Learn Hardcore Czech: Moje sestra čte noviny každý den a chce být novinářka. - My sister reads newspapers every day and wants to be a journalist.

sestra is a feminine noun of the -a type (like žena, woman).
In the sentence it is in nominative singular, because it is the subject:
Moje sestra = My sister (who is doing the action).

You cannot use sestra for a male; you must use bratr.

How is the verb čte formed, and what verb does it come from?

čte is the 3rd person singular present form of the verb číst (to read).

The present tense of číst is irregular:

já čtu – I read
ty čteš – you read (singular informal)
on/ona/ono čte – he/she/it reads
my čteme – we read
vy čtete – you read (plural / formal)
oni čtou – they read

So in the sentence:

Moje sestra čte = My sister reads / is reading.

Czech has no separate continuous form, so čte can mean both reads (habitually) and is reading (right now), depending on context. Here, with každý den (every day), it clearly means a habitual action.

Why is noviny (plural) used for newspaper?

In Czech, noviny is grammatically plural, but very often refers to one newspaper as a type of object.

noviny – newspapers / (a) newspaper (in general)
There is a singular form novina, but it’s rare and doesn’t mean a newspaper in the usual sense; it rather means a piece of news.

So:

čtu noviny – I read the newspaper / newspapers
kupuje si noviny – he buys a newspaper (every day)

So, although it looks plural, you can think of noviny as the normal way to say newspaper(s) in Czech.

What case is noviny in here, and why?

In čte noviny, the word noviny is in the accusative plural.

Reason:

číst (to read) is a transitive verb and takes a direct object in the accusative case.
noviny is a feminine noun of the -y plural type.
For noviny, the nominative plural and accusative plural look the same: noviny.

So the form doesn’t change, but functionally it’s accusative:

(Kdo?) Noviny jsou na stole. – The newspapers are on the table. (nominative)
Čte (co?) noviny. – She reads (what?) newspapers. (accusative)

What is going on in the phrase každý den? Why každý and not something else?

každý den means every day.

Grammar:

den (day) is a masculine inanimate noun.
With expressions of time like každý den, we use accusative for how often / when:
→ (Kdy?) každý den (when? every day).
každý is the masculine singular form of the adjective/pronoun meaning every in the accusative, but for masculine inanimate nouns the nominative and accusative forms are identical: každý den in both cases.

Compare with other genders:

každá hodina – every hour (feminine)
každé ráno – every morning (neuter)

So každý agrees in gender and number with den.

Why is there no word for “she” before chce? Shouldn’t it be ona chce?

Czech usually omits subject pronouns when they are clear from context or from the verb ending.

chce is 3rd person singular (he/she/it wants).
Earlier in the sentence we already have Moje sestra as the subject.
It’s understood that chce refers to moje sestra.

So:

Moje sestra čte noviny každý den a chce být novinářka.
= My sister reads newspapers every day and (she) wants to be a journalist.

You only add ona (she) if you want to emphasize she:

Ona chce být novinářka. – She wants to be a journalist (as opposed to someone else).

What verb is chce from, and how is it conjugated?

chce is the 3rd person singular present of the verb chtít (to want).

Present tense of chtít:

já chci – I want
ty chceš – you want (singular informal)
on/ona/ono chce – he/she/it wants
my chceme – we want
vy chcete – you want (plural / formal)
oni chtějí – they want

So:

chce být = she wants to be.

Again, there is no separate future tense here; chce být naturally refers to a future state (what she wants to become).

Why is the infinitive být used after chce?

In Czech, after chtít (to want), you use the infinitive of the verb you want to do.

chci jíst – I want to eat
chce spát – she wants to sleep
chce být novinářka – she wants to be a journalist

So být is just the basic infinitive to be.

Structure:
chce (wants) + být (to be) + novinářka (journalist).

Why is it novinářka and not novinář? What’s the difference?

Both words come from the same root:

novinář – male journalist (or generic journalist, but strongly felt as masculine)
novinářka – female journalist

In practice:

If you talk about a woman, you typically use the feminine form novinářka.
If you talk about a man, you use novinář.
For mixed groups, you usually use the masculine plural: novináři.

In the sentence, moje sestra is clearly female, so novinářka is the natural choice.

Shouldn’t it be chce být novinářkou (instrumental)? Is chce být novinářka correct?

Both forms are used in Czech, and both are considered correct:

chce být novinářka – nominative
chce být novinářkou – instrumental

Traditionally:

Instrumental after být is very common for professions and roles:
- Jsem učitelkou. – I am a (female) teacher.
- Chci být doktorem. – I want to be a doctor.

Nowadays, especially in spoken Czech:

The nominative is also widely used:
- Chci být učitelka.
- Chce být novinářka.

Subtle nuance (often very small):

Instrumental (novinářkou) can feel a bit more formal or “correct school Czech”.
Nominative (novinářka) feels more colloquial and is very natural in speech.

So chce být novinářka is absolutely fine in modern Czech, especially in everyday conversation.

Is the word order Moje sestra čte noviny každý den a chce být novinářka fixed, or can it change?

Czech word order is more flexible than English, because grammatical roles are shown by endings (cases), not by position.

All of these are possible and grammatical, with slightly different emphasis:

Moje sestra čte noviny každý den a chce být novinářka.
– neutral, subject first; closest to English.
Každý den moje sestra čte noviny a chce být novinářka.
– emphasizes every day.
Noviny čte moje sestra každý den a chce být novinářka.
– emphasizes it is my sister who reads the newspapers.

For a learner, the original sentence with subject–verb–object is the safest and most neutral pattern.

Does čte mean “reads” or “is reading”? Does Czech distinguish between these like English does?

Czech does not have a separate continuous tense like English.

čte can mean both:
- she reads (habitually)
- she is reading (right now)

The meaning is determined by context or by additional words:

Moje sestra čte noviny každý den.
→ My sister reads the newspaper every day. (habitual – clear from každý den)
Moje sestra teď čte noviny.
→ My sister is reading the newspaper now. (progressive – clear from teď, now)

So čte itself covers both English forms.