Conjugation (-am/-as) in Czech

Overview

The -am/-as conjugation pattern is the most common and regular verb class in Czech. Verbs in this group have infinitives typically ending in -at and form their present tense with the endings -am, -as, -a, -ame, -ate, -aji. This pattern covers hundreds of everyday verbs including delat (to do/make), volat (to call), cekat (to wait), and hrat (to play).

At the A1 level, this conjugation class is your gateway into Czech verb morphology. Once you internalize these endings, you can conjugate a huge number of verbs correctly. The pattern is highly predictable -- if you know the infinitive ends in -at, you can almost always apply these endings.

This regularity makes the -am/-as class the ideal starting point before tackling the other conjugation patterns (-im/-is, -u/-es, -uji/-ujes), which have more variation and exceptions.

How It Works

Present Tense Endings

Person	Ending	Example: delat (to do)
ja	-am	delam
ty	-as	delas
on/ona/ono	-a	dela
my	-ame	delame
vy	-ate	delate
oni/ony/ona	-aji	delaji

Common Verbs in This Pattern

Infinitive	Meaning	1st person
delat	to do/make	delam
volat	to call	volam
cekat	to wait	cekam
hrat	to play	hraju*
znat	to know	znam
hledat	to search	hledam
pracovat	to work	pracuju*

*Note: Some verbs in -at actually follow the -uji/-ujes pattern (like pracovat). The distinction becomes clearer with practice.

Negation

Add ne- directly to the conjugated form: nedelam, nedelas, nedela, etc.

Examples in Context

Czech	English	Note
Delam to.	I'm doing it.	Basic present
Volas mi?	Are you calling me?	Question by intonation
Cekame na autobus.	We're waiting for the bus.	na + accusative
Delaji chyby.	They make mistakes.	3rd person plural
Hraju fotbal.	I play football.	hrat variant
Neznam ho.	I don't know him.	Negation
Znam tu restauraci.	I know that restaurant.	With accusative object
Hledas neco?	Are you looking for something?	Question
Poslouchame hudbu.	We listen to music.	poslouchat follows this pattern
Co delas?	What are you doing?	Very common question

Common Mistakes

Mixing Up Conjugation Patterns

• Wrong: Delim to. (using -im pattern)
• Right: Delam to.
• Why: Delat belongs to the -am/-as class. Using endings from other patterns produces non-existent forms.

Forgetting the -aji Ending in Third Person Plural

• Wrong: Oni dela.
• Right: Oni delaji.
• Why: The third person plural has its own distinct ending -aji (or colloquially -aj). It is not the same as the third person singular.

Applying This Pattern to All -at Verbs

• Wrong: Pracovam. (from pracovat)
• Right: Pracuji/Pracuju.
• Why: Some -at verbs (especially -ovat verbs) follow the -uji/-ujes conjugation. Check the conjugation class, not just the infinitive ending.

Usage Notes

In colloquial Czech, the 3rd person plural -aji often shortens to -aj: delaj instead of delaji. The 1st person singular can also appear as -am or -aju for some verbs. Standard written Czech prefers the full forms.

Practice Tips

1. Conjugation tables: Write out the full conjugation of five new verbs from this class each day. The repetition builds automatic recall.
2. Daily activities: Describe your daily routine using -am/-as verbs: Vstavam v 7. Delam snidani. Cekam na tramvaj.
3. Question practice: Pair verbs with question words: Co delas? Kde pracujes? Koho hledas?

Related Concepts

• Next steps: Negation -- how to negate these verb forms
• Next steps: Past Tense -- past forms of these verbs
• Next steps: Reflexive Verbs -- reflexive versions of common verbs
• Next steps: Imperative Mood -- command forms