Czech

  Words: Petr spí.
  Gloss: Petr.nom sleep.3sg
  Translation: Petr is sleeping.
  Contributor: Pavel Caha

  Words: Petr píše dopis.
  Gloss: Petr.nom write.3sg something.acc
  Translation: Petr is writing something.
  Contributor: Pavel Caha

  Words: Padá sníh.
  Gloss: fall.3sg snow.nom
  Translation: It's snowing.
  Contributor: Pavel Caha

  Words: Petr krájí maso.
  Gloss: Petr.nom cut.3sg meat.acc
  Translation: Petr is cutting meat.
  Contributor: Pavel Caha

  Words: Petra zasypal sníh.
  Gloss: Petr.acc bury snow.nom
  Translation: The snow buried Peter.
  Comment: The sentence may be used as an answer to a `what happened' type of question. It seems important that the object is prominent on an animacy scale.
  Contributor: Pavel Caha

  Words: #Petr maso krájí.
  Gloss: petr.nom meat.acc cut.3sg
  Translation: Peter is cutting meat.
  Comment: The sentence is infelicitous as an answer to `what is going on' question.
  Contributor: Pavel Caha

  Words: #Maso krájí Petr.
  Gloss: meat.acc cut.3sg Petr
  Translation: Petr is cutting the meat.
  Comment: This shows that inanimate objects do not precede the verb in `what happened' queries (compare the first example for this parameter)..
  Contributor: Pavel Caha

  Words: Petr jí polívku.
  Gloss: Petr eat.3sg soup.acc
  Translation: Petr is eating soup.
  Contributor: Pavel Caha

  Words: Petr {#dopis} píše {dopis}.
  Gloss: Petr.nom letter.acc write.3sg letter.acc
  Translation: Peter is writing a letter.
  Contributor: Pavel Caha

  Words: #Píše Petr dopis.
  Gloss: write.3sg Petr letter
  Translation: Petr is writing a letter.
  Comment: The sentence is grammatical as a question.
  Contributor: Pavel Caha

  Words: #Kousl Petra pes.
  Gloss: bit Petr.acc dog.nom
  Translation: A dog bit Petr.
  Comment: Grammatical as a question.
  Contributor: Pavel Caha

  Words: #Petra pes kousl.
  Gloss: Petr.acc dog.nom bit
  Translation: A dog bit Petr.
  Comment: The sentence is infelicitous as an answer to `what happened.' To my ear, it contrasts the activity expressed by the verb with conceivable alternatives.
  Contributor: Pavel Caha

  Words: Petra kousl pes.
  Gloss: Petr.acc bit dog.nom
  Translation: A dog bit Peter.
  Contributor: Pavel Caha

  Words: Petra uštknul had.
  Gloss: Petr.acc bit snake.nom
  Translation: A snake bit Petr.
  Comment: OVS seems to me the neutral word order when the object is more prominent than the subject on an animacy scale.
  Contributor: Pavel Caha

  Words: na stole
  Gloss: on table.loc
  Translation: on the table (static location)
  Comment: An example of a spatial prepositional phrase.
  Contributor: Pavel Caha

  Words: s Petrem
  Gloss: with Petr.ins
  Translation: with Petr (accompaniment only)
  Comment: an example of a non-spatial preposition
  Contributor: Pavel Caha

  Words: Porazil Murreyho větru navzdory
  Gloss: beat.3sg.past Murrey.acc wind.dat in_spite_of
  Translation: He beat Murrey in spite of the wind.
  Comment: Postpositions are rare (I can think of one more: naproti `against') compared to prepositions. They are complex, and allow a prepositional option (navzdory větru `in_spite_of wind' would be fine as well in the example).
  Contributor: Pavel Caha

  Words: inteligentní profesor
  Gloss:  intelligent-NOM.S.M professor-NOM.S.M
  Translation: inteligent professor
  Comment: the inverse order is not common in Czech
  Contributor: Peter Kosta

  Words: *pes nebezpečný
  Gloss: dog dangerous
  Translation: a dangerous dog
  Comment: However, there are several contexts where adjectives are fine postnominally:
  Contributor: Pavel Caha

  Words: chlape bláznivej
  Gloss:  guy crazy
  Translation: you crazy guy
  Comment: In imperatives, non-restrictive adjectives follow the noun.
  Contributor: Pavel Caha

  Words: pes domácí
  Gloss: dog domestic
  Translation: `the domestic dog'
  Comment: names of species always juxtapose noun and adjective in that order. So in this special niche, there are tons of examples like that.
  Contributor: Pavel Caha

  Words: dva/tři/čtyři chlapi
  Gloss: two/three/four guy.nom.pl
  Translation: two/three/four guys
  Contributor: Pavel Caha

  Words: *chlapi dva/tři/čtyři
  Gloss: guy.nom.pl 2/3/4
  Translation: two/three/four guys
  Contributor: Pavel Caha

  Words: vole jeden
  Gloss: ox.voc one
  Translation: oh you stupid man
  Comment: Vocatives may precede the numeral, although the numerical value of "1" is a bit unclear here.
  Contributor: Pavel Caha

  Words: ten-hle chap
  Gloss: dem-reinforcer guy
  Translation: this guy here
  Contributor: Pavel Caha

  Words: ten chlap
  Gloss: dem guy
  Translation: the guy
  Contributor: Pavel Caha

  Words: *chlap ten-hle
  Gloss: guy dem-reinforcer
  Translation: this guy here
  Contributor: Pavel Caha

  Words: Petrova kniha
  Gloss: Petr.poss book
  Translation: Peter's book
  Comment: The possessor has to be (i) human (ii) syntactically simple. A single word is always fine (i.e., John yes, but John Smith no), but a compound is ok too. The restriction on prenominal possessors thus has to make reference to "word-hood" in some sense.
  Contributor: Pavel Caha

  Words: *Petr(ova) Novákova kniha
  Gloss: Petr.poss Novak.poss book
  Translation: Petr Novák's book
  Contributor: Pavel Caha

  Words: *psova bouda
  Gloss: dog.poss shed
  Translation: the dog's shed
  Contributor: Pavel Caha

  Words: místo-prezidentova / žabožroutova kniha
  Gloss: vice-president.poss / frog_eater.poss book
  Translation: the vice-president's / frog-eater's book
  Comment: Illustrates the availability of compounds in the prenominal possessor position.
  Contributor: Pavel Caha

  Words: kniha Petra Nováka
  Gloss: book Petr.gen Novák.gen
  Translation: Peter Novák's book
  Contributor: Pavel Caha

  Words: bouda našeho psa
  Gloss: shed our.gen dog.gen
  Translation: our dog's shed
  Contributor: Pavel Caha

  Words: můj dům
  Gloss: 1.POSS.M.S house.NOM.M.S
  Translation: my house
  Contributor: Peter Kosta

  Contributor: Peter Kosta

  Contributor: Peter Kosta

  Words: červená kniha
  Gloss: red-NOM.SG.M-book-NOM.SG.F
  Translation: 'red book'
  Comment: Czech adjectives agree in number case and gender with the noun.
  Contributor: Peter Kosta

  Words: Ta žena byla unavená.
  Gloss: woman.nom was.fem tired.nom.fem.sg
  Translation: The woman was tired
  Contributor: Pavel Caha

  Words: Ty ženy byly unavený.
  Gloss: The women were tired.nom.pl
  Translation: The women were tired
  Comment: Set against the first example, we observe variation of the adjective depending on the number of the subject. Note that the particular agreement ending (-ý) is colloquial. The literary language would have -é on its place.
  Contributor: Pavel Caha

  Words: Ten chlap byl unavenej.
  Gloss: the guy.nom was tired.nom.sg.masc
  Translation: The guy was tired
  Comment: Set aginst the first example, this example shows gender agreement. The particular ending (-ej) is colloquial; the literary language would have -ý on its place.
  Contributor: Pavel Caha

  Words: hodně / moc / trochu unavenej
  Gloss: a_lot / too_much / a_bit tired
  Translation: very / too / a bit tired
  Contributor: Pavel Caha

  Words: Petr se domnívá, že se léto povedlo.
  Gloss: Peter REFL assume_3SGPS_COMP Refl summer was fine.
  Translation: "Peter thinks that the summer was nice."
  Contributor: Peter Kosta

  Words: Pavel napsal novou knihu, protože chtĕl přispĕt k rozšíření nových poznatků.
  Gloss: PaulNOMSG wrotePST newADJACCSGF bookACCSGF onPrep MinimalismLocSGM, becauseCOMP he wanted to contribute bradening our knowledge.
  Translation: Paul has written a new book, because he wanted to contribute broadening our knowledge.
  Contributor: Peter Kosta

  Words: Ty čtyry dopisy došly včera
  Gloss: The.nom.pl four.nom letters.nom.pl come-in.past yesterday
  Translation: The four letters arrived yesterday
  Comment: Context: Aba sent us four letters last week and two packages. (Example to be transferred to Pavel Caha)
  Contributor: Hilda Koopman

  Words: A co ty dva balíky?
  Gloss: And what the.nom.pl two.nom packages.nom.pl?
  Translation: and what about the two packages
  Comment: follow up on previous context. [example to be transferred to Pavel Caha)
  Contributor: Hilda Koopman

  Words: Ne-pracuju ne-chci ne-musím, ne-jsem
  Gloss: Neg-work1SGPRS, Neg_want1SGPRS Neg-must1SGPRS Neg-am1SGPRS
  Translation: I don't work, I don't want, I don't need, I am not
  Comment: cf. work on Negation by Peter Kosta (2003), (2004), (2005)
  Contributor: Peter Kosta

  Words: {*ne} Petr {ne}-publikuje {*ne} články {*ne}.
  Gloss: {neg} Petr {neg}-publish.3sg {neg} articles {neg}
  Translation: Peter doesn't publish articles.
  Comment: The example shows that in the SOV order, the negation comes between the subject and the verb (and only there). One reason to classify it as a prefix (as opposed to a particle) is that it obligatorily moves with the verb (the host of the prefix):
  Contributor: Pavel Caha

  Words: Petr {*ne} články {ne}-píše
  Gloss: Petr neg articles neg-writes
  Translation: Petr doesn't write articles.
  Contributor: Pavel Caha

  Words: A: Píše Petr články? B: Ne
  Gloss: A: writes Petr articles? B: Neg
  Translation: A: Does Peter write articles? B: No
  Comment: However, this example shows that a morpheme homophonous to the negative prefix "ne" can occur on its own in short replies. This is impossible for aspectual verbal prefixes (and is an unexpected behavior of an affix in general, or at least according to the definition given.)
  Contributor: Pavel Caha

  Words: br-á-t či ne-br-a-t? (*ne-br-á-t)
  Gloss: take-th-inf or neg-take-th-inf vs. neg-take-th-inf
  Translation: to take or not to take?
  Comment: This example shows that the negation has an influence on the length of the thematic vowel (glossed TH): long vowel (á) without the negation, short vowel (a) with the negation. This speaks in favor of its prefixal status. This is because the thematic vowel "a" is "regularly" short, and lengthens only with roots that have no vowel (plausibly to produce a bi-moraic "minimal word"). The fact that the "a" is short in the negated infinitive shows that the negation counts as a part of the "prosodic word."
  Contributor: Pavel Caha

  Words: Vidíš ten bílej ručník?
  Gloss: see.2sg that white towel
  Translation: Can you see that white towel (over there)?
  Contributor: Pavel Caha

  Words: *Vidíš ten ručník bílej?
  Gloss: see.2sg dem towel white
  Translation: Can you see that white towel (over there)?
  Comment: However, as noted above, in some special context Czech allows N>A orders (see the N>A parameter). These may be preceded by demonstratives to yield Dem>N>A orders:
  Contributor: Pavel Caha

  Words: Vidíš toho psa domácího?
  Gloss: see.2sg dem dog domestic
  Translation: Can you see that domestic dog (over there)?
  Contributor: Pavel Caha

  Words: Ty čtyry lodě musely z přístavu odplout.
  Gloss: dem four ships had_to from port sail_away
  Translation: The four ships had to leave the harbour.
  Comment: For reasons related to the property Num-Dem-N, let me mention that the example is fine in the following context: suppose four ships arrive to a harbour, but find all the docking places occupied. So, "the four ships had to leave the harbour." (This rules out partitive interpretation.)
  Contributor: Pavel Caha

  Words: Co si myslíš o těchhle čtyrech knížkách?
  Gloss: What refl think about these.here four books?
  Translation: What do you think about these four books?
  Contributor: Pavel Caha

  Words: *Čtyry ty lodě musely z přístavu odplout.
  Gloss: four dem ships had_to from harbour sail_away
  Translation: The four ships had to leave the harbour.
  Comment: The sentence is judged in a context where four ships arrived at a harbour, but found all docking places occupied. So "the four ships had to leave the harbour."
  Contributor: Pavel Caha

  Words: Čtyry ty lodě musely z přístavu odplout.
  Gloss: four the ships had_to from harbour leave.
  Translation: Four of the ships had to leave the harbour.
  Comment: The same word order as in the preceding example is grammatical in a context where five ships arrive at a harbour. Finding all but one docking place occupied, "four of the ships had to leave the harbour." Conclusion: Num-Dem-N is fine with partitive reading.
  Contributor: Pavel Caha

  Words: Jí Petr polívku?
  Gloss: eats Peter soup
  Translation: Does Peter eat soup? / Is Peter eating the soup?
  Comment: Compare this to the declarative example sentence in 05_Subject verb object. Set against the declarative sentence, the example shows that Czech yes/no questions put the verb to the left of the subject. There is no additional morpheme on the left periphery,
  Contributor: Pavel Caha

  Words: Jí Petr polívku?
  Gloss: eats Peter soup?
  Translation: Does Peter eat soup? Is Peter eating the soup?
  Comment: The sentence has a raising intonation at the end. Since such marking does not count as a bound morpheme, the answer to the parameter is NO.
  Contributor: Pavel Caha

  Words: Petr jí polívku?
  Gloss: Peter eats soup
  Translation: Peter eats soup?
  Comment: In comparison to the declarative in 05_svo, this sentence has a raising intonation at the end (typical for Cz questions). However, it does not front the verb (compare the example in Q_01). The meaning is dependent on further factors. If the main stress falls on "soup", and the raising intonation starts there, the meaning is surprise. With stress on the verb, one meaning is: does he eat it or drink it? Another one: does also Peter eat soup? Value set to NO, as these are not "neutral."
  Contributor: Pavel Caha

  Words: Píše Petr dopis?
  Gloss: writes peter letter
  Translation: Is Peter writing the letter?
  Comment: compare ex in property 01_sv
  Contributor: Pavel Caha

  Words: Petr bude psát dopis
  Gloss: Peter will write.inf letter
  Translation: Peter will write a letter / is going to write a letter
  Comment: a base-line sentence for the next one.
  Contributor: Pavel Caha

  Words: Bude Petr psát dopis?
  Gloss: will Peter write.inf letter
  Translation: Will Peter write the letter? Is Peter going to write the letter?
  Comment: Set against the first example, the sentence shows that only the aux moves. However, note that this is specific to the future aux `will.' Past tense aux is distinct:
  Contributor: Pavel Caha

  Words: Vy jste psali dopis
  Gloss: you.pl aux=be.2.pl written letter
  Translation: You were writing the latter
  Comment: a base line for the next ex:
  Contributor: Pavel Caha

  Words: *jste vy psali dopis?
  Gloss: are you.pl written letter?
  Translation: Were we writing the letter
  Comment: shows that the past aux cannot front. (probably related to the fact that the past aux is a 2nd position clitic, the future one not).
  Contributor: Pavel Caha

  Words: Jí Petr polívku? --- Jo. / Ano.
  Gloss: eats peter soup -- yes / yes
  Translation: Does Peter eat soup? --- Yes.
  Comment: The two markers differ in style. The first one is colloquial, the second one formal.
  Contributor: Pavel Caha

  Words: Jí Petr polívku? -- Jí.
  Gloss: eats peter soup -- eats
  Translation: Does Peter eat soup? -- yes
  Contributor: Pavel Caha

  Words: Bude Petr jíst polívku? -- Bude / *Jíst
  Gloss: will peter eat.inf soup? -- will / eat.inf
  Translation: Will Peter have some soup? -- yes
  Contributor: Pavel Caha

  Words: Jedli jste polívku? -- jedli / *jsme
  Gloss: eat-past.part aux=be-2.pl soup -- eat.past.part / aux-1.pl
  Translation: Did you eat the soup? -- Yes (we did)
  Comment: this example shows that the past tense aux behaves differently from the future aux. probably related to the fact that the past aux is a second position clitic. compare Q06-Aux fronting for a related difference between the past and future aux.
  Contributor: Pavel Caha

  Words: Bude Petr jíst polívku? -- Bude (*jíst)
  Gloss: will peter eat.inf soup -- will eat.inf
  Translation: Will Peter have some soup? Yes
  Comment: The example shows that the main verb cannot be included in the answer, although the aux alone can. there is perhaps an exception to the property value, see below
  Contributor: Pavel Caha

  Words: Jedl jsem tu polívku už někdy? -- jedl-(s) / *jedl jsi
  Gloss: ate am that soup already sometime -- ate-are / ate are
  Translation: Have I ever eaten that soup before -- yes, you have
  Comment: The Czech past auxiliaries are 2nd position clitics. Each seems to have slightly different properties (e.g. 1st sg can be left out when the subject is overt, 2sg cannot). The 2sg aux can be reduced to a single consonant, other auxiliaries cannot. (Even when reduced, it is a second pos clitic, it is not a bound morpheme.) I think that the reduced 2sg aux may be retained in a "minimal answer" (bit unsure what that is). No other aux has that property, as far as I can tell
  Contributor: Pavel Caha

  Words: Pavel tu knihu koupil odpoledne
  Gloss: PavelNOM_Det_ book.ACC bought_in the afternoon
  Translation: ‘Pavel bought the book in the afternoon'
  Contributor: Peter Kosta