Adjektivní

Adjektivní is a term used in Czech grammar to describe adjectives and adjectival phenomena. It denotes the category of words that express properties or attributes of nouns and pronouns. In a broader sense, adjektivní can refer to anything related to adjectives, including adjectival phrases and forms derived from adjectives.

Adjectives in Czech are morphologically marked for gender, number and case, and they agree with the noun or pronoun they modify. They are typically declined according to standard patterns, with distinctions between hard and soft stems affecting their endings. Possessive adjectives (such as můj, tvůj, jeho) also participate in the same agreement system. Adjectives can be used attributively, appearing directly before the noun (krásný dům), or predicatively, after a linking verb (Dům je krásný).

The degrees of comparison are an important feature of adjectival usage. Most adjectives form a comparative with suffixes like -ší or -ejší and a superlative with the prefix nej- or the suffix -nej. Examples include krásný → krásnější → nejkrásnější. Some adjectives have irregular or unique comparative forms, such as dobrý → lepší → nejlepší, which should be learned as exceptions.

Adjectival syntax also includes the ability to form adjectival phrases, where an adjective works together with other words to modify a noun, and to function as part of predicative constructions during copular sentences. Adjektiva can influence the meaning and emphasis of a noun, providing precise or evaluative descriptions within a clause.

Related concepts include adjectivization (adjektivizace), the process by which a word or form becomes an adjective, and the distinction between adjectives and adverbs. Adjective usage contributes to the rich morphosyntactic system of Czech, enabling detailed and nuanced description of objects, qualities and relations.