Learn Hardcore Czech: Když je doma ticho, vždycky se můžu dobře učit a odpočívat. - When it is quiet at home, I can always study and relax well.

když = when / whenever / at the time when
- It introduces a subordinate clause, like in the sentence:
  - Když je doma ticho, vždycky se můžu dobře učit.
    When it is quiet at home, I can always study well.
kdy = when? (question word) or when in some relative clauses
- In a question:
  - Kdy je doma ticho? – When is it quiet at home?
- In a relative clause:
  - Den, kdy je doma ticho, je vzácný. – The day when it is quiet at home is rare.

You cannot replace když with kdy in this sentence.
✅ Když je doma ticho, vždycky se můžu dobře učit.
❌ Kdy je doma ticho, vždycky se můžu dobře učit. (nonsense)

Why is it je doma ticho and not something like je ticho doma or je doma tiché?

Several things are happening here:

Word order: doma vs. ticho
- Je doma ticho is the most natural neutral word order here.
  - Literally: is at-home silence → it is quiet at home.
- Doma je ticho is also possible; it would slightly emphasize at home:
  - Ve škole je hluk, ale doma je ticho.
    There is noise at school, but at home it’s quiet.
- Je ticho doma is grammatically possible but sounds marked and unusual in isolation. It would strongly stress doma (as opposed to somewhere else), and you’d usually only see it in a contrastive context.
Why ticho and not an adjective like tiché?
- ticho is a neuter noun meaning silence.
- The structure je ticho is very common and idiomatic, meaning something like there is silence / it is quiet.
- tichý / tichá / tiché are adjectives meaning quiet / silent and are used to describe specific things:
  - Dům je tichý. – The house is quiet.
- In your sentence, the idea is there is silence at home, so the noun ticho is more natural than an adjective.

What is doma grammatically? What case is it, and why not v domě or v domu?

doma is an adverb, not a noun in a specific case.

It roughly means at home.
It does not decline, so you don’t say v doma, k doma, etc.
Related forms:
- domů – home(wards), motion towards home
  - Jdu domů. – I’m going home.
- dům – the noun house
- domov – home in a more emotional/abstract sense

You could say v domě (in the house) or v bytě (in the flat), but that is more concrete and physical. doma is the usual, idiomatic choice for at home:

Když je doma ticho… – When it is quiet at home…
Když je ticho v domě… – also possible, but sounds more like in the building/house, not so much the “home” feeling.

Why is there no já in vždycky se můžu dobře učit? Where did “I” go?

In Czech, subject pronouns (já, ty, on, ona etc.) are usually dropped, because the verb ending already shows the person.

můžu already tells you it’s 1st person singular (I can).
Saying já můžu is possible, but it adds emphasis: I can (as opposed to someone else).

So:

Neutral: Vždycky se můžu dobře učit. – I can always study well.
Emphatic: Já se vždycky můžu dobře učit. – I (in particular) can always study well.

Why do we need se in vždycky se můžu dobře učit? What is the difference between učit and učit se?

This is crucial:

učit = to teach (someone)
učit se = to learn / to study (something)

Examples:

Učím děti anglicky. – I teach children English.
Učím se anglicky. – I am learning / studying English.

In your sentence, the meaning is I can study / learn well, so you must use the reflexive form učit se with se:

Vždycky se můžu dobře učit. – I can always study well.
Vždycky můžu dobře učit. – I can always teach well. (completely different meaning)

So se is not optional; it changes the verb’s meaning from teach to learn.

Why is se before můžu here? Why not můžu se dobře učit or můžu dobře učit se?

se is a clitic – a short, unstressed word that likes to stand in the “second position” in the clause.

In your sentence, the clause is:

Vždycky se můžu dobře učit a odpočívat.

vždycky = first stressed word
se = clitic, goes right after it (2nd position)
můžu = main auxiliary verb

That’s why we get vždycky se můžu…

Other variants:

Já se můžu dobře učit. – I can study well.
- já is first, se is second.
Můžu se dobře učit. – also OK; here můžu is first, se second.

But:

❌ Můžu dobře učit se. – this sounds wrong; se doesn’t go at the end like that.
❌ Vždycky můžu dobře učit se. – also unnatural; se should come early, not trail at the end.

For learners, a safe rule:
Put se very early in the clause, usually right after the first important word.

What is the difference between můžu and mohu?

Both mean I can / I am able to, they differ in style:

můžu
- More colloquial, everyday spoken Czech.
- Very common in conversation.
mohu
- More formal, polite, often seen in writing or in careful speech.
- You might see it in instructions, official speech, or formal letters.

In your sentence, both are correct:

…vždycky se můžu dobře učit… – very natural in normal speech.
…vždycky se mohu dobře učit… – a bit more formal/neutral.

Why is it dobře and not dobrý? And where can dobře go in the sentence?

dobře vs. dobrý
- dobře is an adverb = well.
- dobrý is an adjective = good.

We are describing how you can study and rest (the manner of the action), so we need an adverb:

dobře učit – to teach well
dobře se učit – to study/learn well

Using dobrý here would be wrong, just like in English:

❌ I can study good
✅ I can study well

Position of dobře Common positions include:

Vždycky se můžu dobře učit. – very natural.
Vždycky se můžu učit dobře. – also possible, a bit more emphasis on well.
Můžu se dobře učit, když je doma ticho. – I can study well when it is quiet at home.

What you should avoid is separating dobře and učit in a strange way or pushing dobře too far from the verb so that the sentence becomes hard to parse.

Does dobře apply to both učit and odpočívat, or only to učit?

Syntactically, dobře is closest to učit, so the most straightforward reading is:

dobře (se) učit – study/learn well
a odpočívat – and (also) rest

So the minimal reading is:

I can always study well and (also) rest.

However, in real-life interpretation, listeners often understand something like:

I can always study well and have a good rest.

If you want to clearly say that both studying and resting are done well, you can repeat the adverb:

…vždycky se můžu dobře učit a dobře odpočívat.

If you want dobře to refer clearly to both without repeating it, you can slightly rephrase, but your original sentence is completely natural and clear for normal conversation.

What is the difference between vždycky and vždy? Could I use vždy here?

Both mean always, but they differ in usage:

vždycky
- Very common in everyday speech.
- Feels a bit more informal/colloquial.
- Fits perfectly in your sentence.
vždy
- Slightly more formal or literary.
- Very common in written texts, proverbs, fixed expressions.

In your sentence, both are grammatically correct:

Když je doma ticho, vždycky se můžu dobře učit a odpočívat. – natural spoken/written Czech.
Když je doma ticho, vždy se mohu dobře učit a odpočívat. – sounds more formal / bookish.

For everyday conversation, vždycky is the safer, more natural choice.

Why učit se and not studovat in this sentence?

Both can translate as to study, but they are used differently:

učit se
- Literally “to learn oneself”.
- Very common for studying for school, exams, vocabulary, etc., especially when you focus on the process of learning.
- Učím se na zkoušku. – I’m studying for an exam.
- Učím se česky. – I’m learning Czech.
studovat
- Often means to do formal studies (at university, a field of study).
- Studuju medicínu. – I’m studying medicine (as my major).
- Can also mean to study something in detail, but it’s less about ordinary “doing homework”.

In your sentence, the context is everyday studying at home, so učit se is the natural verb:

…můžu se dobře učit… – I can study/learn well…
Using studovat would be possible, but would sound slightly more formal or focused on systematic academic study:
…můžu dobře studovat… – I can study effectively (e.g., do my academic work properly).

Why is it odpočívat and not odpočinout si?

This is about aspect (imperfective vs. perfective):

odpočívat – imperfective, to (be able to) rest, to be resting in general / as a process.
odpočinout si – perfective, to have a rest, to rest once, to get some rest (a single, completed act).

Your sentence describes a general ability / repeated situation:

When it is quiet at home, I can always study well and rest.

For such habitual or general situations, Czech normally uses the imperfective aspect:

Když je doma ticho, vždycky se můžu dobře učit a odpočívat.

If you said:

…vždycky si můžu odpočinout.

this would feel more like I can (manage to) get some rest (at least once) in that situation, more event-like, less about continuous or general resting.

So odpočívat matches the “habitual, ongoing activity” meaning better here.