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Learn Hardcore Czech: Dnes ti nechci volat. - Today I don't want to call you.

Hardcore Czech
/Lesson 5
/Dnes ti nechci volat.

Dnes ti nechci volat.

Word

Dnes ti nechci volat.

Meaning

Today I don't want to call you.

Part of speech

sentence

Pronunciation

Course

Lesson

Breakdown of Dnes ti nechci volat.

Questions & Answers about Dnes ti nechci volat.

Why is there no word for “I” in Dnes ti nechci volat?

Czech usually omits subject pronouns (like já = I) when the verb ending already shows the person.

nechci is 1st person singular (“I don’t want”).
So já would be redundant and is normally dropped.

You can say Já ti dnes nechci volat, but it sounds more emphatic, like “I don’t want to call you today (as opposed to someone else).”

What does ti mean here, and why is it not tě, tebe, or tobě?

ti here means “to you” and is in the dative case (indirect object).

Verb: volat = “to call (on the phone)”
In Czech you call to someone: volat někomu → volat ti = “to call you”

Forms of ty (you, singular informal):

tě / tebe = accusative (direct object) – used with verbs like vidět tě (to see you), mít tě rád (to like you)
ti / tobě = dative (indirect object) – used with verbs like volat ti (call to you), psát ti (write to you), říkat ti (say to you)

ti is the short, clitic form of tobě, and in typical speech/writing you almost always use ti here:

Dnes ti nechci volat. ✔
Dnes tobě nechci volat. – Very unusual; would sound forced/emphatic at best.

So: ti = “to you” (dative), chosen because volat uses the dative for the person you call.

What case is , grammatically speaking?

volat

to call

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ti

ti is:

Dative singular of ty (“you”, informal singular)
Function: indirect object, answering “to whom?”

In the sentence:

volat (komu?) = “to call (to whom?)”
Answer: ti → “to you”

Why is the word order Dnes ti nechci volat and not Dnes nechci ti volat?

Czech has flexible word order, but it follows some strong tendencies, especially for short pronouns like ti (so‑called clitics).

Clitics (like ti) prefer the “second position” in the clause.
- The first slot is usually taken by something like Dnes (“today”).
- The clitic then typically goes right after that: Dnes ti ...
So these are natural:
- Dnes ti nechci volat. ✔
- Já ti dnes nechci volat. ✔
- Dnes ti opravdu nechci volat. ✔ (still early in the clause)
These sound unnatural or wrong:
- Dnes nechci ti volat. ✖ (clitic ti is too late)
- Nechci ti dnes volat is possible but feels a bit marked; many speakers would still prefer Dnes ti nechci volat.

So, while both word order and intonation can vary, Dnes ti nechci volat is the most natural, neutral order.

How is the negation in nechci formed? Is it just “ne + chci”?

Yes. For most verbs, Czech makes the present‑tense negative by adding ne‑ in front of the finite verb:

chci = “I want”
nechci = “I don’t want”

Similarly:

volám = “I (am) call(ing)” → nevolám = “I’m not calling”
rozumím = “I understand” → nerozumím = “I don’t understand”

So nechci is simply the negative of chci, the 1st person singular present of chtít (“to want”).

Why is volat in the infinitive? How does it combine with nechci?

The structure mirrors English “I don’t want to call”:

nechci = “I don’t want”
volat = “to call” (infinitive)

In Czech, verbs like chtít (“to want”), muset (“must, to have to”), mít (dělat) (“should, to be supposed to”), moci (“can, may”) are regularly followed by an infinitive:

Chci volat. – I want to call.
Nechci volat. – I don’t want to call.
Musím volat. – I have to call.

What is the difference between volat and zavolat? Could I say Dnes ti nechci zavolat?

Yes, you can say Dnes ti nechci zavolat, but there is an aspectual difference:

volat = imperfective – focuses on the process or repeated/ongoing calling
zavolat = perfective – focuses on a single, completed act of calling (making one call)

Nuances:

Dnes ti nechci volat.
- Can sound like “I don’t want to (be) calling you today” / “I don’t want to be involved in calling you today at all,” more like activity or general behavior.
Dnes ti nechci zavolat.
- More like “I don’t want to (even) make one phone call to you today,” i.e. I don’t want to call you (once) today.

In many casual contexts, people might use either, but zavolat is very common when you’re thinking of “making a call” as one concrete event.

Can I just say Dnes nechci volat without ti? How does the meaning change?

Yes:

Dnes nechci volat. = “I don’t want to call (on the phone) today.”
- No specific person is mentioned. It could mean “I don’t feel like calling anyone today” or “I don’t want to make calls today.”
Dnes ti nechci volat. = “I don’t want to call you today.”
- ti specifies the person and makes the sentence clearly about that person.

So leaving out ti removes the reference to “you” and makes it general.

Could I replace dnes with dneska? Is there any difference?

Yes:

Dnes ti nechci volat.
Dneska ti nechci volat.

Both mean “today I don’t want to call you.”

Differences:

dnes – more neutral, a bit more formal or standard.
dneska – more colloquial, common in everyday spoken Czech.

In normal conversation, dneska is extremely common; in writing or more formal speech, dnes is often preferred.

Is this sentence rude, or is it neutral? How does it sound socially?

Taken literally, Dnes ti nechci volat. is quite direct:

It states a personal unwillingness: “I don’t want to call you today.”

Social tone depends on context and intonation:

Said calmly with explanation (e.g. “I’m tired, I need a break”): it can be neutral and honest.
Without explanation, it can sound a bit blunt or rejecting, especially if used as a standalone statement.

To soften it, you might hear:

Dnes ti asi volat nebudu. – “I probably won’t call you today.”
Dnes ti asi nezavolám. – “I probably won’t call you today.”
Dnes ti radši volat nebudu. – “I’d rather not call you today.”

So nechci is somewhat strong because it highlights your personal lack of desire.

How would I say “I don’t want you to call me today” instead?

You need to switch who is calling whom:

Original: Dnes ti nechci volat.
- “I don’t want to call you today.” (I am the caller.)

To mean “I don’t want you to call me today” (you are the caller), you can say:

Dnes nechci, abys mi volal. (to a man)
Dnes nechci, abys mi volala. (to a woman)

Breakdown:

Dnes – today
nechci – I don’t want
abys … volal / volala – (that) you would call
mi – to me (dative)

This structure nechci, abys… is common for “I don’t want you to …” in Czech.

What tense is nechci? Why does English use “don’t want to call” but Czech just uses present tense?

nechci is present tense of chtít (“to want”), 1st person singular, negative form:

(já) nechci – “I don’t want”

In Czech, the present tense often covers:

“I don’t want (now / generally / about today)”
In this sentence, it is understood as a present decision about a near‑future action: “I don’t want to call you (at any point) today.”

English expresses this with “don’t want to call” (present) referring to a future act; Czech simply uses present tense with a time adverb (dnes) to locate it in time.

How do you pronounce Dnes ti nechci volat?

Approximate pronunciation (with English hints):

Dnes – [dnes]
- dn- is pronounced together: like “d-ness” but short.
ti – [ti]
- Like “tee” but short.
nechci – [ˈnɛxtsɪ]
- ne like “ne” in “net”
- ch = a voiceless velar fricative, like German Bach, Scottish loch
- c = “ts” sound, so chc ≈ h-kts blended, but native speakers say it smoothly.
volat – [ˈvolat]
- vo like “vo” in “volleyball”
- la like “la” in “lava”
- final t clearly pronounced

Word stress in Czech is almost always on the first syllable of each word:

DNES ti NECH-ci VO-lat (primary stress on Dnes, then first syllable of each word).

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