Ve středu a v pátek večer má můj bratr plán jít do kina s kamarády.

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Questions & Answers about Ve středu a v pátek večer má můj bratr plán jít do kina s kamarády.

Why is it ve středu but v pátek?

The preposition v (“in / on”) has two spoken forms: v and ve.

Czech uses ve when plain v + next consonant(s) would be hard to pronounce. The extra -e- makes pronunciation smoother.

  • ve středu – starting with the cluster stř-; v středu is awkward to say
  • ve škole, ve Francii, ve čtvrtek – similar reason

But pátek starts with just p, which is easy after v, so you say:

  • v pátek

Meaning-wise, ve středu = “on Wednesday” and v pátek = “on Friday”; the change is only phonetic, not grammatical.

Why is it ve středu but v pátek (with středu vs pátek) – what cases are these?

The base forms are:

  • středa – Wednesday (feminine)
  • pátek – Friday (masculine)

After v/ve meaning “on (day of the week)”, Czech mostly uses the accusative of the day name. But Wednesday is a fossilized exception:

  • v pondělí (Mon) – forms are the same in nom/acc/loc
  • v úterý (Tue) – same form again
  • ve středu (Wed) – locative singular of středa
  • ve čtvrtek (Thu) – accusative (same as nominative)
  • v pátek (Fri) – accusative (same as nominative)
  • v sobotu (Sat) – accusative
  • v neděli (Sun) – accusative

So:

  • středu is locative singular of středa
  • pátek here is accusative singular of pátek (formally identical to nominative)

In practice, you mostly just memorize the set:
v pondělí, v úterý, ve středu, ve čtvrtek, v pátek, v sobotu, v neděli.

Does večer (“evening”) belong to both days, or only to pátek?

As written:

Ve středu a v pátek večer má můj bratr plán…

most native speakers will understand:

  • “On Wednesday (unspecified time) and on Friday evening my brother has a plan…”

Grammatically and by closeness, večer attaches only to v pátek.

If you want to say clearly “on Wednesday evening and on Friday evening”, you would normally repeat večer:

  • Ve středu večer a v pátek večer má můj bratr plán jít do kina…
Is má můj bratr plán jít do kina a natural way to say “my brother has a plan to go to the cinema”?

It is grammatical, but it sounds a bit stiff or bookish. More natural options are:

  • Můj bratr plánuje jít do kina s kamarády.
    (“My brother is planning to go to the cinema with friends.”)

  • Můj bratr má v plánu jít do kina s kamarády.
    (very close to “has a plan to go to the cinema”)

The noun plán is often used with:

  • mít plán na něcoMám plán na víkend.
  • mít v plánu něco udělatMám v plánu jít do kina.
    or you simply use the verb plánovat.
Why is the word order má můj bratr plán instead of můj bratr má plán?

Czech word order is flexible and is largely about emphasis and what is already known (topic) versus new information.

Neutral, typical order here would be:

  • Můj bratr má plán jít do kina s kamarády.
    (Subject – Verb – Object)

Putting the verb first, Má můj bratr plán…, would usually:

  • sound more marked or stylistic
  • put a bit more emphasis on (“does have / has”) or on the existence of the plan

For learners, it is safer and more natural to stick to můj bratr má plán… unless you have a specific reason to front the verb.

Why is jít in the infinitive? Could I say plán jít vs plán, že půjde?

After a noun like plán, Czech often uses an infinitive to express “plan to do something”:

  • Má plán jít do kina.
    = “He has a plan to go to the cinema.”

Here jít (“to go [on foot]”) stays in the infinitive because it’s directly dependent on the noun plán.

You could also say:

  • Má plán, že půjde do kina.
    (“He has a plan that he will go to the cinema.” – more formal / heavier)

So:

  • plán jít do kina – plan to go to the cinema (infinitive phrase)
  • plán, že půjde do kina – plan that he will go (finite verb in a clause)

Both are possible; the infinitive version is more compact and common in speech.

What does do kina literally mean, and why is it kina?

The base noun is kino (“cinema”).

The preposition do (“to, into”) always takes the genitive case:

  • do + genitive

For kino:

  • nominative: kino
  • genitive: kina

So:

  • jít do kina = “to go to the cinema” (literally “go into cinema”)

Compare:

  • jít do školy – go to school
  • jít do práce – go to work
  • jít do divadla – go to the theatre

When you are already there, you switch to v/ve + locative:

  • jsem v kině – I am in/at the cinema
  • byli jsme v kině – we were at the cinema
Why not do kině? I’m confused between kina and kině.

kina and kině are different cases of kino:

  • kina – genitive singular
  • kině – locative singular

The rule is:

  • do → always genitivedo kina
  • v / ve / na / o / po / při (in, at, on, about, after, during) → often locativev kině

So:

  • Jdu do kina. – I’m going to the cinema. (motion into → do + genitive)
  • Jsem v kině. – I’m at the cinema. (location at rest → v + locative)

Even though English uses “to” in both “go to” and “be at”, Czech keeps motion (do + genitive) and place (v + locative) clearly separate.

What case is kamarády, and why do we need that form after s?

The base noun is:

  • kamarád – (male) friend

The preposition s (“with”) requires the instrumental case:

  • s + instrumental

Declension (masculine animate):

  • nominative singular: kamarád
  • instrumental singular: kamarádem – s kamarádem (with a friend)
  • nominative plural: kamarádi
  • instrumental plural: kamarády – s kamarády (with friends)

So kamarády is the instrumental plural form, used because of the preposition s.

When do we use s and when se?

s and se are two forms of the same preposition “with”. se appears to make pronunciation easier.

Very simplified rule of thumb:

  • Use se before words that begin with:
    • s, z, š, ž
    • or with a cluster of consonants that would be hard after plain s

Examples with se:

  • se sestrou – with (my) sister
  • se psem – with the dog (s psem would be hard to pronounce)
  • se mnou – with me
  • se všemi – with everyone
  • se studentem – with a student

Examples with s:

  • s kamarády – with friends
  • s mámou – with mum
  • s tebou – with you
  • s Petrem – with Petr

In your sentence, s kamarády is easy to pronounce, so s is used.

Why are there no words like a or the (“articles”) in this sentence?

Czech has no articles at all. There is no direct equivalent of English a / an / the.

  • můj bratr – can mean “my brother” or “my (the) brother” depending on context
  • plán – can mean “a plan” or “the plan”
  • kino – “a/the cinema”
  • kamarády – “(some) friends / the friends”

Definiteness is expressed mainly through:

  • context
  • word order and emphasis
  • sometimes demonstratives like ten, ta, to (“that / this”) if you really need to be explicit
Could I drop plán and say Ve středu a v pátek večer má můj bratr jít do kina s kamarády? What would that mean?

Yes, that sentence is grammatical, but the meaning changes:

  • má plán jít do kina – “he has a plan to go to the cinema” (his intention)
  • má jít do kina – “he is supposed to go / is meant to go to the cinema” (arrangement, duty, expectation)

So:

  • Ve středu a v pátek večer má můj bratr jít do kina s kamarády.
    suggests that according to some schedule, arrangement, or obligation, he is to go to the cinema with friends on those days. It does not emphasize that it’s his own plan in the same way.