The system of creating negative sentences and questions is fairly easy in Czech. There are no auxiliary verbs but it is important to say the sentences with the right intonation.

Negatives

Czech creates negation by adding ne- prefix straight before the verb. There is no hyphen, no space and the ne is pronounced quickly together with the verb. The intonation at the end of the sentence remains the same as in affirmative sentences.

The only exception is the third person singular of the verb to be. JE (is) – NENÍ (isn’t).

Multiple Negatives

There is also ni- prefix which is used for negative pronouns (nikdo, nic, nikde…).

In connection with these pronouns, unlike English, it is possible (and grammatically correct) to use more negatives in one sentence. Double, triple and quadruple negatives are a common part of speech.

Negative Questions

It is common to use negative questions when you want to suggest or propose something in a very polite way.

Questions

Questions in the Czech language can have the same word order as affirmative sentences. The only difference is in the intonation which sharply rises towards the end of the sentence.

Alena pracuje na zahradě.

intonation slightly drops

Alena pracuje na zahradě?

intonation sharply rises

However, it is common practice to start with the verb. It is especially useful for beginner learners who are not able to apply the question intonation correctly. Starting a sentence with a verb automatically turns the sentence into a question even though the author of the sentence misses the intonation (which still should be there).