, contains the new information and is therefore logically always put at the end. I'd appreciate somebody to reply. Best of luck here to all learners and helpers!
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Due to your HELP and the precious tips of other contributors (Kacenka, Jamie and many more). I read the comments, ALL of them. To learn Czech for an "Italian Dutchie" like me can only be realized through a spirit of community. And by feeling myself often unsure about something. THANKS THANKS THANKS ;-)
It doesn't really matter if "máme" is a clitic here, I would say it isn't, but the main point is what 2200Lucia60 said about the beginning of the sentence (the topic) and the end (the focus) - and "máme" just remains unemphasized in the middle.
That said, auxiliary verbs (esp. forms of "být" in Czech as part of the past tense) often behave as clitics even though they're verbs. But this "máme" here is not auxiliary.
I am not saying this is the same thing, but there is no rule against verbs being clitics. If you are aware of one, please share your references.