I'm moving to Prague in late August to study for a semester and I've been trying to learn a little czech. I used Pimsleur's Essential Czech to learn the basics (I find Pimsleur's system is the best for oral fluency), but it's not a very comprehensive course (only 5 hours worth of audio). It also never explains gramatical basics like verb conjugation though I was able to figure out much of it purely by speaking it. Anyway, that's the background of what I've done so far... Now I'm looking for a way to learn more advanced czech (can't pick up girls with the phrase "Excuse me, could you please tell me where the metro station is" afterall). I have a czech-english dictionary which I find almost helpful, with a few exceptions. Most importantly, it doesn't state whether or not a verb is irregular. I found a website that explains the four basic present tense conjugations, but if it's anything like English, Spanish, or French, that covers at most half of commonly used verbs. This being said, is there anything like 501 Czech verbs out there? This is an excellent tool for learning languages. I'm looking through my dictionary right now and chtit isn't even in the czech side (though it's on the english side for "want"). So obnoxious. Is there at least a decent dictionary out there. I'm using Hippocrene Concise Dictionary. Thanks guys.
in czech side of dictionary you will find words beginning with ch following words beginning with h (ch is a consonant in its own right), so thats where you will find chtit
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Chaz: is there anything like 501 Czech verbs out there? This is an excellent tool for learning languages.</font><HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Have a look at Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk or directly on czech websites, such as www.vltava.cz maybe they have that book
There is actually a book "401 Czech Verbs" by Bruce Davies and Jana Hejduková. Their website is here. Not every verb is in this book, but it is a very handy reference. The best dictionary in my opinion is "Anglicko-Český Česko-Anglický" by Josef Fronek, published by Leda. This dictionary has all conjugations and declinations. According to Bohemica.com this is the dictionary to get if you are anyway serious about learning Czech. I obtained my copy from amazon.co.uk. I assume it's also available on amazon.com. As for irregular verbs like čtu, the best place to look is pravidla.cz. This will give you all the conjugations as well as the infinitive of the verb. Very handy also to find the gender of nouns if your dictionary isn't to hand. Regards Phil
