mít

Mít is a Czech verb meaning "to have" or "to possess." It is one of the most common and essential verbs in the language, used to express possession, relationships, and a wide range of idiomatic constructions. In Czech, mít also functions as a helper for forming future tenses and certain conditional and modal expressions.

In the present tense, mít is irregular. The forms are: já mám, ty máš, on má, my máme, vy máte, oni mají. The irregularity centers on the root and the é-arrangement in the third person singular. The past tense is formed with the auxiliary být in the past and the past participle: já jsem měl (masculine), já jsem měla (feminine), my jsme měli, my jsme měly, vy jste měli, vy jste měly, oni měli, ony měly. The future tense is built with the auxiliary budu plus the infinitive: budu mít, budeš mít, bude mít, budeme mít, budete mít, budou mít.

The conditional mood uses the particle by with the past form: já bych měl (masculine) / já bych měla (feminine); my bychom měli / bychom měly; vy byste měli / měly; oni by měli / ony by měly. Mít also participates in a wide array of fixed expressions, such as mít rád (to like), mít na mysli (to have in mind), mít čas (to have time), and mít na starost (to be responsible for).

Etymology traces mít to the Proto-Slavic root *mětъ, with cognates in Polish mieć, Slovak mať, Russian imati/иметь, Ukrainianмати. The verb remains central to Czech syntax and everyday speech, underpinning both simple possession and more abstract notions of possession and obligation.