Learn Hardcore Czech: Každé ráno chci cvičit, protože moje tělo potřebuje být zdravé. - Every morning I want to exercise, because my body needs to be healthy.

ráno (morning) is neuter singular
The adjective každý (every) has different forms:
- masculine: každý
- feminine: každá
- neuter: každé

So it must be Každé ráno = every morning.

What exactly does Každé ráno mean grammatically? Is it a subject or something else?

Každé ráno is an adverbial phrase of time, like “every morning” in English.

It tells you when the action happens.
It’s not the subject; the subject is (já), implied in chci (I want).
Formally, it’s accusative of time, but neuter singular ráno looks the same in nominative and accusative, so you don’t see a form change.

So the structure is roughly:

(Já) chci cvičit každé ráno. – I want to exercise every morning.

Can I put Každé ráno at the end, like Chci cvičit každé ráno? Does the meaning change?

Yes, you can say:

Každé ráno chci cvičit.
Chci cvičit každé ráno.

Both are correct and mean the same thing: Every morning I want to exercise / I want to exercise every morning.

Word order in Czech is flexible. Differences are mostly about emphasis and rhythm, not basic meaning. Putting Každé ráno first slightly emphasizes the time (every morning), but in everyday conversation both versions are natural.

Why is it chci cvičit and not something like chci, že cvičím?

In Czech, verbs like chtít (to want) are followed directly by an infinitive, not by a že-clause.

chci cvičit = I want (to) exercise
- chci – I want
- cvičit – to exercise (infinitive)

You do not say:

✗ chci, že cvičím – this is incorrect.

So the pattern is:

chci + infinitive:
- chci spát – I want to sleep
- chci jíst – I want to eat
- chci cvičit – I want to exercise

There is no separate word for “to” before the infinitive; the bare infinitive form acts as “to exercise”.

Is cvičit the right verb for “to work out / to exercise”? Are there other options?

Yes, cvičit is the standard verb for to exercise, to work out, to do physical training.

Common nuances:

cvičit – to exercise / work out (general, repeated/habitual, ongoing)
zacvičit si – to have a (single) workout, to exercise once
posilovat – to do strength training / lift weights
sportovat – to play sports / do sports in general

In the sentence Každé ráno chci cvičit, the imperfective cvičit is ideal because you’re talking about a repeated, habitual action.

Why is there a comma before protože? Do I always need it?

Yes, in standard Czech you normally put a comma before protože when it introduces a reason clause.

Každé ráno chci cvičit, protože moje tělo potřebuje být zdravé.

Protože (“because”) starts a subordinate clause (protože moje tělo potřebuje být zdravé), and Czech punctuation rules require a comma before most subordinating conjunctions, including protože.

So:

comma + protože + clause is the usual pattern.

Could I say Chci cvičit každé ráno, protože potřebuje být moje tělo zdravé? Is that correct?

Grammatically it’s possible, but it sounds unnatural and marked.

Natural word orders:

protože moje tělo potřebuje být zdravé
protože tělo potřebuje být zdravé (if context is clear)

Putting moje tělo after the verb (protože potřebuje být moje tělo zdravé) is used only in very specific cases for strong emphasis or contrast and feels unnatural in a neutral sentence like this. Stick to:

protože moje tělo potřebuje být zdravé

Why is it moje tělo and not můj tělo?

The possessive můj / moje / mé must agree with the noun in gender and number:

tělo (body) is neuter singular
Neuter form of můj is moje (or the shorter mé)

So:

můj pes – my dog (masculine)
moje kniha – my book (feminine)
moje tělo – my body (neuter)

Therefore, moje tělo is the correct combination.

Could I drop moje and just say protože tělo potřebuje být zdravé?

You can, but it sounds a bit odd in this sentence.

Czech often drops possessive pronouns with body parts when it’s obvious whose body part it is:

Bolí mě hlava. – My head hurts. (literally: “The head hurts me.”)
Myl si ruce. – He washed his hands.

But your sentence is more general and conceptual: moje tělo potřebuje být zdravé stresses my body as something I care about. Without moje it sounds more like a general statement about “the body” in an abstract sense.

So here, moje tělo is natural and stylistically good.

Why is it potřebuje být zdravé and not potřebuje zdravé být?

Czech generally places být (to be) before the adjective in such constructions:

potřebuje být zdravé – needs to be healthy

The word order zdravé být is possible in poetry or for very strong emphasis, but in normal speech and writing you say:

(něco) potřebuje být + adjective

Other examples:

Musíš být opatrný. – You must be careful.
Chci být silný. – I want to be strong.

So potřebuje být zdravé is the normal order.

Why is it zdravé and not zdravý?

Again, agreement in gender and number:

tělo – neuter singular
Predicate adjectives (adjectives after být) agree with the subject.

So:

tělo je zdravé – the body is healthy (neuter)
muž je zdravý – the man is healthy (masculine)
žena je zdravá – the woman is healthy (feminine)

In moje tělo potřebuje být zdravé, the adjective zdravé is neuter singular, matching tělo.

Is potřebuje být zdravé literally “needs to be healthy” like in English, or is there another option?

Yes, potřebuje být zdravé literally means “(it) needs to be healthy.”

You could also say:

moje tělo potřebuje zdraví – my body needs health
(more abstract, noun zdraví, sounds more formal or philosophical)
moje tělo potřebuje pohyb – my body needs movement (exercise)

But to match the English structure “needs to be healthy”, potřebuje být zdravé is the closest and most natural equivalent.

Why are chci and potřebuje in the present tense if I’m talking about a regular habit (every morning)? Shouldn’t it be future?

In Czech, the present tense is normally used for:

current actions
general truths
habits and repeated actions (like “every morning”)

So:

Každé ráno chci cvičit – Every morning I want to exercise.
(habit, so present is correct)
Moje tělo potřebuje být zdravé – My body needs to be healthy.
(general, always true)

You don’t use the future just because it’s about a regular or repeated action; present tense covers that, like English “I go to school every day”.

Is there any difference between moje tělo and mé tělo in this sentence?

Both are correct; the difference is style:

moje tělo – more common in everyday speech, neutral
mé tělo – a bit shorter and more formal / literary

So:

Každé ráno chci cvičit, protože moje tělo potřebuje být zdravé. – everyday, natural
… protože mé tělo potřebuje být zdravé. – slightly more formal or stylistically polished

For normal conversational Czech, moje is perfectly fine.