končí vs přestává

[Ctyri koruny]

Is there a difference in meaning between them or is it just a grammar thing?

What are the grammar rules?
končít / skončí aren't used in the infinitive?

[kibicz]

Přestává pršet - It stops raining
vs.
Vlak končí ve stanici Kačerov - Train ends/terminates at Kačerov station.

For me the difference is similar to the English one.

Končit and skončit (ukončit, zakončit etc.) are used in infinitive:
Končit až k ránu
Skončit s kouřením
Ukončit pracovní poměr
Zakončit sezónu
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[Ctyri koruny]

Thanks for your help!
I read it but i didn't reply till now because we didn't do it in class til now.

I don't see any similarities between things and English heh.

My teacher said (but she found it puzzling) that Končit is related to konec and usually means something is finished for good/is over.
Where as Přestávát means it is finished for now.

There are no corresponding words in English as far as I know.
What do you think?

The main difference to worry about is that Končit goes with the infinitive as you said.

[dzurisova]

[Ctyri koruny]

I still don't think it goes with anything in English.
Look at these examples:

Smoking it would usually go with give up yes?
As in stop for good?
1. Už jsem pětkrát ............................................ kouřit, ale vždycky jsem zase začal. Give up. Okay so he starts again plus it's with infinitive.
2. Už mě to nebaví! Kdy konečně ...................................... ta nekonečná diskuse?
3. Nevíš, kolikátého ...................................... kurz češtiny? Patnáctého nebo šestnáctého? Here it has to be končit again but there is nothing in the sentences to suggest that the course is "terminating" and not just going on christmas break.
4. Prosím tě, ....................................... dělat ten hluk! Ruší mě to!
5. Když jsem byla nemocná, ..................................... jsem pít kávu. Bylo mi z ní špatně.
6. Tak v téhle firmě jsem .....................................! Začnu si hledat novou práci.
7. Na Silvestra jsem slíbil manželce, že .................................. pít alkohol. I promised my wife I would give up alcohol. Give up would have a permanent meaning here in English, here again we have to use přestanu in Czech

8. Kdy ......................................... v práci? Jestli nespěcháte, můžeme jít na kávu. You would say this is a temporary stop? But it goes with končit.
9. Až .......................................... ten film, dáme si něco k jídlu a půjdeme spát.
10. Kouřila jsem od patnácti let, ale minulý rok jsem konečně ......................................


So the others are okay, but I left them in just as a matter of interest.
These are all from Czech Step by Step 2, teachers notes (Which are available free on www.czechstepbystep.cz
Answers don't seem to be available but I did it in class today.
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Directory of free Czech Learning aids:
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[Carbone]

You can actually rephrase some of them and use the other word without changing its meaning.

1. Už jsem pětkrát přestal kouřit, ale vždycky jsem zase začal.
1. Už jsem pětkrát skončil s kouřením, ale vždycky jsem zase začal.

7. Na Silvestra jsem slíbil manželce, že přestanu pít alkohol.
7. Na Silvestra jsem slíbil manželce, že skončím s pitím alkoholu.

and since you can change the meaning of both sentences with the same word (začít), i'd say you'll have a hard time finding any difference in meaning.

1. Už jsem pětkrát začal kouřit, ale vždycky jsem zase skončil.
1. Už jsem pětkrát začal s kouřením, ale vždycky jsem zase skončil.

7. Na Silvestra jsem slíbil manželce, že začnu pít alkohol.
7. Na Silvestra jsem slíbil manželce, že začnu s pitím alkoholu.

if začít->skončit and začít->přestat then skončit=přestat.

When to use them?

There seems to be infinitive after 'přestat'.

1. přestal kouřit
4. přestaň dělat
5. přestala jsem pít
7. přestanu pít
10. přestala (kouřit) - it's shortened
=> here you could probably use 'skončila (s kouřením)' as well.

That's the only rule I can derive from these sentences, but that's just layman's logic, I'm not a linguistic expert.

[Ctyri koruny]

[wer]

[Ctyri koruny]

Aha.

I'm just going to have to hope nothing in my vicinity stops at any point..and if it does, i will refrain from commenting.
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Directory of free Czech Learning aids:
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[student]

Though they seem so fine-grained, this thread catches the kind of issues I enjoy thinking about. As I attempt to learn Czech, I find myself puzzling over the fine semantic nuances of words that are probably obvious to native speakers, and I love it when I feel like I get an insight how nearly synonymous words somewhat differ.

In English, for example say/tell are regularly used synonymously, but they have a nuanced difference in semantics. As I understand it: Say points or focuses more on the act of speaking and the speaker (i.e., the subject) For example, Kat will say something or Kat said that... both point toward primarily toward what Kat is doing. Tell points more towards the content of the speech (i.e., the direct object). For example, Kat will tell a story will probably sound better to most English speakers than Kat will say a story. Similarly, Kat will say some random words sounds better than Kat will tell some random words . The semantics also constrain the grammar: You can say Kat will tell you something but you can't say Kat will say you something, it'd have to rephrase it as: Kat will say something to you.

It's fun to learn these nuances in Czech. Learning a new language is like learning a different set of colors to paint with.

Going with wer's comments (and carbone and Kibicz examples) as my guide, I'd like to wildy flail at a summarize what I see to be the the semantic nuance between končit/skončit vs prestávat/přestat. (As mentioned, the difference is a relatively fine one, in many cases such as wer pointed out, they can be used synonymously).

The focus of přestat appears to be more on the termination itself. Kibicz's example Přestává pršet - It stops raining. focuses on the state change that occurs when the rain stops, but not on the process of raining itself. Končit puts focus on the process or object that is ending. Kibicz's example Vlak končí ve stanici Kačerov - Train ends/terminates at Kačerov station focuses on the finite endpoint of the line, but the line maintains it's purpose. Does this appear to capture the some aspect of the semantic difference?