Learn Hardcore Czech: V pondělí nechci žádnou schůzku, protože jsem unavený. - On Monday I don't want any meeting because I am tired.

The preposition v normally means in, but with days of the week it is translated as on in English:
- v pondělí – on Monday
- v úterý – on Tuesday
- v pátek – on Friday
After v in a time expression like this, Czech uses the locative case.

The noun pondělí is a neuter noun whose locative singular form is identical to its nominative form: pondělí. So it looks like nominative, but grammatically it’s locative here, required by v.

Why is there no já in the sentence? How do we know it means I don’t want?

Czech normally drops subject pronouns when the subject is clear from the verb ending.

The verb chtít (to want), present tense:
- (já) chci – I want
- (ty) chceš – you (sg) want
- (on/ona/ono) chce – he/she/it wants
- (my) chceme – we want
- (vy) chcete – you (pl/formal) want
- (oni/ony) chtějí – they want
With the negative prefix ne-, you get nechci = I don’t want.

So nechci already tells us the subject is já. Adding já (Já v pondělí nechci…) is possible, but it adds emphasis: I don’t want a meeting (maybe someone else does).

Is nechci žádnou schůzku a kind of “double negative”? Why are both nechci and žádnou negative?

Yes, from an English point of view it looks like a double negative, but in Czech this is normal and required.

nechci = I do not want
žádnou schůzku = no / not any meeting

In Czech, if the verb is negative, pronouns/adjectives like žádný (no/any), nikdo (nobody), nic (nothing) also become negative and they agree with the verb’s negation:

Nikdo nic neví. – Nobody knows anything. (literally: nobody nothing not-knows)
Nechci žádnou schůzku. – I don’t want any meeting. (literally: I-not-want no meeting.)

So here, nechci žádnou schůzku is the correct negative pattern, not a mistake.

Why is it žádnou schůzku, not žádná schůzka or žádné schůzky?

This is about gender, number, and case agreement.

schůzka (meeting) is:
- feminine
- singular here
- the direct object of nechci, so it is in the accusative case
The adjective/pronoun žádný (no / any) must agree with the noun in gender, number, and case.

For feminine singular accusative, you get:

žádný → žádnou
schůzka → schůzku

So:

žádná schůzka – nominative (e.g. Žádná schůzka není dnes. – No meeting is today.)
žádnou schůzku – accusative (e.g. Nechci žádnou schůzku. – I don’t want any meeting.)

žádné schůzky would be plural: no meetings.

Can I also say Nechci schůzku v pondělí or Nechci v pondělí žádnou schůzku? Does word order change the meaning?

All of these are grammatically correct, but the focus changes slightly:

V pondělí nechci žádnou schůzku.
- Very natural, neutral.
- Time expression (v pondělí) at the start sets the context: “As for Monday…”
Nechci v pondělí žádnou schůzku.
- Still natural.
- Slight extra emphasis on v pondělí as the time you reject meetings.
Nechci žádnou schůzku v pondělí.
- Also possible.
- Now žádnou schůzku v pondělí feels like one block, focusing on meetings on Monday specifically (as opposed to meetings on other days).

The basic meaning is the same in everyday speech, but Czech uses word order to show what is topic (known information, often earlier) and what is focus (new or emphasized information). Starting with V pondělí is probably the most typical here.

What case and gender are žádnou and schůzku, exactly?

Both words are:

Gender: feminine
Number: singular
Case: accusative

Details:

schůzka (meeting) is a feminine noun. As the direct object of nechci, it must be in the accusative singular → schůzku.
žádný is a pronoun/adjective meaning no / not any. For feminine accusative singular, the form is žádnou.

So they match:

žádnou (fem sg acc)
schůzku (fem sg acc)

That agreement is obligatory in Czech.

If I want to say I don’t want any meetings on Monday, how do I make schůzka plural?

Use the plural:

Nechci v pondělí žádné schůzky. – I don’t want any meetings on Monday.

Here:

schůzky – feminine plural accusative of schůzka
žádný → žádné – feminine plural accusative form to agree with schůzky

Why is there a comma before protože?

In standard Czech punctuation, a comma is used before most subordinating conjunctions, including protože (because).

The sentence has:

Main clause: V pondělí nechci žádnou schůzku
Subordinate clause (reason): protože jsem unavený

They are divided by a comma:

V pondělí nechci žádnou schůzku, protože jsem unavený.

Unlike English, where the comma before because is sometimes optional or even wrong, in Czech this comma is mandatory in standard writing.

Why is it unavený and not unavená or something else? What would a woman say?

Unavený is an adjective meaning tired. In Czech, adjectives must agree with the subject in gender and number.

Here, the subject is já (I), but the speaker is assumed to be male:

Male speaker:
- protože jsem unavený – because I am tired
Female speaker:
- protože jsem unavená – because I am tired

Other forms:

Group of males / mixed group: jsme unavení – we are tired
Group of females only: jsme unavené

So unavený in the sentence implies a male speaker.

Can I say protože jsem unaven instead of protože jsem unavený?

Yes, jsem unaven is possible, but it sounds:

more formal, bookish, or somewhat old-fashioned in many contexts;
you will encounter it in writing, literature, or more elevated style.

jsem unavený is the most common, neutral spoken form for I am tired (male speaker). For a female speaker, jsem unavená is neutral; jsem unavena is the “short” literary variant.

Could I also say V pondělí nechci mít žádnou schůzku? Does adding mít change the meaning?

Yes, you can say:

V pondělí nechci mít žádnou schůzku.

This literally means I don’t want to have any meeting on Monday.

In practice:

V pondělí nechci žádnou schůzku.
- Very natural and short.
- Focuses on not wanting the meeting itself.
V pondělí nechci mít žádnou schůzku.
- Also correct, slightly more explicit.
- Emphasizes the having/holding of a meeting.

In most everyday situations, the meaning is effectively the same. The version without mít is a bit simpler and more common.

If we are talking about a future Monday, shouldn’t it be protože budu unavený instead of protože jsem unavený?

Logically, yes:

protože budu unavený = because I will be tired (in the future)

This is clearer if you are talking about a future Monday:

V pondělí nechci žádnou schůzku, protože budu unavený.

However, in casual speech, Czech speakers sometimes use the present tense to talk about scheduled or expected situations, especially with adverbs of time. In many contexts, protože jsem unavený will be understood from context, but budu unavený is more precise when you explicitly mean future tiredness.

How do you pronounce pondělí and schůzku? Where is the stress?

In Czech, stress is always on the first syllable of the word.

pondělí
- Stress: PON-dě-lí
- Roughly: PON-dye-lee
- ň is a soft ny sound; dě is like dye but softer.
schůzku
- Stress: SCHŮZ-ku
- Roughly: SCHOOS-koo (with a long ů like a long “oo”)
- sch is pronounced like sh in English “shoe”.

So the rhythm is: V PON-dye-lee NECH-ci ŽÁD-nou SCHŮZ-ku, PRO-to-že jsem U-na-ve-ný. (each word stressed on the first syllable).

How could I say this more politely to a colleague, instead of the direct nechci?

To sound more polite or softer, you can:

Use the conditional of chtít:
- V pondělí bych nechtěl žádnou schůzku, protože budu unavený.
  – I’d rather not have any meeting on Monday, because I’ll be tired.
- Female speaker: V pondělí bych nechtěla žádnou schůzku…
Or soften it further:
- V pondělí bych raději neměl žádnou schůzku, protože budu unavený.
  – I’d prefer not to have any meeting on Monday, because I’ll be tired.

Compared to the original V pondělí nechci žádnou schůzku, these versions sound less blunt and more appropriate for formal emails or polite conversation.