Při exekuci může úřad vymáhat poplatek.

Při is a preposition. In this sentence it means something like during, in the course of, or in connection with.

So při exekuci means during enforcement proceedings or in the course of an execution/enforcement action.

A very important grammar point: při requires the locative case.

Because při takes the locative, and exekuce is a feminine noun.

Its basic dictionary form is exekuce.
After při, it changes to the locative singular:

• nominative: exekuce
• locative: při exekuci

This is a common pattern for many feminine nouns ending in -e.

Not usually in everyday legal Czech.

In Czech, exekuce most often refers to debt enforcement, judicial enforcement, or seizure proceedings. So it is usually a legal-financial term, not the everyday English idea of carrying out a plan, and not usually the death-penalty meaning of execution.

So for learners, it is best to associate exekuce here with enforcement proceedings.

Úřad literally means office, bureau, or authority, depending on context.

In this sentence, it is best understood as an authority or the office/agency acting officially. Czech often uses institutional nouns this way, where English might choose a more specific phrase such as the authority, the office, or the government office.

Grammatically, úřad is the subject of the sentence.

Může is the 3rd person singular form of moci, which means can, may, or to be able to.

So:

• může = can/may

Because the subject is úřad (singular), the verb is also singular:

• úřad může = the authority can/may

In legal or formal language, může often means is allowed to or has the power to, not just physical ability.

Because it follows the modal verb může.

In Czech, just like in English, modal verbs are typically followed by an infinitive:

• může vymáhat = may/can enforce / may/can collect

Compare:

• může přijít = can come
• může zaplatit = can pay
• může vymáhat = can enforce / collect

So může is the finite verb, and vymáhat stays in the infinitive.

Not quite.

Vymáhat means to enforce, to recover, or to collect by official or legal means. It often suggests pressure, legal procedure, or compulsory recovery.

So vymáhat poplatek is stronger and more official than simply receiving or taking a fee.

For example:

• vybrat poplatek = to collect a fee, receive it
• vymáhat poplatek = to enforce payment of a fee, pursue it officially if not paid

That legal nuance is important here.

Poplatek is in the accusative singular, because it is the direct object of vymáhat.

The verb vymáhat takes what is being enforced or recovered, so the thing being pursued goes in the accusative.

For this masculine inanimate noun, the accusative singular looks the same as the nominative:

• nominative: poplatek
• accusative: poplatek

So the form does not change, but the function does: here it is the object.

Because Czech has no articles.

Unlike English, Czech does not have separate words for a/an and the. The listener understands definiteness from context.

So:

• úřad can mean an office, the office, an authority, or the authority
• poplatek can mean a fee or the fee

The exact English article depends on the situation and on the translation choice.

Yes. Czech word order is much more flexible than English word order.

The neutral order here is:

• Při exekuci může úřad vymáhat poplatek.

But other orders are possible, for example:

• Úřad může při exekuci vymáhat poplatek.

This still means basically the same thing, but the emphasis shifts slightly. Starting with Při exekuci highlights the circumstance first: during enforcement proceedings...

Czech often moves elements around for emphasis, topic-focus structure, or style, while the cases help preserve the meaning.

A rough pronunciation guide is:

przhee ek-zeh-KOO-tsee MOO-zheh OO-rzhat VEE-maa-hat POP-lah-tek

A few tricky sounds for English speakers:

• ř in při and úřad is a special Czech sound with no exact English equivalent
• ž in může sounds like the s in measure
• á is a long vowel
• stress in Czech is usually on the first syllable of each word:
  • Při
  • EXekuci
  • MŮže
  • Úřad
  • VYmáhat
  • POplatek

The hardest parts are usually při and úřad because of ř.