Learn Hardcore Czech: Tento víkend chci být doma s rodinou. - This weekend I want to be at home with my family.

Putting tento víkend at the end (Chci být doma s rodinou tento víkend) is also fine and can sound slightly more like you’re adding the time as extra information, but it’s not a big difference here.

Why is it Tento víkend and not something like v tomto víkendu?

Czech often uses a bare accusative for time expressions:

Tento víkend = this weekend (as a time period)
Příští týden = next week
Každý den = every day

The preposition v (in) is not needed here.

You can say o víkendu (at the weekend / on the weekend), but that is more general and usually without ten/tento:

O víkendu chci být doma. = On/at the weekend I want to be at home.
Tento víkend chci být doma. = This particular weekend I want to be at home.

What is the difference between ten, tento, and tenhle?

All three can correspond to English this / that, but with slightly different feels:

ten víkend – neutral that/the weekend (often context decides if it’s this or that)
tento víkend – a bit more formal or written-style this weekend, clearly pointing to a specific one
tenhle víkend – very common in spoken Czech, more colloquial this weekend

You could say:

Ten víkend chci být doma. (OK, neutral)
Tento víkend chci být doma. (sounds a bit more “correct”/formal, textbook style)
Tenhle víkend chci být doma. (what many people would say in everyday speech)

Why is it chci and not something like budu to talk about the future?

The verb chtít (to want) is in the present tense: chci = I want.

In Czech, you often express future plans with a present-tense verb of desire or intention + infinitive:

Tento víkend chci být doma. = Literally This weekend I want to be at home.
→ Natural English: I want to stay home this weekend.

If you say:

Tento víkend budu doma. = This weekend I will be at home.

that sounds more like a statement of fact (a plan, a schedule), while chci být focuses on your wish/intention. Both can be about the future; the verb chtít itself doesn’t need a special future form here.

What exactly does chci být mean? Is být necessary?

chci = I want (1st person singular of chtít)
být = to be (infinitive)

So chci být = I want to be.

Here, být is needed because English also says to be at home.

In other contexts, you might use other infinitives:

Chci jít domů. = I want to go home.
Chci pracovat. = I want to work.

You cannot drop být in chci být doma; chci doma is wrong.

Why is it doma and not domů? What is the difference?

Czech distinguishes between location and direction:

doma = at home (location, “where?”)
- Jsem doma. = I am at home.
- Chci být doma. = I want to be at home.
domů = (to) home (direction, “where to?”)
- Jdu domů. = I’m going home.
- Chci jít domů. = I want to go home.

In Tento víkend chci být doma s rodinou, you’re saying where you want to be, not where you’re going, so doma is correct.

Why is it s rodinou and not s rodina?

The preposition s (with) in Czech always takes the instrumental case.

rodina is the nominative (dictionary form, subject):
- Moje rodina je velká. = My family is big.
rodinou is the instrumental singular:
- s rodinou = with (my/the) family

So the pattern is: s + instrumental:

s mámou = with (my) mum
s kamarádem = with (my) friend (male)
s rodinou = with (my/the) family

What case is rodinou, and how is it formed from rodina?

Rodinou is instrumental singular of rodina (a regular feminine noun in -a).

Basic singular forms:

Nominative: rodina (family – subject)
Genitive: rodiny (of the family)
Dative: rodině (to/for the family)
Accusative: rodinu (direct object)
Locative: rodině (about the family)
Instrumental: rodinou (with/by the family)

Instrumental of a typical feminine -a noun is formed by changing -a → -ou:

žena → ženou (woman → with a woman)
rodina → rodinou (family → with a family)

Why don’t we say s mojí rodinou if we mean with my family?

You can say s mojí rodinou (or s mou rodinou). That is correct and explicit:

Tento víkend chci být doma s mojí rodinou.

But in Czech, if context is clear, people often omit possessive pronouns for close relatives:

jdu za mámou (I’m going to see my mum)
byl jsem u babičky (I was at my grandma’s)
s rodinou (with my family)

So s rodinou is naturally understood as with my family, unless clearly specified otherwise.

Why is there no subject pronoun já? Could I say Já tento víkend chci být doma s rodinou?

Czech usually drops personal subject pronouns because the verb ending already shows the person:

chci = I want (1st person singular – já is clear from the ending)

So the most natural version is:

Tento víkend chci být doma s rodinou.

You can say:

Já tento víkend chci být doma s rodinou.

This is grammatically correct but has extra emphasis on já = I (as opposed to someone else):

Já tento víkend chci být doma, ale ostatní chtějí jet pryč.
= I want to be at home this weekend, but the others want to go away.

Is chci polite enough, or should I say something like chtěl bych?

Chci is direct I want. In everyday conversation about your own plans, it’s fine:

Tento víkend chci být doma s rodinou.
→ neutral, normal.

To sound more polite or softer (especially when asking for something), Czechs often use a conditional:

Chtěl bych být tento víkend doma s rodinou.
= I would like to be at home with my family this weekend.

So:

Talking about your own plans: chci is perfectly OK.
Making polite requests: prefer chtěl bych (for a man) / chtěla bych (for a woman).

How do you pronounce Tento víkend chci být doma s rodinou? Any tricky parts?

Approximate pronunciation (stress is always on the first syllable of each word):

Tento – TEN-to
víkend – VEE-kent (long í, short e)
chci – roughly khtsi:
- ch is like German ach or Scottish loch
- c is ts
být – beet (long ý)
doma – DO-ma
s rodinou – pronounced more like z rodinou in fluent speech:
- final s becomes voiced (z) before r, so it sounds like zrodinou
- rodinou – RO-dih-noh (last ou is a diphthong like “oh-oo” merged)

The main tricky spots for English speakers are chci and the s → z voicing in s rodinou.

Can I move s rodinou to another place in the sentence?

Yes, Czech word order is flexible, and all of these are grammatically correct:

Tento víkend chci být doma s rodinou. (very natural)
Tento víkend chci být s rodinou doma. (slight emphasis on being with family)
S rodinou chci být tento víkend doma. (stronger emphasis on with family)

The basic information stays the same; moving s rodinou mostly affects what is highlighted or contrasted in context.