Chci ti zavolat večer.

I want to call you in the evening.

Breakdown of Chci ti zavolat večer.

• já: I
• chtít: to want
• večer: the evening
• ti: you
• zavolat: to call

Questions & Answers about Chci ti zavolat večer.

Why is it ti and not tě in Chci ti zavolat večer?

Because the verb zavolat in this meaning takes the dative case (komu? – to whom?), not the accusative (koho? – whom?).

• Pattern: zavolat komu = to call someone (on the phone)
  • Zavolám ti večer. – I’ll call you in the evening.
  • Zavolám mu zítra. – I’ll call him tomorrow.

Ti is the short (clitic) dative form of ty (you, singular informal).

• nominative: ty
• dative: ti / tobě
• accusative: tě / tebe

If you used tě (accusative), the meaning would change:

• Učitel tě zavolal k tabuli. – The teacher called you to the board. (summoned you)
  • pattern: zavolat koho kam – to call / summon someone somewhere

So zavolat ti = call you (phone), while zavolat tě is more like summon you physically somewhere.

What is the difference between zavolat and volat?

They are an aspect pair:

• volat – imperfective: process, repeated or long‑lasting action

  • Budu ti volat každý den. – I’ll be calling you every day.
  • Volal jsem ti, ale nezvedal jsi to. – I was calling you, but you didn’t pick up.

• zavolat – perfective: one complete act, one finished call

  • Chci ti zavolat večer. – I want to make one call to you this evening.
  • Zavolám ti zítra. – I’ll (just) call you tomorrow.

In Chci ti zavolat večer, you are talking about one specific call you want to make, so the perfective zavolat is natural.
If you wanted to talk about repeated or longer calling, you’d use volat, e.g. Chci ti volat každý večer. – I want to call you every evening.

Could I say Chci zavolat ti večer?

Practically no; that sounds very unnatural.

The short pronoun ti is a clitic. Czech clitics normally go into the second position in the sentence, usually right after the first stressed word:

• Chci ti zavolat večer. – standard
• Večer ti chci zavolat. – also fine, with emphasis on evening
• Já ti chci zavolat večer. – I want to call you (contrastive já)

Putting ti after zavolat (Chci zavolat ti večer) breaks this rule, so it sounds wrong to native speakers, except in very special, poetic or strongly contrastive contexts.

Where else can I put večer? Are other word orders possible?

Yes, word order in Czech is fairly flexible, and večer (evening) can move to change emphasis:

• Chci ti zavolat večer. – neutral: I want to call you in the evening.
• Chci ti večer zavolat. – slight emphasis that the call is in the evening, not e.g. in the morning.
• Večer ti chci zavolat. – emphasizes evening first; often used if the evening is already the topic.
• Ti chci zavolat večer. – unusual; could be used with strong emphasis on you in spoken language, but normally you’d say Tobě chci zavolat večer.

They are all grammatically possible, but Chci ti zavolat večer and Večer ti chci zavolat are the most neutral/common.

Why is there no preposition before večer? In English we say “in the evening”.

Czech often uses bare time expressions without a preposition where English uses in / on / at:

• ráno – in the morning
• odpoledne – in the afternoon
• večer – in the evening
• v noci – at night (here you do have v, but many others have none)

So Chci ti zavolat večer literally looks like “I want to call you evening”, but it actually means “in the evening / this evening”.

You only add a preposition when you specify it more exactly:

• v pátek večer – on Friday evening
• v neděli odpoledne – on Sunday afternoon

Can I say Chci ti zavolat dnes večer? Where does dnes go?

Yes, Chci ti zavolat dnes večer is correct and natural.

Usual options:

• Chci ti zavolat dnes večer. – very common.
• Dnes večer ti chci zavolat. – emphasizes this evening as the topic.
• Chci ti dnes večer zavolat. – also possible; a bit “heavier” middle.

The safest, most common version is Chci ti zavolat dnes večer.

What is the difference between Chci ti zavolat večer and Zavolám ti večer?

They are both about a phone call, but the focus is different:

• Chci ti zavolat večer.

  • literally: I want to call you in the evening.
  • focuses on your desire/intention.
  • It says what you want, not necessarily a promise.

• Zavolám ti večer.

  • literally: I will call you in the evening.
  • sounds like a promise/plan.
  • very common at the end of a conversation: Tak jo, zavolám ti večer. – Ok, I’ll call you this evening.

So Chci ti zavolat večer is more about what you feel like doing; Zavolám ti večer is what you say when you are assuring someone you will actually call.

When do I use ti and when tobě?

Both are dative of ty (you, singular informal):

• short/clitic form: ti
• long/stressed form: tobě

Ti:

• usually used in neutral sentences,
• goes into the clitic (second) position:
  • Chci ti zavolat večer.
  • Zavolám ti zítra.

Tobě:

• used when you want to stress or contrast:
  • Tobě chci zavolat, ne jemu. – It’s you I want to call, not him.
• can stand in positions where clitics normally can’t:
  • Jen tobě zavolám. – I’ll call only you.

So in a simple, neutral sentence like Chci ti zavolat večer, ti is the natural choice.

Why is there no word for “to” (as in “to call”)? Why is it just chci zavolat?

English has a separate word “to” for the infinitive; Czech does not.

In Czech, the infinitive is the verb form ending in -t / -t se / -ct, and it already contains the meaning of English “to”:

• zavolat – (to) call
• jít – (to) go
• dělat – (to) do

So:

• chci zavolat = I want to call
• chci jít domů = I want to go home

You don’t add an extra word like to before the infinitive in Czech.

Could I just say Chci ti zavolat without večer? Does it still sound complete?

Yes, Chci ti zavolat is a perfectly complete sentence.

• Chci ti zavolat. – I want to call you. (time is not specified)
• If you want to add the time, you just attach it:
  Chci ti zavolat večer / zítra / později / příští týden.

Without večer, the sentence is simply more general.

How would I say “I wanted to call you in the evening” or “I will want to call you in the evening” with this structure?

You keep the same structure (chtít + infinitive zavolat), but change the tense of chtít:

• I wanted to call you in the evening.

  • Chtěl jsem ti zavolat večer. – said by a man
  • Chtěla jsem ti zavolat večer. – said by a woman

• I will want to call you in the evening. (less common, but grammatical)

  • Budu chtít ti zavolat večer. – more natural as
  • Budu ti chtít zavolat večer.

In practice, speakers often avoid future chtít and say something simpler like Večer ti asi zavolám. – I’ll probably call you in the evening.

Does večer here mean “in the evening” in general, or specifically “this evening / tonight”?

On its own, večer usually means “this evening / tonight” in a normal conversation about the near future:

• Zavolám ti večer. – I’ll call you this evening (tonight).

If you want to talk about evenings in general, you usually add something:

• Chci ti volat každý večer. – I want to call you every evening.
• Večer obvykle čtu. – In the evenings I usually read. (understood as a general habit from context)

So in Chci ti zavolat večer the default understanding is “this evening / tonight”, unless the context clearly says otherwise.