V kuchyni vařím kávu a čaj pro celou rodinu.

In the kitchen I make coffee and tea for the whole family.

Breakdown of V kuchyni vařím kávu a čaj pro celou rodinu.

• já: I
• rodina: the family
• a: and
• v: in
• celý: whole
• čaj: the tea
• pro: for
• káva: the coffee
• kuchyně: the kitchen
• vařit: to make

Questions & Answers about V kuchyni vařím kávu a čaj pro celou rodinu.

Why is it v kuchyni and not v kuchyně or just kuchyně?

V kuchyni = v (in) + kuchyni (locative case of kuchyně, “kitchen”).

• The preposition v meaning “in/inside” normally requires the locative case.
• The noun kuchyně (kitchen) is feminine. Its locative singular form is kuchyni.

Tiny declension sample (singular):

• Nominative (dictionary form): kuchyně – kitchen
• Locative: (v) kuchyni – in the kitchen

You cannot say v kuchyně; that’s the nominative/genitive form, not locative. And you can’t drop v, because Czech needs the preposition to express “in” here.

What exactly is vařím? What is the infinitive, and how is it conjugated?

Vařím is the 1st person singular present tense of the verb vařit (“to cook, to boil, to make (hot drinks)”).

• Infinitive: vařit – to cook / to boil / to make (coffee, tea)
• Stem: vař-
• Personal ending for já (I) in present: -ím

Present tense of vařit:

• (já) vařím – I cook
• (ty) vaříš – you cook (sg., informal)
• (on/ona/ono) vaří – he/she/it cooks
• (my) vaříme – we cook
• (vy) vaříte – you cook (pl. or formal)
• (oni) vaří – they cook

Why is there no “I” written? How do we know it means “I cook/make”?

Czech usually omits personal subject pronouns (já, ty, on, …) because the verb ending already shows the person:

• vařím can only mean “I cook / I am cooking”.
• If you wanted to emphasize “I”, you could say Já vařím kávu…, but it’s not required.

So the sentence V kuchyni vařím kávu… is the normal, neutral way to say “In the kitchen I make coffee…”.

Why is it kávu and not káva?

Kávu is the accusative singular of káva (“coffee”), used for the direct object of the verb.

• Basic form (nominative): káva – coffee
• Accusative: kávu – used after verbs like vařit when coffee is what you’re making.

In Czech, the direct object of a verb is usually in the accusative case, which is why we need kávu here.

Why does čaj stay as čaj and not change like kávu?

Čaj (“tea”) is masculine inanimate. For this gender, the nominative and accusative singular are identical:

• Nominative: čaj – tea
• Accusative: čaj – tea (as a direct object)

So even though čaj is also in the accusative in this sentence (what am I making? coffee and tea), its form does not visibly change.

Could I say dělám kávu a čaj instead of vařím kávu a čaj? Is vařit kávu natural?

Yes, vařit kávu / čaj is perfectly natural Czech. It means something like “to boil/make coffee/tea” and is very common.

Other options:

• dělám kávu – I’m making coffee (very colloquial, informal)
• připravuju (si) kávu – I’m preparing coffee (more neutral)
• uvařím kávu – I will make/boil coffee (see aspect below)

Using vařím kávu a čaj in the sentence is completely idiomatic.

What is the difference between vařím and uvařím?

This is about aspect, a key feature of Czech verbs.

• vařit – imperfective: focuses on the process or repeated action
  
  • vařím kávu – I am making coffee / I (usually) make coffee.
• uvařit – perfective: focuses on a completed action
  
  • uvařím kávu – I will make coffee (and finish it).

Important point:

• Present tense of imperfective verbs = present time (or habit).
• Present tense of perfective verbs = future meaning.

So uvařím kávu a čaj means “I will make coffee and tea.”

What does pro celou rodinu literally mean, and why is it not pro celá rodina?

Pro celou rodinu = for the whole family.

• pro – the preposition “for”, and it requires the accusative case.
• rodina – family (feminine); accusative singular: rodinu.
• celý – “whole, entire”; feminine accusative singular: celou.

Adjectives must agree in gender, number, and case with the noun they describe:

• Nominative: celá rodina – the whole family (as a subject)
• Accusative: pro celou rodinu – for the whole family

So pro celá rodina is ungrammatical; pro needs the accusative, not nominative.

Why is rodinu singular when it means “the whole family”? Why not a plural form?

In Czech (and many other languages), “family” is a collective noun:

• rodina is grammatically singular, even though it refers to a group.
• So pro celou rodinu literally means for the entire (one) family.

If you wanted to talk about multiple families, you’d go plural, e.g. pro celé rodiny – for entire families. But in this sentence, it’s one family, so singular is correct.

Can the word order change? For example: Vařím v kuchyni kávu a čaj pro celou rodinu?

Yes, Czech word order is flexible, because grammar roles are shown by endings, not by position.

All of these are grammatically correct, with slight changes in emphasis or what feels “old/new” information:

• V kuchyni vařím kávu a čaj pro celou rodinu.
  – Neutral; sets the scene: In the kitchen, I make…
• Vařím v kuchyni kávu a čaj pro celou rodinu.
  – Slight focus on what I do: I (do) the cooking in the kitchen…
• Kávu a čaj vařím v kuchyni pro celou rodinu.
  – Emphasis on what I’m making (coffee and tea).
• Pro celou rodinu vařím v kuchyni kávu a čaj.
  – Emphasis on for whom.

The original word order is natural and neutral, but others are possible depending on context and focus.

Does vařím mean “I cook right now” or “I usually cook”? How do I know?

In Czech, the present tense of an imperfective verb like vařit can mean both:

1. Ongoing action now

   • Teď v kuchyni vařím kávu a čaj pro celou rodinu.
     – Right now I’m in the kitchen making coffee and tea.

2. Habitual/repeated action

   • Každé ráno v kuchyni vařím kávu a čaj pro celou rodinu.
     – Every morning I make coffee and tea.

Context (time expressions, the conversation topic) tells you which reading is intended.

Why is there no word for “the” or “a” (no articles) in the sentence?

Czech has no articles (a, an, the). Nouns like kávu, čaj, rodinu can be interpreted as:

• coffee / the coffee / some coffee
• tea / the tea / some tea
• (the) family / our family, etc.

The specific meaning comes from context, not from an article word.
So vařím kávu a čaj pro celou rodinu can be translated as:

• I make coffee and tea for the whole family., or
• I’m making (some) coffee and tea for the whole family.

English must choose an article; Czech simply doesn’t mark it.

Why is it v kuchyni and not na kuchyni? In English we can say “in the kitchen” or sometimes “at the kitchen”.

In Czech:

• v kuchyni – literally “in the kitchen”, i.e., inside the room. This is what you want here.
• na kuchyni is normally incorrect as a place phrase for the room itself.

The preposition choices for places are quite fixed:

• v + locative for being inside/enclosed:
  
  • v kuchyni – in the kitchen
  • v pokoji – in the room
  • v autě – in the car
• na + locative often for surfaces or open areas:
  
  • na stole – on the table
  • na zahradě – in the garden
  • na nádraží – at the station

So for the room “kitchen” as a location, it’s always v kuchyni.

How should I pronounce v kuchyni vařím kávu a čaj pro celou rodinu? Any tricky sounds?

A few key points:

• ch in kuchyni is , like the ch in German Bach or Scottish loch.
• ň in kuchyni is a palatal ny, similar to ñ in Spanish señor: koo-khi-nyi.
• ř in vařím is a unique Czech sound; roughly a rolled r with ž (rzh). It’s between r and zh.
• á in kávu is long: kaa-vu. Length matters in Czech.
• Stress is almost always on the first syllable of each word:
  
  • V KU‑chyni VA‑řím KÁ‑vu a ČAJ PRO CE‑lou RO‑dinu.

Native-like ř takes time; even a softened r is understandable for learners at the beginning.