Padnout

Padnout is a Czech verb meaning to fall or to drop, typically describing a sudden movement from an upright position onto a surface or a drop in quantity. It can refer to a person or an object falling, as well as to prices, numbers, or events that occur abruptly. In everyday usage, padnout often conveys a sense of a single, completed act rather than a process.

The verb is the perfective counterpart of the imperfective padat. Padnout indicates the completion of the action and is used with future tense forms (rather than present). Common future forms are padnu, padneš, padne, padneme, padnete, padnou. The imperfective version padat expresses ongoing or repeated falling and has present-tense forms such as padám, padáš, padá, padáme, padáte, padají.

Usage notes and examples:

- Physical fall: Člověk padl na chodník. (A person fell onto the sidewalk.)

- Drop in quantity or value: Cena padla během večera. (The price fell during the evening.)

- Sudden event: Déšť padl během chvíle a zpozdil cestu. (The rain fell suddenly and delayed the trip.)

- In contrast to related verbs, padnout emphasizes the moment of impact or completion; for ongoing states or repeated evens, padat is more appropriate.

Etymology and related forms: padnout derives from the Slavic root pad- meaning to fall. It is linked to padat as its perfective counterpart. Related phrases may use prepositions to specify the target or scope of the fall, e.g., padnout na zem (to fall to the ground).

See also: padat, spadnout, fall (in Czech verbs of motion).

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