Spadnout

Spadnout is a Czech verb meaning to fall down, to drop, or to collapse from a higher position to a lower one. It can describe a physical fall, such as a person or object losing balance, as well as a figurative decline, for example in prices, numbers, or standings. The verb is commonly used in everyday speech to indicate an event that happens suddenly or unexpectedly.

Etymology and aspect: spadnout is built from the verb padat (to fall) with the prefix s-, which often signals completion of an action or a downward movement. It is a perfective, intransitive verb. Its imperfective counterpart is padat, used to describe ongoing or repeated falling. Because spadnout is perfective, it typically conveys a single, completed act and forms past and future tenses with standard Czech conjugation patterns; the present tense is usually understood as referring to a near-future event. Imperative forms include spadni (singular) and spadněte (plural).

Grammar and usage notes: Spadnout governs inanimate or animate subjects in the nominative and is often used with prepositional phrases to indicate from where or onto what the fall occurs, such as ze stolu, z hrany, na zem, do vody. It can express accidents, mishaps, or sudden declines, e.g., a person falling, an object dropping from a shelf, or prices dropping. The participle forms are spadl, spadla, spadli (for the past tense) and spadlý, spadlá, spadlé (as adjectives).

Examples: Dítě spadlo ze sedačky. Cena spadla o pět procent. Střecha spadla. Spadni! (fall down!).