Learn Hardcore Czech: Moje babička chodí do kina zřídka, protože má raději knihy. - My grandmother goes to the cinema rarely because she prefers books.

jít – to go (one specific trip, right now or in the near future)
- Jde do kina. = She is going to the cinema (now / on this occasion).
chodit – to go regularly / habitually, or back and forth
- Chodí do kina. = She goes to the cinema (in general, as a habit).

In the sentence „Moje babička chodí do kina zřídka“, we’re talking about how often she goes in general, so the habitual verb chodit is used: chodí.

Why is it do kina and not do kino or do kinu?

The preposition do (“to, into”) in Czech is followed by the genitive case.

The noun kino (cinema) in genitive singular is kina.
So do + kino (gen.) → do kina.

Forms:

Nominative: kino (subject)
Genitive: kina (after do, od, bez, etc.)

That’s why do kino or do kinu would be grammatically wrong here.

Could we say na kino instead of do kina?

Usually, no.

do kina literally means “into the cinema” and is the normal way to say “to the cinema (as a place)”.
na kino would sound strange; na is used more for events or activities (jít na koncert – go to a concert, na film – to a film, na pivo – for a beer).

You might say jít na film (go to a film), but for the building/place “the cinema”, you say jít do kina.

Why is it Moje babička and not Má babička?

Both moje babička and má babička are grammatically correct and mean “my grandmother”.

moje is the full form of the possessive pronoun.
má is a short form, a bit more stylistically marked and common in more formal or literary style.

In everyday spoken Czech, moje babička is more neutral and typical. Short forms like má matka, můj bratr, mé dítě appear more in writing or careful speech.

What does má raději knihy literally mean, and how does this structure work?

The phrase is based on the expression mít rád = to like (literally “to have [something] gladly”).

mít rád něco – to like something
- Má ráda knihy. = She likes books.
mít raději něco (než něco jiného) – to like something more, i.e. to prefer it.

So má raději knihy literally is “she has books more gladly”, but idiomatically it means “she prefers books / she likes books more.”

What is the difference between raději and víc?

Both can translate as “more”, but they’re used differently:

raději / radši – comparative of rád (“gladly”), used with liking / preference:
- Mám raději knihy než filmy. – I prefer books to films.
víc – comparative of hodně (“a lot, much”), about quantity or degree:
- Čtu víc knih. – I read more books (a larger number).
- Mám knihy rád víc. – I like books more (stronger degree of liking).

In this sentence, we talk about preference (films vs books), so raději is better than víc.

Why is there a comma before protože?

In Czech, the conjunction protože (“because”) usually introduces a subordinate clause, and such clauses are normally separated by a comma.

So:

Main clause: Moje babička chodí do kina zřídka
Subordinate clause: protože má raději knihy

Hence the comma:
Moje babička chodí do kina zřídka, protože má raději knihy.

Can we change the position of zřídka? For example, say Zřídka chodí do kina?

Yes. Czech word order is relatively flexible, and adverbs of frequency like zřídka can move:

Moje babička chodí do kina zřídka.
Moje babička zřídka chodí do kina.
Zřídka chodí moje babička do kina.

All are grammatical.
The differences are subtle and about emphasis; for example, starting with Zřídka puts more focus on the “rarely” idea. The neutral, most typical order here is probably the original one or Moje babička zřídka chodí do kina.

What does zřídka mean, and are there more common alternatives?

zřídka means “rarely, seldom”.

Very common synonyms in everyday speech are:

málokdy – very common, neutral: Moje babička málokdy chodí do kina.
jen zřídka – “only rarely”: Jen zřídka chodí do kina.
vzácně – also “rarely”, but can sound a bit more literary in this sense.

So you could say, for example:
Moje babička málokdy chodí do kina, protože má raději knihy.

Why is it knihy and not knih?

The noun kniha (book) in the plural has several forms:

Nominative plural: knihy
Accusative plural: knihy
Genitive plural: knih

In má raději knihy, knihy is the direct object of the verb phrase má raději, so we need the accusative plural → knihy.

knih (genitive plural) is used in different contexts, e.g. after some prepositions or with numbers: pět knih – five books.

Could we skip Moje and just say Babička chodí do kina zřídka…?

Yes, that is possible and grammatical.

Babička chodí do kina zřídka, protože má raději knihy.

Without context, it would usually be understood as “(My/our) grandma doesn’t go to the cinema often…”, because in many situations it’s clear whose grandma is meant.
If you specifically need to say my grandmother, you keep Moje babička.