Breakdown of V zimě nechci jezdit autobusem, protože je venku zima.
Questions & Answers about V zimě nechci jezdit autobusem, protože je venku zima.
The preposition v (in) usually requires the locative case when it refers to place or time.
- The noun zima (winter) is in:
- nominative: zima
- locative: zimě
After v meaning “in (winter)”, you must say v zimě = in winter.
This is the same pattern as:
- v létě – in summer
- v noci – at night
- v pondělí – on Monday
So v zimu is ungrammatical; the case must be locative, so v zimě is correct.
Czech has two verbs for “go by vehicle”:
- jet – one specific trip, movement in one direction (single event)
- jezdit – repeated, habitual, or general action (going regularly, in general)
In the sentence:
- nechci jezdit autobusem = I don’t want to (generally) travel by bus / I don’t like using the bus (in winter).
If you say:
- V zimě nechci jet autobusem – This winter / on this particular occasion I don’t want to go by bus.
So jezdit fits better for a general preference: you don’t like using buses in winter as a rule.
Autobusem is the instrumental case of autobus.
In Czech, when you talk about the means of transport with verbs like jet / jezdit / chodit / létat, you normally use the instrumental:
- jezdit autobusem – to go by bus
- jezdit vlakem – by train
- jezdit autem – by car
- jezdit tramvají – by tram
Using just autobus (nominative) after jezdit would be ungrammatical here. The instrumental answers “by what means?” – čím? autobusem (by what? by bus).
- autobusem (instrumental) = by bus (means of transport)
- v autobuse (locative) = in the bus (physical location)
Compare:
V zimě nechci jezdit autobusem.
In winter I don’t want to travel by bus (as a mode of transport).V zimě nechci být v autobuse.
In winter I don’t want to be in a bus (inside the vehicle).
The original sentence talks about how you travel, so instrumental autobusem is correct.
Yes, it is grammatically correct:
- V zimě nechci jezdit autobusem.
- Nechci v zimě jezdit autobusem.
Both mean the same in most contexts. The difference is only in emphasis and information order:
- Starting with V zimě sets the time as the topic: As for winter… I don’t want to ride the bus.
- Putting v zimě after the verb can slightly emphasize the negation or your desire: I don’t want to (specifically in winter) ride the bus.
For everyday use, they are practically interchangeable.
In Czech, the rules are stricter than in English. Subordinate clauses introduced by conjunctions like protože (because), když (when/if), že (that), etc., are almost always preceded by a comma.
So you normally write:
- …, protože je venku zima.
You don’t have the English-style choice of sometimes omitting the comma. In standard written Czech, the comma is required here.
Use protože for “because” in a neutral, standard way.
- protože = because
V zimě nechci jezdit autobusem, protože je venku zima.
Other conjunctions have different main meanings:
že = that (in reported clauses):
Řekl, že je venku zima. – He said that it’s cold outside.
It can sound like “because” in some colloquial emotional speech, but not in this kind of neutral sentence.když = when / whenever / if:
Když je venku zima, nechci jezdit autobusem. – When it’s cold outside, I don’t want to travel by bus.
So in your sentence, protože is the correct and natural choice.
Yes, Czech allows flexible word order, and all of these are grammatical:
- protože je venku zima
- protože venku je zima
- protože je zima venku
The most neutral and common forms are:
- Protože venku je zima.
- Protože je venku zima.
Changing the order slightly shifts focus:
- venku je zima emphasizes outside (maybe inside it’s warm).
- je zima venku can sound a bit more marked or contrastive (e.g. It’s cold outside, not inside).
In everyday speech, all will be understood; venku je zima is a very common pattern.
They express different things:
Je zima.
Literally: It is cold (weather-wise).
General statement about the temperature outside.Je mi zima.
Literally: It is cold to me.
Meaning: I am cold / I feel cold.
More examples:
- Je ti zima? – Are you cold?
- Je mu zima. – He is cold.
In your sentence, protože je venku zima talks about the weather outside, not about somebody’s personal feeling.
In je venku zima, zima is actually a noun meaning “cold (weather), coldness, winter-like cold”.
Grammatically:
- je – 3rd person singular of být (to be)
- zima – noun in nominative, functioning as the predicative complement
So literally: Outside, there is cold (weather).
But idiomatically in English: It’s cold outside.
Czech often uses nouns in these impersonal weather expressions:
- Je vedro. – It’s very hot.
- Je horko. – It’s hot.
- Je zima. – It’s cold.
Zima is a regular feminine noun (pattern like žena). Its singular forms:
- Nominative: zima (je zima – it is cold / winter)
- Genitive: zimy
- Dative: zimě
- Accusative: zimu
- Vocative: zimo
- Locative: zimě
- Instrumental: zimou
The preposition v (in) requires the locative to express time or place, so you get v zimě (in winter).
Czech has two forms of this preposition:
- v
- ve
ve is mainly used for easier pronunciation, especially before words starting with certain consonant clusters (often starting with v-, f-, or multiple consonants):
- ve Vsetíně
- ve škole
- ve tři hodiny
- ve Francii
If the following word is easy to pronounce after v, you keep v:
- v zimě
- v létě
- v Praze
So v zimě is the normal, natural form here.
No, s autobusem is not correct here.
- s (+ instrumental) usually means “with” (together with someone/something):
- Jdu s kamarádem. – I’m going with a friend.
- Jedu s tebou. – I’m going with you.
If you say jet s autobusem, it would literally mean something like go with the bus (as if the bus is another person), which is not how Czech expresses “by bus”.
To express the means of transport, you need the instrumental without a preposition:
- jezdit autobusem – go by bus
- jet autem – go by car
- jezdit vlakem – go by train
So the correct pattern is (jezdit) autobusem, not s autobusem.