Chapter 3– I Only Came To Help Her

           It was 6 o’clock or so when I reached Terka’s house. I stopped as if there was a concrete wall in front of me. I didn’t even notice that it wasn’t raining anymore and the city had been overwhelmed by darkness. Fear was sneaking into my mind, the fear of what I could see in the house. I felt anxious and confused. What if her Mom was at home? What should I tell her? My thoughts were suddenly interrupted by barking of Terka’s dog. I saw the door fling open and Mrs. Pilarová stretching her head forward to see who was coming.

        ‘Oh, Ase, come in, it’s raining out there,’ she shouted with her high-pitched voice. Before I managed to react their dog had run into their house. Mrs. Pilarová went after it and let the door open for me to come in. I slowly started moving towards the door, still thinking and trying to calm down. When I got in I heard Mrs. Pilarová fighting the muddy dog and slipping on the wet floor. 'I came to help her...,' I paused thinking, then finished: '...with her homework.' 'Oh, great, she's in her bedroom, make sure to come down here to get some snack later!'

I went upstairs and stopped in front of Terka’s bedroom. There were signs and notices on it. Some of them we made together. I reached the handle. It was cold. I opened the door and was illuminated by sunbeams of the sun peeking through the gray and black rainy clouds. ‘Mie scattering,’ I whispered to myself. Half-blinded by the sudden tide of sunshine I started looking for Terka. And there she was lying on the floor balancing a bottle of vodka in her left hand. Fortunately, she was moving. She lifted the bottle and gesticulated something which I didn’t understand. Then she finally spoke: ‘Get ouuuuttt! Get out from herrrre!’ ‘Good, you’re speaking,’ I said, ignoring her attempts to discourage me from helping her. But I realized she hadn’t opened her eyes yet. I opened a window to get some fresh air for her.

        ‘You girls up there?’ cried Terka’s Mom. ‘Shut up you-,’ I put my hand on Terka’s mouth: ‘Are you crazy?’ She started vomiting on it. ‘Oh no... That’s disgusting! Terka stop!’ I said with an absolutely serious voice. I guess that was what made her Mom go upstairs to see what was going on. ‘You girls okay?’ we heard her footsteps approaching to the bedroom. ‘What’s up?’ she asked as she was almost at the door. I would never forget the expression in her face when she saw us. I immensely got up to wipe my hand but forgot that I had opened the window and bumped my head so bad that I immediately fell unconcious.

        From what they told me I know that Mrs. Pilarová called an ambulance and before it had arrived she found a package of sleeping pills. And cleaning up the mess took her hours. And who told me this? The police.

Kapitola 1– Tichá Nenávist

Kolik jehliček se nachází v brachyblastu Pinus nigra (borovice černá)? Em… tři, mám pocit… nebo dvě? Mnoho stromů má jen dvě. Neptal by se na toto, kdyby odpověď byla tři. Ale… “Sakra, jsem v háji,” řekla jsem tiše, nicméně mě jedna z mých spolužaček slyšela. “Měla ses na to naučit líp,” byla její odpověď na mé prohlášení– ne otázka, byla to zjevná oznamovací věta. I když ona byla známá pro své odpovídání na řečnické otázky a ptaní se na informace, které už byly řečeny. Ona byla tak nějak z jiného světa. Byla moc hodná, tedy aspoň se tak chovala, ale neskutečně povrchní a namyšlená. To je ale jen můj názor. A také všech ostatních.

Zpět k testu z biologie. Mohlo by se zdát, že se jedná o písemku z latiny– hlavně tedy ta druhá část, nicméně taková už byla má studia na střední škole. Po tom, co jsme test dokončili, já a zbytek mé třídy jsme se přesunuli do třídy na matematiku. Procházení chodbami naší školy bylo jako hraní rugby. Nikdo nedodržoval nařízení chůze po pravé straně. Všichni do sebe vráželi a očividně jim to nevadilo. Mně ano.

Tento den byl jako jakýkoli jiný pracovní. Má nálada byla vysloveně na hovno a nic se mi nechtělo. Naštěstí jsem v matematice sedávala v zadní části třídy, kam pan profesor zavítal jen výjimečně. Neuvědomoval si to, ale měl štěstí, že mezi námi byla relativně velká distance. Pro mě byla matematika muka. Dokud to byla jen aritmetika, bylo vše v pořádku. Výsledek jsem mohla říct z hlavy. Ale když se začala objevovat písmenka, zpanikařila jsem. A můj vztah k geometrii, planimetrii a podobným věcem, ke kterým jsem byla příliš zapomnětlivá si přinést pomůcky, abych je vůbec mohla provozovat? Jedno slovo– asociace. Pokud zkonstruujete čtverec, co můžete, udělat pro to, aby nevypadal tak nudně? Je to dobrý způsob, jak rozvíjet svou kreativitu.

Tahle hodina byla jiná. Pan Křížek nebyl v dobré náladě. Byl cynický a neustále nám říkal, abychom drželi huby. Abych řekla pravdu, morálka ve všech hodinách byla otřesná, ale profesoři si na to prostě zvykli. Přece jenom vyrostli ve stejné zemi (jen pojmenované jinak). Bylo to tu normální. Někteří čeští profesoři chtěli, aby školy v České republice byly jako ty ve filmech, ty, o nichž snili– stádo zmanipulovaných, uniformovaných studentů téměř bez práv. Pan Křížek byl zvláštní. Byl jedním z těch profesorů, které jsem jednoduše nenáviděla. Ne proto, že učil věci, kterým jsem nikdy neporozuměla, ale v jeho lidské podstatě bylo něco, co se mi nelíbilo. Cítila jsem to pokaždé, když jsem jej potkala. Samozřejmě, že jsem byla proti chování některých studentů, ale říkat jim, promiňte, říkat NÁM, že jsme horda nezkušených idiotů byla drzá přehnaná reakce. A to jsem nemohla vystát. Slíbila jsem si, že budu na všechny hodná. Vlastně to bylo mé novoroční předsevzetí. Ale on byl výjimkou, kterou jsem musela konfrontovat.

Chapter 2– What have you done?

When I got home late in the afternoon, my friend Tereza, whom I call Terka, texted me: You free tonight? Can we meet at my place at six? Urgent! Thnx. I couldn’t say no to her, I needed to cheer up and she was always talking about herself and her problems so her interlocutors never had time to think of theirs. I loved her anyway. She was always smiling and was so funny. Nobody would ever guessed that she had come through so many bad situations and had schisms in her own family. Terka attended a medical high school, had great grades in the elementary school, which we attended together, but got worse when she got into this high. Anyway, I texted her back: Yes, what’s going on? Shall I bring something? It took her a while to answer. I started preparing a quick snack– two toasts with butter and blueberry jam and a glass grog tea. Yummy! Then checked the bus schedule and sorted out I didn’t have enough time to eat it all and get ready to go.

I was flitting around the house and preparing for leaving the house, when my Mom came home from work.

 ‘What’s going on?’ she said, watching me desperately looking for my keys. ‘I’m ‘bout to visit Terka. Do you know where my keys are?’ I asked her without even glancing at her. ‘No,’ she rejoined. ‘You should stay at home studying and revising for school,’ she cried after me but I was already gone running down the stairs.

 As soon as I ran out from our house, I found out it was raining. ‘Damn it!’ I mumbled. Looking at my telephone watches I was deciding whether to go back and get an umbrella or not. Eventually, I didn’t carry one. I also noticed another message from Terka however didn’t read it till I got on the bus.

It’s alright, I’ve solved it, you better stay at home, it’s fucking raining out there. You don’t say?! The wrinkled expression in my face was supposed to look surprised however it made some guys sitting against me laugh. I immediately transformed it into you-better-stop-staring expression and got off the bus in the centre.

I had no idea what to do. I felt down, jaded, my hair was getting wet. Usually when I had nothing to do, I used to light up a cigarette. But being alone, I was scared of that somebody could see me and tell my parents and the rain prevented me from going somewhere else.

Suddenly, I heard my phone ringing. It was Terka. ‘Hey, Ase, I need to talk to you. Sorry for alarming you without a reason,’ she said with a dubiously calm voice. ‘You know, you attend a prestigious school and...’ I stopped her: ‘What? The school is so lame, it’s just that...’ ‘Listen!’ she shouted and went on: ‘You are so beautiful, I cannot look at you without thinking that I’m way too ugly to be a friend of yours,’ she started sobbing. I immensely reacted, stepping away from an eld man trying to catch something from our dialogue: ‘No, stop saying this! I’m not pretty and you know th…,’ she went on like I didn’t say anything: ‘You are thin and I’m fat and stupid. I wanted you to come here I needed to talk to somebody but didn’t want to see you! I’m done! I don’t want to live anymore,’ she hung up.

I tried calling her back but she didn’t pick up the phone… 

Conjugation– MÍT (to have)

PRESENT TENSE 

Já mám                                   My máme

Ty máš                                     Vy máte

On/a/o má                              Oni/y/a mají

FUTURE TENSE

Já budu mít                           My budeme mít

Ty budeš mít                         Vy budete mít

On/a/o bude mít                   Oni/y/a budou mít

PAST TENSE

Já jsem  měl/a/o                    My jsme měli/y/a

Ty jsi měl/a/o                          Vy jste měl/i/y/a

On/a/o měl/a/o                       Oni/y/a měli/y/a

IMPERATIVE

Já ------                                    My mějme    

Ty měj                                     Vy mějte

On/a/o ať má                         Oni/y/a ať mají

Example sentences:
Měj se hezky. (Have a nice day. [Informal.])
Na oběd jsem měla salát z okurků a rajčat. (I had some salad consisted of cucumbers and tomatoes for lunch. [The subject is feminine.])
Když jsem byl malý, měl jsem psa. (When I was little, I had a dog. [Masculine subject.])

Lesson 6– Verb conjugations (basics, division)

 There are four verb groups in Czech (and some +/- million exceptions). It might be less difficult for those who speak French because both Czech and French have very similar systems.

    As I mentioned before, every single Czech verb infinitive ends in -t. But to recognize what group it belongs in you need to learn which suffixes indicate what group. Each group has its vary conjugation suffixes for each pronoun/person.

GROUP I

Suffixes -at and -át. For example "hádat" (to guess), "dát" (to give).

Já          hádám/ dávám        My          hádáme/ dáváme

Ty         hádáš/ dáváš            Vy           hádáte/ dáváte

On/a/o  hádá/ dává                Oni/y/a    hádají/ dávají

GROUP II

Suffixes -ovat, -ít and -ýt. Verbs like "darovat" (to give, to dedicate), "šít" (to sew), "mýt" (to wash).

Já          daruji/ šiji/ myji*               My         darujeme/ šijeme/ myjeme

Ty          daruješ/ šiješ/ myješ     Vy          darujete/ šijete/ myjete

On/a/o   daruje/ šije/ myje            Oni/y/a    darují/ šijí/ myjí

*Czechs often use ending -ju instead of -ji when speaking but it's incorrect, nevertheless tolerated. We never use the suffix -ju in written form.

GROUP III

Suffixes -it, -et and -ět. Verbs such as "platit" (to pay, to be accurate/in effect), "válet" '(to roll, to rock [slang]), "rozumět" (to understatnd).

Já            platím/ válím/ rozumím          My          platíme/ válíme/ rozumíme

Ty           platíš/ válíš/ rozumíš               Vy           platíte/ válíte/ rozumíte

On/a/o    platí/ válí/ rozumí                      Oni/y/a    platí/ válí/ rozumí

GROUP IV

Suffixes -ést and -ci. For instance "nést" (to carry), "moci" (can, to be able to, to be allowed to).

Já             nesu/ můžu (mohu*)       My         neseme/ můžeme

Ty            neseš/ můžeš                    Vy          nesete/ můžete

On/a/o     nese/ může                          Oni/y/a    nesou/ můžou (mohou*)

* these forms are archaic but still you can hear them from elders or when somebody wants to be deemed an educated man.

      As regards the exceptions, most of them can be classified in these groups, the only problem is that they don't end in those suffixes listed above.

Conjugation– BÝT (to be)

PRESENT TENSE

Já jsem                                     My jsme

Ty jsi                                        Vy jste

On/a/o je                                  Oni/y/a jsou

FUTURE TENSE

Já budu                                    My budeme

Ty budeš                                  Vy budete

On/a/o bude                             Oni/y/a budou

PAST TENSE

Já jsem byl/a                            My jsme byli/y/a

Ty jsi byl/a/o                            Vy jste byl/i/y/a

On/a/o byl/a/o                          Oni/y/a byli/y/a

IMPERATIVE

Já ----                                         My buďme

Ty buď                                      Vy buďte

On/a/o ať je                              Oni/y/a ať jsou


Example sentences:
Jsem naštvaná. (I'm angry. [Feminine subject.])
Rána jsou v zimě chladná. (The mornings are cold in winter.)
Buď tady v šest hodin. (Be here at six o'clock.)
Včera jsme byli ve škole. (We were at school yesterday.)
Byl jsem rozrušený. když mi volala. (I was distraught when she called me. [The first subject is masculine.])

Lesson 5– Assimilation

 This is a topic I forgot to mention in the Lesson 1. Native speakers do it automatically, we don't even realise it.
     What is assimilation? It is a phonological process by which one sound becomes more similar to the previous one or the following one. It is usually done to facilitate pronunciation. When voiced and voiceless sounds meet, one of them turns into a voicless sound.
      First, you need to find out the difference between voiced and voiceless consonants:

D x T  (dry x try)
G x K (gone x calm)
Z x S (zygote x sleep)
H x Ch (hold x loch ness)
B x P (burst x plant)
V x F (via x fake)
Ď x Ť (dy x ty)
Ž x Š (pleasure x mushroom)
N x N (note x fang)
Ř x Ř (tři x dři) => you don't have to pay attention to this one, because it is impossible to pronounce voiced "ř" after any voiceless consonant and vice versa.
(Other consonants don't assimilate.)

Assimilation in the middle/ at the end of words

V x F

borůvka, f. ['boa-roof-kah] (blueberry) – "k" is a voiceless sound, therefore you have to read "v" as "f"

plav ['pluf] (swim!) – it sounds weird when pronouncing each sound voiced, especially those at the end of words, therefore "f" instead of "v"

BUT!

zavolat ['zah-voa-lut] (call) – "o" is a vocal, it doesn't change anything about the pronunciation of the word

B x P

trubka, f. ['troup-kah] (tube) – "k" is a voiceless consonant, "b" is read as "p"

zob, m ['zoap] (seed for poultry) – "b" at the end of a word is pronounced as "p"

BUT!

obvaz, m. ['oab-vus] (bandage) – "v" is a voiced sound, so you must read "b" as "b"

zip, m. ['zip] (zip)

D x T

vodka, f. ['voat-kuh] (vodka) – "d" => "t"

med, m. ['met] (honey) – "d" => "t"

BUT!

medvěd, m. ['med-vyeht] (bear) – "v" is a voiced consonant, therefore the preceding "d" is really read as "d" 

kat, m. ['cut] (executioner)

Ď x Ť

choďte ['choaty-teh] (walk!) – "t" is a voiceless consonant, so "ď" is read as "ť"

káď, f. ['ca:ty] (tub) – "ď" at the end of a word is read as "ť"

BUT!

nať, f. ['nutye] (leaves)

Z x S 

kaz, m. ['cus] (flaw) – "z" => "s"

oblázky, pl., m. ['oab-lu:s-kih] (pebbles) – "k" is a voiceless sound, "z" => "s"

BUT!

jízda, f. ['yie:z-duh] (ride) – "d" is a voiced sound, so "z" must be read as "z"

les, m ['les] (forrest)

Ž x Š

muž, f. ['moush] (man)– "ž" is at the end of the word, so it must be read as "š"

pokožka, f. ['poa-kosh-kuh] (epidermis)  – "ž" => "š"

BUT!

kůže, f. ['coo-sue] (skin) – "e" is a vocal, it doesn't change anything about word's pronunciation

veš, f. ['vesh] (louse)

H x Ch

výtah, m. ['vee-tuch] (lift/ elevator) – "h" => "ch"

nehty, pl. m. ['nech-tih] (nails) – "h" => "ch"
BUT!
nehoda, f. ['neh-hoa-duh] (accident) – "o" is a vocal, it doesn't change anything about the pronunciation
hoch, m. arch. ['hoach] (boy)

You don't have to memorize all of these; as you listen to the words, you'll start doing it subconsciously.

love & peace
Ciray