Learn Hardcore Czech: Ve středu a ve čtvrtek nechci žádnou schůzku, chci odpočívat doma. - On Wednesday and Thursday I don't want any meeting, I want to rest at home.

v is the basic form.
ve is used before some words that start with s, š, z, ž, v, f, etc., where saying v + consonant cluster would be hard to pronounce.

So we say:

ve středu (on Wednesday)
ve čtvrtek (on Thursday)
ve škole (at school)
ve městě (in the city)

pronounced more smoothly than v středu, v čtvrtek, etc.

Grammatically, both v and ve are the same preposition; ve is just the euphonic (easier to say) variant.

Why are středu and čtvrtek in these forms? What case is used with ve for days?

With days of the week and dates, Czech usually uses:

Locative case with the preposition v/ve to mean on (that day).

So:

středa (Wednesday – nominative) → ve středu (on Wednesday – locative)
čtvrtek (Thursday – nominative) → ve čtvrtek (on Thursday – locative)

The locative answers kdy? (when?) in this context:

Kdy nechceš schůzku? – Ve středu a ve čtvrtek.
When don’t you want a meeting? – On Wednesday and on Thursday.

Why is the preposition ve repeated: ve středu a ve čtvrtek? Could I say ve středu a čtvrtek?

Both are possible, but they feel slightly different:

ve středu a ve čtvrtek – the most natural and clear; each day is equally emphasized.
ve středu a čtvrtek – understandable, heard in speech, but can sound a bit more rushed or informal.

Czech often repeats the preposition with coordinated items, especially in more careful or written language. Repeating ve avoids any momentary ambiguity and keeps the rhythm natural:

v kině a v divadle (in the cinema and in the theatre)
na stole a na židli (on the table and on the chair)

Why is there a comma before chci odpočívat doma?

The sentence has two independent clauses joined by a comma:

Ve středu a ve čtvrtek nechci žádnou schůzku
(On Wednesday and Thursday I don’t want any meeting)
chci odpočívat doma
(I want to rest at home)

In Czech, when you join two independent clauses without a conjunction (like a = and, ale = but), you normally separate them with a comma.

You could also say:

Ve středu a ve čtvrtek nechci žádnou schůzku, protože chci odpočívat doma.
(…because I want to rest at home.)

Here the comma is also required because of protože (because).

Could I say Ve středu a ve čtvrtek nechci žádnou schůzku, ale chci odpočívat doma? Does ale change the meaning?

Yes, that’s perfectly correct:

…nechci žádnou schůzku, ale chci odpočívat doma.

ale means but, so it adds a slight contrast:

I don’t want any meeting, but (instead) I want to rest at home.

Without ale, the original:

…nechci žádnou schůzku, chci odpočívat doma.

is more like listing two facts in sequence:

I don’t want any meeting; I want to rest at home.

The overall meaning is very close; ale just emphasizes the “instead of a meeting, I prefer resting” contrast a bit more.

Why is it žádnou schůzku, not žádná schůzka?

Because žádnou schůzku is in the accusative singular, and žádný has to agree with schůzka in gender, number, and case.

schůzka (meeting) is:
- feminine
- singular
- accusative (it’s the direct object of nechci = I don’t want)

The pattern is:

Nominative: žádná schůzka (no meeting – as a subject)
Accusative: žádnou schůzku (no meeting – as an object)

In our sentence, I don’t want what? → žádnou schůzku → accusative is required.

Is nechci žádnou schůzku a “double negative” like incorrect English “I don’t want no meeting”?

In English, “I don’t want no meeting” is considered non‑standard because English avoids double negatives in standard grammar.

In Czech, however, double negatives are normal and required in many cases. With verbs like nechci (I don’t want), nemám (I don’t have), etc., you must use negative words like žádný, nikdo, nic, nikdy:

nechci žádnou schůzku – I don’t want any meeting
nemám žádný čas – I don’t have any time
nikdo nepřišel – nobody came (literally: nobody didn’t come)
nic nevím – I don’t know anything

So nechci žádnou schůzku is the correct, standard form.
*nechci schůzku can be said, but it often sounds incomplete or specific (see next question).

What is the difference between nechci schůzku and nechci žádnou schůzku?

Subtle nuance:

nechci schůzku
→ “I don’t want a/the meeting.”
This can sound like you are refusing one particular meeting that someone has suggested.
nechci žádnou schůzku
→ “I don’t want any meeting (at all).”
This sounds general and stronger: no meetings of any kind.

In your sentence, you’re talking about Wednesday and Thursday in general, so nechci žádnou schůzku is more natural: those days are “meeting‑free.”

Could I also say Ve středu a ve čtvrtek nechci mít žádnou schůzku? Is there a difference from nechci žádnou schůzku?

Yes, you can say:

Ve středu a ve čtvrtek nechci mít žádnou schůzku.

Both are correct and mean almost the same. Slight nuance:

nechci žádnou schůzku
focuses more directly on the meeting itself as an object.
nechci mít žádnou schůzku
focuses a bit more on the state of having a meeting (I don’t want to be in the situation of having any meeting).

In everyday speech, the difference is small; both are very natural here.

Why is it chci odpočívat and not something like budu odpočívat or chci odpočinout si?

All of these are possible, but the meaning changes slightly.

chci odpočívat doma
– odpočívat is an imperfective verb = to rest (activity, process).
→ I want to rest at home. (desire/intention)
budu odpočívat doma
– budu
- infinitive = future tense.
  → I will be resting at home. (more like a plan than an expressed desire)
chci si odpočinout doma
– odpočinout si is perfective = to have a rest, to get some rest (as a finished result).
→ I want to (get some) rest at home. (emphasis on achieving the result of being rested)

Your original sentence uses chci odpočívat, which nicely expresses: “My wish for those days is to be resting at home, rather than having meetings.”

What’s the difference between doma and domů? Why is it doma here?

doma means at home (location, “where?”).
domů means (to) home (direction, “where to?”).

Compare:

Jsem doma. – I am at home.
Jdu domů. – I am going home.

In your sentence:

chci odpočívat doma = I want to rest at home (static location), so doma is correct, not domů.

Why are středa and čtvrtek written with lowercase letters? In English we capitalize days of the week.

In Czech, days of the week are not capitalized (except at the start of a sentence).

So we write:

pondělí, úterý, středa, čtvrtek, pátek, sobota, neděle

This is just an orthographic rule of Czech: days, months, and languages are usually written with lowercase letters, unlike in English.

Is the present tense nechci really talking about the future here (Wednesday and Thursday)?

Yes. In Czech, the present tense is often used to talk about planned or scheduled future events, especially with time expressions:

Zítra nejdu do práce. – I’m not going to work tomorrow.
Příští týden nemám čas. – I don’t have time next week.
Ve středu a ve čtvrtek nechci žádnou schůzku. – I don’t want any meeting on Wednesday and Thursday.

You could also say:

Ve středu a ve čtvrtek nebudu chtít žádnou schůzku.

but that sounds more theoretical or predictive (“I will not want…”).
The simple nechci with time words is more natural for arranging schedules.

Can I change the word order, for example: Ve středu a ve čtvrtek žádnou schůzku nechci?

Yes, Czech word order is relatively flexible, and both are correct:

Ve středu a ve čtvrtek nechci žádnou schůzku…
(neutral order; “no meeting” is new information at the end of the clause)
Ve středu a ve čtvrtek žádnou schůzku nechci…
(puts more emphasis on žádnou schůzku – “as for those days, definitely no meeting”)

The stressed element is often placed near the end of the clause.
Your version emphasizes that the type of thing you don’t want is any meeting at all on those days.

Is schůzka the only way to say “meeting”? When is schůze or porada used instead?

Czech has several words for meeting, with slightly different typical uses:

schůzka
– a meeting/appointment, often smaller or more informal:
pracovní schůzka (work meeting), schůzka s kamarádem (meeting with a friend).
schůze
– more official, often for organizations, committees, clubs, etc.:
členská schůze, valná hromada (sometimes translated as “meeting”).
porada
– a work meeting, usually to discuss and coordinate something, often internal:
porada v kanceláři, týmová porada.

In your neutral, everyday context (not wanting any appointments or work meetings those days), žádnou schůzku is a very natural choice.