klíovou

Klíovou is the instrumental singular feminine form of the Czech adjective klíčová, which means key or crucial. It is used to describe feminine nouns in the instrumental case, for example, in phrases like “hrát klíčovou roli” (to play a key role) or “mít klíčovou roli v projektu” (to have a key role in a project). The standard and widely accepted spelling in Czech is klíčovou; the form klíovou appears primarily as a nonstandard variant or in contexts where diacritics are omitted.

Origin and form are typical of Czech adjectives that derive from the noun klíč (key). The base is klíč-, to which the feminine suffix -ová is added, and in the instrumental singular the ending becomes -ovou. Thus feminine nominative klíčová changes to instrumental klíčovou to agree with the feminine noun it modifies. As with other adjectives in Czech, klíčová exhibits full gender and case agreement: feminine singular, instrumental form used here is klíčovou.

Usage notes: klíčovou is used whenever the action or relation is expressed with an instrumental object or complement. Common contexts include describing roles, traits, or characteristics that are central or essential. Examples include: “Ve filmu ztvárnila klíčovou roli.” (In the film she played a key role.) “Stal se klíčovou osobností.” (He became a key personality.) While klíčovou is standard, the nonstandard form klíovou may appear in texts that drop diacritics or in informal writing, but it is generally avoided in formal Czech.

See also: klíč, klíčový, role, osobnost.