Learn Hardcore Czech: Odpoledne jsem jel autobusem domů a počasí bylo znovu teplé. - In the afternoon I went home by bus and the weather was warm again.

Odpoledne here functions as a time adverbial (“in the afternoon”). It’s originally a neuter noun in the nominative case, but when used to answer “when?” it behaves like an adverb and doesn’t show further case endings.

Why is the verb written as jsem jel instead of just jel?

Czech past tense is formed with the auxiliary být (to be) plus a past participle. For first-person singular you use jsem (I was) and then the participle jel (went). Together jsem jel means “I went.” You could also say jel jsem, but the usual word order is jsem jel.

What’s the difference between jet and jít, and why do we see jel here?

jet means “to go by vehicle” (imperfective), while jít means “to go on foot.” Because the speaker travelled by bus, the past participle of jet is used: jel.

Why is autobusem in the instrumental case?

In Czech, the instrumental case expresses “by means of” when talking about transport without a preposition. So autobusem (instrumental of autobus) means “by bus.”

What is domů, and why doesn’t it change form?

domů is a directional adverb meaning “home” (toward home). It derives from the noun dům but functions as an adverb. Adverbs don’t decline, so domů remains unchanged and takes no preposition.

Why is the verb být in the past tense written as bylo and not byla?

Past forms of být agree with the subject’s gender and number. počasí (“weather”) is neuter singular, so the past form is neuter singular bylo. For a feminine subject you would use byla.

What gender and number is počasí, and how does it affect the adjective teplé?

počasí is a neuter singular noun. Adjectives agree with their nouns in gender, number, and case. Therefore teplé is the nominative singular neuter form of teplý (“warm”).

What does the adverb znovu mean, and are there synonyms?

znovu means “again.” Synonyms include opět (more formal) and ještě jednou (more conversational), but all three are often interchangeable.

Could the word order be changed, for example, to Jel jsem odpoledne autobusem domů?

Yes. Czech has relatively free word order because of its case system. You can say Jel jsem odpoledne autobusem domů or even Autobusem jsem jel odpoledne domů. Moving elements changes emphasis (what you put first feels more prominent) but not the basic meaning.