Learn Hardcore Czech: Moje sestra tam nechce chodit, protože tam někdo pořád hraje na kytaru a je tam hlučno. - My sister doesn't want to go there, because someone is constantly playing the guitar there and it is noisy there.

tam nechce chodit – doesn’t want to go there
tam někdo pořád hraje na kytaru – someone is always playing the guitar there
je tam hlučno – it is noisy there

Czech often repeats short adverbs like tam, tady, doma where English might omit or use it fewer times.

You can drop some of them in casual speech if the place is clear from context, for example:

Moje sestra tam nechce chodit, protože někdo pořád hraje na kytaru a je tam hlučno.

This is still natural: the middle tam is obviously the same place.

However, leaving only the first tam and removing the others usually sounds a bit odd or less clear in Czech. The repetition helps keep every clause anchored to the same location.

What exactly is hlučno? Why not hlučné or hlučný?

In je tam hlučno, the word hlučno is a special type of form often called a predicative adverb. Czech frequently uses this neuter -o form after je to describe the general atmosphere or situation:

Je tam hlučno. – It’s noisy there.
Je tam teplo. – It’s warm there.
Je tam veselo. – It’s cheerful/lively there.
Je tam dusno. – It’s stuffy there.

You could say Je tam hlučné prostředí (The environment there is noisy), but that slightly changes the structure and style.

hlučný / hlučné / hlučná… is a regular adjective, used before a noun:
- hlučná ulice – a noisy street
- hlučný bar – a noisy bar
hlučno is used with je to describe the situation in general, without mentioning a noun. It’s the most natural form in this specific sentence.

Why is it hraje na kytaru and not just hraje kytaru?

For playing many musical instruments, Czech normally uses hrát na + accusative:

hrát na kytaru – to play the guitar
hrát na klavír – to play the piano
hrát na flétnu – to play the flute

Saying hraje kytaru is understandable and can appear in casual speech, but hraje na kytaru is the standard and most natural form.

So někdo pořád hraje na kytaru literally means someone is constantly playing on the guitar, which corresponds to English playing the guitar.

What does pořád mean in this context, and how is it different from vždycky or stále?

In někdo pořád hraje na kytaru, pořád means all the time / constantly / continually.

Rough comparison:

pořád – very common in speech, can mean all the time, constantly, sometimes with a slightly annoyed or exaggerated feeling:
- Pořád mluví. – He talks all the time.
vždycky – usually always (each time, in every case):
- Vždycky přijde pozdě. – He is always late.
stále – still / continually / constantly, slightly more neutral or formal than pořád:
- Stále pracuje. – He keeps on working / He is still working.

In this sentence, pořád hraje na kytaru nicely expresses the idea of something happening so often that it’s annoying: someone is always playing the guitar there.

Why is there a comma before protože? Could the order of the clauses be reversed?

In Czech, protože (because) introduces a subordinate clause that gives the reason.

Moje sestra tam nechce chodit, protože tam někdo pořád hraje na kytaru a je tam hlučno.

You put a comma before protože to separate the main clause (Moje sestra tam nechce chodit) from the subordinate reason clause (protože…). This is a standard rule.

You can also reverse the order of the clauses:

Protože tam někdo pořád hraje na kytaru a je tam hlučno, moje sestra tam nechce chodit.

This is grammatically correct and natural. The meaning is the same, but the emphasis shifts slightly to the reason. In writing, you still keep the comma between the clauses.

Why is it Moje sestra and not Má sestra? Are both possible?

Both are correct. Czech has two common forms for “my”:

moje sestra
má sestra

They mean the same thing: my sister. Differences:

moje – more common in everyday spoken Czech, neutral.
má – a bit shorter, more typical in formal style, written language, or poetry, but also used in normal speech.

So you could say:

Moje sestra tam nechce chodit.
Má sestra tam nechce chodit.

In conversation, you’ll probably hear moje sestra more often.

Why is there no pronoun ona (“she”) before nechce?

Czech usually omits personal pronouns (já, ty, on, ona, my, vy, oni) when the subject is clear from context or from verb endings.

Moje sestra tam nechce chodit. – The subject (moje sestra) is already stated.
Adding ona would be redundant:
✗ Moje sestra ona tam nechce chodit. – sounds wrong.

You could occasionally say Ona tam nechce chodit when the subject is understood from context and you want to stress she (not someone else), but you wouldn’t repeat moje sestra and ona together like that.

Could I say Moje sestra nechce tam chodit instead of Moje sestra tam nechce chodit?

Moje sestra tam nechce chodit is the most natural word order here.

Placing tam between nechce and chodit as Moje sestra nechce tam chodit is not strictly wrong, but it sounds less natural and slightly foreign in this context.

Typical patterns with chtít / nechtít + verb of motion + tam:

Nechce tam chodit. – natural
Tam nechce chodit. – also natural (emphasis on there).

Czech generally prefers to keep tam close to the verb it belongs with (chodit):

tam chodit rather than chodit tam when there’s a modal verb (chce / nechce) in between.

So:

✔ Moje sestra tam nechce chodit. – best option here.
? Moje sestra nechce tam chodit. – understandable but feels off for a native speaker.

Why is the present tense used here for something habitual? Could it also be future?

In Czech, the present tense is used both for:

things happening right now, and
regular / habitual actions.

So:

Moje sestra tam nechce chodit – My sister doesn’t want to go there (in general / as a rule).

English also uses the present simple for habits (She doesn’t want to go there.), so this matches.

If you wanted to be clearly about the future, you could use future forms, but for a general statement about her attitude, the present is normal:

Moje sestra tam nechce chodit příště. – My sister doesn’t want to go there next time.
Moje sestra tam nebude chtít chodit. – She will not want to go there. (strong future meaning)

In this sentence, the present habitual is exactly what is needed.

Could I use navštěvovat instead of chodit, like Moje sestra tam nechce navštěvovat?

Not in that form. Navštěvovat (“to visit regularly, to attend”) usually needs a direct object, and the construction with tam is different.

Compare:

chodit někam – to go somewhere (repeatedly)
- chodí tam – he/she goes there (as a habit)
navštěvovat něco / někoho – to visit something / someone regularly
- navštěvuje kurz češtiny – he/she attends a Czech course
- navštěvuje babičku – he/she visits grandma regularly

You wouldn’t normally say navštěvovat tam. You’d say:

Moje sestra nechce navštěvovat ten kurz. – My sister doesn’t want to attend that course.

For the meaning “doesn’t want to go there (to that place)”, chodit tam is the natural choice.

What does někdo mean exactly? Could it also mean “anyone”?

In this sentence:

protože tam někdo pořád hraje na kytaru

někdo means someone (an unspecified person).

Basic pattern:

někdo – someone
nikdo – no one
kdokoli / kdokoliv – anyone, whoever

So:

Tam někdo hraje na kytaru. – Someone is playing the guitar there.
Tam nikdo nehraje na kytaru. – No one is playing the guitar there.

In positive sentences like here, někdo is “someone”. To express “anyone” (in the sense “whoever”), you’d use kdokoli / kdokoliv:

Tam může hrát kdokoli. – Anyone can play there.

Is there any nuance in nechce chodit compared to saying something like nemá ráda to místo?

Yes, slightly different focus:

Moje sestra tam nechce chodit.
- Focus: the action of going there. She doesn’t want to go there (any more / at all).
Moje sestra to místo nemá ráda. – My sister doesn’t like that place.
- Focus: her feelings about the place itself.

Because the reason is given as protože tam někdo pořád hraje na kytaru a je tam hlučno, it makes sense to talk about not wanting to go there rather than just not liking the place. It connects directly to the physical act of going to a noisy place.