Learn Hardcore Czech: Dívám se na film v televizi.

dívat se (na něco) = to look at / to watch (something)
se itself doesn’t mean myself here in a literal sense; it’s part of the verb and you should learn dívat se as one unit.

Using just dívat without se sounds incomplete or wrong in standard Czech when you mean to watch / to look. You need se:

Dívám se na film. = I am watching a film.
Dívám na film. ❌ (incorrect)

So, think of dívat se as the full verb, not just dívat.

Why do we use na film and not just film after dívám se?

With dívat se, Czech almost always needs a preposition to introduce what you are looking at or watching. The usual pattern is:

dívat se na + accusative

So:

Dívám se na film. = I’m watching a film.
Dívám se film. ❌ sounds wrong to a native speaker.

Na in this construction can often be translated as at or (at) / (to) in English: to look at something, to watch something. The verb simply requires na.

What case is film in, and why is it na film, not na filmu?

After na with the meaning onto / at / towards a target (here: “watching something”), Czech uses the accusative case.

The nominative form is film.
The accusative of film is also film (masculine inanimate; nominative = accusative).

So:

na film = na
- accusative (what I am watching)

Na filmu would be locative case and would mean on the film in a more literal, physical or abstract sense (e.g. Mluvíme o filmu = we are talking about the film). For watching, you need na + accusative → na film.

Why is it v televizi, and what form is televizi?

Televize is a feminine noun. In this sentence, v means in / on (a medium), and that preposition takes the locative case when it means location.

Nominative: televize (the TV / television)
Locative (singular): v televizi (in/on TV)

So televizi is the locative singular form of televize.

v televizi literally means in the television but is idiomatically understood as on TV:

Dívám se na film v televizi. = I’m watching a film on TV.

What is the difference between na televizi and v televizi?

There is a subtle but important difference:

dívat se na televizi
- Literally: to look at the TV (set)
- Usually means you’re watching whatever is on the television, focusing on the device. Many speakers use this in everyday speech as “watching TV” in general.
dívat se na film v televizi
- Emphasizes the content (the film) that is on TV as a medium.

So:

Dívám se na televizi. = I’m watching TV (focusing on the fact that I’m watching the device / TV broadcast in general).
Dívám se na film v televizi. = I’m watching a film that is on TV.

Both can be natural depending on context, but v televizi is normally used with a specific program/film.

Does dívám se mean “I watch” or “I am watching”? There is no separate continuous form in Czech, right?

Correct: Czech does not have a special present continuous form like I am watching.

Dívám se can mean both:

I am watching (right now)
I (usually) watch (as a habit)

The context decides which reading is intended. For example:

Teď se dívám na film v televizi. = I am watching a film on TV now.
Každý večer se dívám na film v televizi. = Every evening I watch a film on TV.

Same verb form, different meaning based on time expressions or context.

How do you conjugate dívat se in the present tense?

Here is the present tense of dívat se (reflexive pronoun included):

já se dívám – I (am) watch(ing)
ty se díváš – you (sg., informal) watch
on/ona/ono se dívá – he/she/it watches
my se díváme – we watch
vy se díváte – you (pl. or formal) watch
oni se dívají – they watch

Word order with se can change slightly, but this is the basic pattern.

Where can se go in the sentence? Can I move it?

Se is a clitic, which prefers to stand in the second position of the clause (after the first stressed word or group). In this simple sentence, the most natural place is right after the verb:

Dívám se na film v televizi. ✔

In other structures, se can move:

Na film se dívám v televizi. (emphasizing na film)
V televizi se dívám na film. (emphasizing v televizi)

But these still respect the general rule that se is near the beginning of the clause, usually after the first main element. It cannot freely move anywhere:

Dívám na film se v televizi. ❌ (ungrammatical)

Can I rearrange the word order, like Na film se dívám v televizi? Is the meaning the same?

Yes, Czech word order is relatively flexible, but it affects emphasis (what is new / important information), not core meaning. All of these are possible:

Dívám se na film v televizi. – neutral, basic order.
Na film se dívám v televizi. – emphasizing na film (it’s a film I’m watching, not something else).
V televizi se dívám na film. – emphasizing v televizi (it’s on TV rather than, say, in the cinema).

The basic meaning “I’m watching a film on TV” stays the same; word order changes which part you highlight.

What is the aspect of dívat se? Is there a perfective partner, and how does the meaning change?

Dívat se is imperfective. It describes an ongoing, repeated, or habitual action without focusing on its completion.

A common perfective partner is podívat se:

dívat se – to be watching / to watch (process, duration, habit)
podívat se – to take a look, to watch briefly, to watch with a sense of one complete act

Examples:

Dívám se na film. – I am (in the process of) watching a film.
Podívám se na ten film večer. – I’ll (have a) look at that film this evening / I’ll watch that film this evening (as a single planned event).

The perfective form is not used for “I am currently in the middle of watching” but for completed or single, bounded actions.

Could I use other verbs instead of dívat se, like koukat or sledovat?

Yes, there are several colloquial or alternative verbs:

koukat (se) na něco – very colloquial, common in everyday speech
- Koukám na film v televizi. = I’m watching a film on TV.
sledovat něco – more like to follow / to track / to watch as a viewer, often for shows, series, news
- Sleduju (sleduji) seriál v televizi. = I follow/watch a series on TV.

Dívat se na is the most neutral and common for visually watching something. Sledovat implies some continuity or attention, especially to programs, series, or people/events.

There’s no word for a or the in na film or v televizi. How do I know if it’s “a film” or “the film”?

Czech does not have articles (a / an / the). The noun form alone must cover all those meanings.

Dívám se na film v televizi.
- can mean: I’m watching a film on TV.
- or: I’m watching the film on TV.

Context decides whether the speaker means a specific film already known to both people (the film) or just some film (a film). If needed, Czech can be more specific with adjectives or demonstratives:

Dívám se na ten film v televizi. = I’m watching that film on TV.
Dívám se na nějaký film v televizi. = I’m watching some film on TV.