Learn Hardcore Czech: Kalhoty, které mám dnes na sobě, jsou velmi pohodlné, ale trochu krátké. - The trousers that I am wearing today are very comfortable but a bit short.

kalhoty = trousers / pants (always plural in Czech)
Because the noun is grammatically plural, it must use:
- a plural verb: jsou (are)
- plural adjectives: pohodlné, krátké

So Kalhoty jsou pohodlné literally is “Trousers are comfortable,” but in English we usually say “These trousers are comfortable” or “My trousers are comfortable.”

What gender and case is kalhoty here, and how does that affect the rest of the sentence?

In this sentence, kalhoty is:

Case: nominative (it is the subject of the sentence)
Number: plural
Gender: feminine (plural)

Because of that:

The verb must be 3rd person plural: jsou (not je).
The adjectives must be feminine nominative plural: pohodlné, krátké.
The relative pronoun referring to kalhoty must also be feminine plural: které.

All of these words are “agreeing” with kalhoty in gender and number.

Why is the relative pronoun které and not který or která?

The choice of který / která / které depends on:

The gender and number of the noun it refers to
The case required by its role in the clause

Here:

It refers to kalhoty (feminine plural).
Inside the relative clause které mám dnes na sobě, které is the direct object of the verb mám, so it’s in the accusative.

For feminine plural, nominative and accusative forms are the same: které.

So we get kalhoty, které mám dnes na sobě = “the trousers that I am wearing today.”

What does mám na sobě literally mean, and why is it used for “I am wearing”?

Literally, mám na sobě is:

mám = I have
na sobě = on myself

So word‑for‑word: “I have on myself.” Idiomatically, this is exactly how Czech normally says “I am wearing (right now).”

Examples:

Co máš na sobě? – What are you wearing?
Měl jsem na sobě bundu. – I was wearing a jacket.

This is the standard way to talk about clothes on your body at a specific moment.

What is na sobě grammatically? Why not na mě?

na sobě uses the reflexive pronoun:

na (on) + sobě (locative of the reflexive sebe = oneself)

So it literally means “on oneself / on myself / on yourself / on himself …” depending on the subject.

You generally say:

Mám na sobě kalhoty. – I have trousers on (I am wearing trousers).

You would not normally say mám na mě kalhoty; that sounds wrong in Czech. For “wearing something on one’s body,” the fixed phrase is mít na sobě.

What’s the difference between mám na sobě and nosím for “wear”?

Both can be translated as “wear,” but they’re used differently:

mám na sobě = what you are wearing right now
- Kalhoty, které mám dnes na sobě… – The trousers I’m wearing today…
nosím = what you usually wear, or wear repeatedly / habitually
- Nosím džíny do práce. – I wear jeans to work (as a habit).

So you wouldn’t normally use nosím in this sentence, because you’re describing today’s specific outfit, not your general clothing habit.

Is the word order které mám dnes na sobě fixed? Could I say které dnes mám na sobě?

Czech word order is relatively flexible, especially for adverbs like dnes.

All of these are possible and grammatical:

které mám dnes na sobě
které dnes mám na sobě
které mám na sobě dnes

The default, most neutral choice here is které mám dnes na sobě. Moving dnes can change the rhythm or emphasis slightly, but not the basic meaning. Beginners are usually safest copying the usual pattern mám dnes na sobě.

Why do pohodlné and krátké end in -é, not -á or -í?

Adjectives in Czech must agree with the noun in gender, number, and case.

We have:

Noun: kalhoty – feminine plural, nominative (subject)
Adjectives: pohodlné, krátké – must also be feminine nominative plural

For regular adjectives like pohodlný / krátký, the feminine nominative plural ending is -é:

sg. fem.: pohodlná, krátká
pl. fem.: pohodlné, krátké

So kalhoty jsou pohodlné, ale trochu krátké is the correct agreement.

Why is there a comma before které in Kalhoty, které mám dnes na sobě, jsou…?

The commas show that this is a non‑restrictive (non‑defining) relative clause:

Kalhoty, které mám dnes na sobě, jsou…
= “The trousers, which I’m wearing today, are…”

You’re talking about some already known trousers and then adding extra information (“which I’m wearing today”).

If you wrote it without commas:

Kalhoty které mám dnes na sobě jsou…

it would look like a restrictive clause (“the trousers that I’m wearing today (as opposed to some other trousers) are…”), but in standard written Czech we usually separate this type of extra description with commas, just like in careful English.

Why is there a comma before ale?

In Czech, ale (“but”) is normally preceded by a comma when it connects two clauses or two parts of a sentence that each have their own verb or predicate.

…jsou velmi pohodlné, ale trochu krátké.

Here jsou velmi pohodlné and (jsou) trochu krátké are two parts of the same clause with a contrast, so we put a comma before ale, just as in English: “very comfortable, but a bit short.”

(In the second part, the verb jsou is understood and omitted, which is very natural in Czech: jsou velmi pohodlné, ale (jsou) trochu krátké.)

What is the nuance of velmi? Could I say moc or hodně instead?

All three can mean “very,” but they differ slightly in style:

velmi – neutral, a bit more formal / written
- jsou velmi pohodlné – they are very comfortable
moc – common in informal spoken Czech
- jsou moc pohodlné – they’re really very comfortable
hodně – also “a lot / very,” informal
- jsou hodně pohodlné – they’re very comfortable

In this sentence, velmi sounds neutral to slightly formal, perfectly fine in both spoken and written language. In casual speech, many people would also say moc pohodlné or hodně pohodlné.

What exactly does trochu krátké mean, and why does trochu go before the adjective?

trochu means “a bit / a little” and here it modifies the adjective:

trochu krátké = “a bit short,” “somewhat short”

In Czech, adverbs that modify adjectives almost always come before the adjective:

velmi pohodlné – very comfortable
trochu krátké – a bit short
docela drahé – quite expensive

So jsou trochu krátké is the natural order. The adjective krátké still agrees with kalhoty in gender, number, and case (feminine nominative plural).

Where is the word “I” in které mám dnes na sobě? Why isn’t já written?

The subject “I” is contained in the verb ending:

mám = I have
- mám (I)
- máš (you sg.)
- má (he/she/it)

Because Czech verb endings show the person clearly, the pronoun já is usually omitted unless you want to emphasize it:

které mám dnes na sobě – which I’m wearing today (neutral)
které já mám dnes na sobě – which I am wearing today (contrast or emphasis)

Leaving já out is the normal, natural choice here.