Dnes jdu pomalu do práce, protože jsem unavený.

Today I am walking slowly to work because I am tired.

Breakdown of Dnes jdu pomalu do práce, protože jsem unavený.

• já: I
• být: to be
• jít: to go
• do: to
• protože: because
• práce: the work
• dnes: today
• unavený: tired
• pomalu: slowly

Questions & Answers about Dnes jdu pomalu do práce, protože jsem unavený.

Why does the sentence use jdu and not something like “jsem jdu” for “I am going”?

In Czech you don’t use the verb být (jsem = I am) to form a present continuous tense like in English.

• jdu already means both:
  • I go (habitually)
  • I am going (right now)

Czech has just one present tense, and context decides whether it’s “I go” or “I am going”.
So:

• Dnes jdu do práce. = Today I am going to work. / Today I go to work.
  No extra jsem is needed and *jsem jdu is incorrect.

What is the difference between jdu do práce and jedu do práce?

Both mean “I’m going to work,” but they differ in how you travel:

• jdu do práce – I’m going on foot (walking).
• jedu do práce – I’m going by some vehicle (car, bus, tram, bike, train, etc.).

So you usually say:

• Ráno jdu do práce. – I walk to work in the morning.
• Ráno jedu do práce autem. – I go to work by car in the morning.

Why is there a comma before protože?

Protože (“because”) introduces a subordinate clause, so standard Czech spelling requires a comma before it.

Structure:

• Main clause: Dnes jdu pomalu do práce,
• Subordinate clause: protože jsem unavený.

You almost always write a comma before protože when it links two clauses:

• Nejdu ven, protože prší. – I’m not going out because it’s raining.

Can I put protože jsem unavený at the beginning of the sentence?

Yes. That’s perfectly correct and sounds natural:

• Protože jsem unavený, dnes jdu pomalu do práce.

Meaning and grammar stay the same.
The difference is only in emphasis:

• Original: Dnes jdu pomalu do práce, protože jsem unavený.
  – Focuses first on what is happening today.
• Reordered: Protože jsem unavený, dnes jdu pomalu do práce.
  – Emphasizes the reason first (because I am tired).

Why is it do práce and not na práci?

Czech prepositions are quite specific:

• do

  • genitive = into / to (an enclosed place or destination)
  • do práce – to work (to the workplace)
  • do školy – to school
  • do města – to town

• na

  • accusative = onto / to (a surface or certain locations/activities)
  • na stůl – onto the table
  • na koncert – to a concert
  • na univerzitu – to (the) university

Práce can mean “work” in general, but in jdu do práce it means “the workplace / my job (as a place I go to)”.
Na práci would mean something like “onto work / for work” and is used in different contexts, e.g.:

• Nemám čas na práci. – I don’t have time for work.
  (not “to work” as a place you go to)

Which case is práce in here, and how can I tell?

In do práce, the noun práce is in the genitive singular.

You can tell because:

• The preposition do always requires the genitive.
• The form práce happens to look the same in nominative and genitive singular for this noun, but the preposition tells you the case.

Rough pattern for práce (work):

• Nominative sg. (who/what?): práce – Work is hard. (Práce je těžká.)
• Genitive sg. (of what?): práce – I’m tired from work. (Jsem unavený z práce.)
• Accusative sg. (what?): práci – I have work. (Mám práci.)

What is the difference between dnes and dneska?

Both mean today.

• dnes – more neutral, slightly more formal; fine in any context.
• dneska – very common in everyday spoken Czech, a bit more colloquial.

You can say either:

• Dnes jdu do práce.
• Dneska jdu do práce.

Both are correct; dneska is just more “everyday speech”.

Why is unavený masculine, and what changes if a woman is speaking?

Adjectives in Czech agree with the gender (and number, case) of the noun or pronoun.

Here the implied subject is já (“I”). The form of unavený depends on who is speaking:

• Man: Jsem unavený. – I am tired. (masculine)
• Woman: Jsem unavená. – I am tired. (feminine)

In the full sentence:

• Man: Dnes jdu pomalu do práce, protože jsem unavený.
• Woman: Dnes jdu pomalu do práce, protože jsem unavená.

Plural examples:

• Group of men / mixed group: Jsme unavení.
• Group of women: Jsme unavené.

Can I leave out já in já jdu?

Yes—and you usually do leave it out.

• já = I
• jdu already shows 1st person singular in its ending, so the pronoun is not necessary.

Normal, neutral Czech:

• Jdu do práce. – I’m going to work.

You add já only for emphasis or contrast:

• Já jdu do práce, ale on zůstává doma.
  I am going to work, but he is staying at home.

Can I change the word order, for example Dnes pomalu jdu do práce or Jdu dnes pomalu do práce?

Yes. Czech word order is relatively flexible, especially with adverbs like dnes (today) and pomalu (slowly).

All of these are grammatically correct:

• Dnes jdu pomalu do práce. – neutral.
• Dnes pomalu jdu do práce. – slightly unusual, can sound more “poetic” or emphasize slowly.
• Jdu dnes pomalu do práce. – neutral, just a different rhythm.
• Pomalu dnes jdu do práce. – more emphasis on slowly today.

The basic safe pattern for learners is:

[Time] + [Verb] + [Manner] + [Place]
Dnes jdu pomalu do práce.

How is dnes jdu pronounced, especially the consonant clusters in dnes and jdu?

Pronunciation tips:

• dnes – [dnes]
  • The d and n are both pronounced: something like “d-ness”, but quite fast.
• jdu – [jdu]
  • j is like English y in yes.
  • So jdu sounds close to “ydoo” (but with a clear d).

Spoken quickly, dnes jdu may sound like one flow: dnesjdu.
Czech stress is always on the first syllable of each word:

• Dnes jdu po-ma-lu do prá-ce…

Is pomalu always an adverb, and how is it related to pomalý?

Yes, pomalu is an adverb meaning slowly.

It comes from the adjective pomalý = slow.

• Adjective (describes a noun): pomalý
  • pomalý vlak – a slow train
  • pomalá chůze – slow walking
• Adverb (describes a verb): pomalu
  • jdu pomalu – I walk slowly
  • mluví pomalu – he/she speaks slowly

So in the sentence Dnes jdu pomalu do práce, pomalu correctly modifies the verb jdu (“I go”).