V létě je počasí teplé.

In summer the weather is warm.

Breakdown of V létě je počasí teplé.

• být: to be
• v: in
• počasí: the weather
• teplý: warm
• léto: the summer

Questions & Answers about V létě je počasí teplé.

Why is it “v létě” and not “v léto”?

Because of case.
The basic form is léto (nominative = “summer”), but the preposition v meaning “in” usually requires the locative case when talking about time and place. The locative of léto is v létě (“in summer”).
So:

• nominative: léto – summer
• locative: v létě – in (the) summer

What case is “létě”, and when is it used?

Létě is locative singular of the noun léto.
The locative is used mostly after certain prepositions (like v, na, po, o) to talk about location or time.
Here, v létě literally means “in (the) summer” as a time expression.

Why is the word order “V létě je počasí teplé” and not “Počasí je teplé v létě”?

Both sentences are grammatically correct, but the focus changes.

• V létě je počasí teplé. – Starts with the time; it feels like a general statement about what happens in summer.
• Počasí je teplé v létě. – Starts with počasí; it can feel a bit more like you’re contrasting seasons (e.g., “The weather is warm in summer (but not in winter)”).

Czech word order is flexible, and speakers often put the known or framed information (here: in summer) at the beginning.

Could I say “V létě je teplé počasí” instead? Is there a difference?

Yes, “V létě je teplé počasí” is also correct.

• V létě je počasí teplé. – Literally “In summer, the weather is warm.” The focus is slightly more on the quality of the weather (that it is warm).
• V létě je teplé počasí. – Literally “In summer, (there is) warm weather.” The focus feels more on the existence of warm weather in that period.

In everyday speech, both are very close in meaning; the difference is subtle.

Why does “teplé” end in -é?

Teplé is an adjective (“warm”) that must agree with the noun počasí.

• Počasí is neuter singular in Czech.
• Predicate adjectives for neuter singular nouns take the ending -é in the nominative: teplé.

So:

• masc. animate: teplý muž
• fem.: teplá voda
• neuter: teplé počasí

Why is it “počasí” and not some shorter form like “počas”?

The standard Czech noun for “weather” is počasí.
There is an old/archaic form počas that you might see in dialects or historical texts, but in modern standard Czech you should always use “počasí”.
Počasí is neuter and does not change in the nominative singular (it’s the same form as the dictionary form).

Can I drop “je” and just say “V létě počasí teplé”?

In normal, full sentences, you cannot drop je here; you need the verb “to be”:

• V létě je počasí teplé. – correct
• V létě počasí teplé. – sounds like a headline or very telegraphic style, not a regular sentence.

In newspapers or titles, you might see “V létě počasí teplé”, but when speaking or writing normally, always include je.

Why is there no word for “the” in the Czech sentence?

Czech does not use articles (“a/an, the”) the way English does.
The sentence V létě je počasí teplé can mean:

• “In summer, the weather is warm”
• “In summer, weather is warm” (general statement)

Whether you understand it as “the weather” or “weather in general” depends on context, not on an article.

Does “V létě je počasí teplé” refer to this particular summer or to summers in general?

By default, it usually sounds like a general statement:

• “In (the) summer, the weather is warm” (that’s how it normally is).

To emphasize this specific summer, Czech would more likely add a word like:

• Letos je v létě počasí teplé. – “This year, in summer, the weather is warm.”

Context can also make it clearly about a particular year.

What’s the difference between “teplé” and “teplo”?

• Teplé is an adjective meaning “warm” and agrees with a noun: teplé počasí (“warm weather”).
• Teplo is a neuter noun meaning “warmth” or “heat”, and also functions like an impersonal predicate:
  
  • Je teplo. – “It’s warm.” (literally “There is warmth.”)

So you can say either:

• V létě je počasí teplé. – “In summer, the weather is warm.”
• V létě je teplo. – “In summer, it’s warm.”

How do you pronounce “V létě je počasí teplé” and where is the stress?

Stress in Czech is always on the first syllable of each word. Approximate pronunciation (IPA):

• V létě – [v ˈlɛː.cɛ]
• je – [jɛ]
• počasí – [ˈpɔ.t͡ʃa.siː]
• teplé – [ˈtɛ.plɛː]

Full sentence:
V létě je počasí teplé. – [v ˈlɛː.cɛ jɛ ˈpɔ.t͡ʃa.siː ˈtɛ.plɛː]
Each content word has stress on its first syllable; v and je are short, unstressed-ish function words in the flow.

Is it normal that “léto” has a long vowel é? Does that change the meaning?

Yes, the standard word is léto with a long é. The long vowel is part of the word, not optional.
Vowel length in Czech can change meaning, so it’s important:

• léto – “summer”
• lato (with short a, in theory) would be a different word (though not a common one in modern Czech).

In our sentence, the locative “v létě” keeps the long vowel: lé-.

Are the seasons like “léto” normally capitalized in Czech?

No. In Czech, names of seasons (jaro, léto, podzim, zima) are written with a lowercase letter.
In V létě je počasí teplé, V is capitalized only because it’s the first word in the sentence, not because “summer” is a proper noun.