Postupně čteme celý text.

Postupně is an adverb. It means gradually, step by step, or little by little.

In this sentence, it tells you how the reading happens: not all at once, but in stages.

A few similar English ideas are:

• gradually
• progressively
• step by step

So Postupně čteme celý text suggests that the whole text is being read bit by bit.

Čteme is the 1st person plural present tense form of číst = to read.

It means we read or we are reading.

The verb endings show the subject, so:

• čtu = I read
• čteš = you read
• čte = he/she/it reads
• čteme = we read
• čtete = you (plural/formal) read
• čtou = they read

So čteme is used because the subject is we.

In Czech, subject pronouns are often omitted because the verb ending already tells you who the subject is.

Here, čteme already means we read / we are reading, so my = we is not necessary.

You could say:

• My postupně čteme celý text.

But this usually adds emphasis, something like:

• We are reading the whole text gradually.

Without my, the sentence sounds more neutral and natural in most contexts.

Because text is the direct object of the verb čteme, it is in the accusative case.

For an inanimate masculine noun like text, the accusative singular is the same as the nominative singular:

• nominative: text
• accusative: text

The adjective must match the noun in gender, number, and case:

• masculine inanimate
• singular
• accusative

So:

• celý text = the whole text

That is why the phrase appears in exactly this form.

Celý means whole, entire, or all of.

So celý text means:

• the whole text
• the entire text

It does not mean just a complete text in some abstract sense. Here it specifically means the text in its entirety.

Compare:

• čteme text = we are reading a text / the text
• čteme celý text = we are reading the whole text

So celý adds the idea of completeness.

This is a very common and important question.

Czech uses imperfective and perfective verbs to express different kinds of actions.

• číst is imperfective: it focuses on the process, the ongoing activity
• přečíst is perfective: it focuses on finishing the reading

Here, čteme comes from číst, so it describes the activity as a process:

• Postupně čteme celý text. = We are reading the whole text gradually / step by step.

It does not emphasize completion. It emphasizes that the reading is happening as an ongoing action.

If you wanted to stress completion, you would use a perfective verb in an appropriate tense, for example:

• Přečteme celý text. = We will read the whole text / We will finish reading the whole text.

So the present tense with čteme is natural because the sentence describes the reading process.

Yes. Czech word order is more flexible than English word order because grammatical roles are often shown by case endings rather than position.

The basic sentence is:

• Postupně čteme celý text.

But other word orders are possible, for example:

• Čteme postupně celý text.
• Celý text čteme postupně.

These versions can sound slightly different in emphasis.

Very roughly:

• Postupně čteme celý text.
  Focuses early on the idea of gradually.
• Celý text čteme postupně.
  Brings the whole text to the front for emphasis.

So the original word order is natural, but it is not the only possible one.

Yes, čteme can look tricky to an English speaker because of the consonant cluster čt.

A simple approximation is:

• CHTEH-meh

More accurately:

• č sounds like ch in chair
• t is a normal t
• e is like e in bed
• me is pronounced meh

So čteme is approximately chteh-meh.

The čt cluster is normal in Czech, even though it may feel unusual at first.

Yes. Text is a normal Czech noun, and it looks almost the same as the English word text.

In Czech it means text, written passage, or piece of writing, depending on context.

Its grammatical gender is masculine inanimate.

So in this sentence:

• text = the thing being read
• celý text = the whole text

Even though the word looks familiar, it still behaves according to Czech grammar.

Not by itself. The sentence only says that we are reading the whole text gradually.

It does not specify whether the reading is:

• silent
• out loud
• in class
• at home

If Czech wants to make out loud explicit, it would usually add something like:

• nahlas = aloud

For example:

• Postupně čteme celý text nahlas. = We gradually read the whole text aloud.

So the original sentence does not include that extra meaning on its own.