Past: šel, šla, jel

The past tense of jít is irregular: the stem changes to š-.

• šel: he, or I / you said by or to a man
• šla: she, or I / you said by or to a woman
• šli: they, for men or a mixed group

The prefixed verbs follow the same pattern: přijít → přišel, přišla, přišli (came); odejít → odešel, odešla, odešli (left). The verb jet is regular: jel, jela, jeli.

In the first and second person add jsem / jsi: Včera jsem šel do kina. (Yesterday I went to the cinema, said by a man.) A woman says šla. The third person has no helper word: Jana šla domů. (Jana went home.) Remember the old rule: on foot = šel, by vehicle = jel. Things follow their gender too: Přišel dopis. (A letter came.)