Learn Hardcore Czech: Když je mi zima, beru si kabát a teplý čaj s sebou. - When I feel cold, I take a coat and warm tea with me.

You can say jsem studený about an object (e.g. Ten čaj je studený – “The tea is cold”) or about your body as an object (Mám studené ruce – “My hands are cold”), but for feeling cold, je mi zima is the normal idiomatic way.

What case is mi in je mi zima, and why is that case used?

Mi is the dative form of já (“I”).

Dative is often used in Czech for the “experiencer” of a feeling or state:

Je mi zima. – I am cold. (literally: it is cold to me)
Je mu špatně. – He feels sick. (it is bad to him)
Je nám 20 let. – We are 20 years old. (it is 20 years to us)

So the pattern is:

Je + [adjective / noun] + [dative pronoun]

That’s why it’s mi (dative “to me”), not já or mě in another case.

Can I also say Když mi je zima instead of Když je mi zima? Is there any difference?

Yes, you can say Když mi je zima as well. Both are correct and natural.

Word order in Czech is more flexible than in English. In this short clause:

Když je mi zima – neutral, very common.
Když mi je zima – also fine; may put a tiny bit more emphasis on mi (“when I am cold / when it’s me who’s cold”), but in everyday speech they feel almost the same.

So: both versions are usable; you don’t need to worry about a big meaning difference here.

Why is it beru si and not just beru?

The verb is brát si = to take (for oneself), to take along, to start using/putting on.

brát (without si) is simply “to take” something.
brát si (with si) is reflexive, often meaning:
- to take something for yourself
- to start using/putting on clothing
- to take something along with you

Typical examples:

Beru si kabát. – I (am) take(ing) a coat (for myself / to wear or take along).
Beru kabát. – I take the coat. (more neutral, could be for some purpose, not necessarily “for myself”)

With things like clothes or items you’re bringing, brát si is much more natural. So beru si kabát feels like “I grab/put on a coat for myself.”

What is the function of si in beru si? Why not se?

Czech has two main reflexive forms:

se – reflexive in the accusative
si – reflexive in the dative

Different verbs “want” one or the other.

The verb brát si is constructed with si (dative), not se, and carries the meaning “take (for oneself)”:

beru si kabát – I take a coat (for myself).
beru si kávu – I’ll have a coffee (for myself).

You cannot say beru se kabát – that’s ungrammatical. For this meaning, the dictionary form is brát si, so you always use si with its conjugations (beru si, bereš si, bere si, etc.).

What exactly does s sebou mean, and is it necessary?

S sebou literally means “with oneself” → “with me / with you / with him/her” depending on the subject.

In this sentence:

beru si kabát a teplý čaj s sebou
= I take a coat and hot tea with me.

Without s sebou, beru si kabát a teplý čaj could just mean “I take a coat and hot tea (for myself)” – for example, I might be putting the coat on and drinking the tea right there.

Adding s sebou emphasizes that you are taking them along with you, like “to go”.

So:

Beru si kávu. – I’m having a coffee (or I’m taking a coffee for myself).
Beru si kávu s sebou. – I’m taking a coffee with me / to go.

It’s not grammatically required, but it makes the “take-along” meaning very clear.

What case are kabát and teplý čaj, and why do they look like nominative?

In this sentence, both kabát and teplý čaj are in the accusative singular as direct objects of beru si.

For masculine inanimate nouns like kabát and čaj, the nominative singular and accusative singular have the same form:

Nominative sg.: kabát, čaj
Accusative sg.: kabát, čaj

So even though they look like nominative, their function in the sentence (direct object of “take”) tells you they are accusative:

(Já) beru si co? → kabát a teplý čaj.

Why is it teplý čaj, not horký čaj? What’s the difference?

Both teplý čaj and horký čaj are correct, but they are slightly different:

teplý čaj = warm tea; comfortably warm, nice to drink.
horký čaj = hot tea; very hot, maybe too hot to drink right away.

In everyday speech, many people use teplý čaj for the drink they take with them to warm up. Horký čaj emphasizes that it’s really hot.

So you could say either:

… beru si kabát a teplý čaj s sebou. – I take a warm tea with me.
… beru si kabát a horký čaj s sebou. – I take a hot tea with me.

Both are fine; it’s just a nuance in temperature.

Why is the comma placed before když in Když je mi zima, beru si kabát…?

In Czech, you separate dependent clauses with commas. A clause introduced by když (“when”) is a subordinate clause, so it needs a comma between it and the main clause.

Two possible orders:

Když je mi zima, beru si kabát a teplý čaj s sebou.
– Subordinate clause first, then a comma, then the main clause.
Beru si kabát a teplý čaj s sebou, když je mi zima.
– Main clause first, comma, then the když clause.

In both orders, the comma is required in standard written Czech.

Why is the verb beru si in the present tense if this is about a general habit?

Czech uses the present tense to talk about repeated, habitual actions, just like English does:

Když je mi zima, beru si kabát…
= When I am cold, I (normally) take a coat…

This is the general present (present habitual), not just something happening right now.

You’d use another form if you wanted to talk about one specific future event:

Když mi bude zima, vezmu si kabát a teplý čaj s sebou.
– When I get cold, I will take a coat and hot tea with me (that specific time).

So beru si here matches the idea of a habit.

What is the difference between beru si kabát and vezmu si kabát?

Both come from the pair brát si / vzít si (imperfective/perfective):

brát si (imperfective) – to be taking, to take (repeatedly, habitually, in progress).
vzít si (perfective) – to take (once, as a complete single action).

Contrast:

Když je mi zima, beru si kabát.
– When I’m cold, I (usually) take a coat. (habit, repeated action)
Když mi bude zima, vezmu si kabát.
– When I am cold (on that occasion), I will take a coat. (one-time, future event)

So in the original sentence, beru si is correct because it describes a general habit, not one specific instance.

Could I say Když je mi zima, obleču si kabát instead of beru si kabát?

Yes, but there is a slight difference in focus:

obléknout si kabát / oblékat si kabát
– literally “to put on a coat” (action of dressing yourself).
brát si kabát
– “to take a coat (for myself)”; can mean to put it on, but can also simply mean taking it along with you (e.g. carrying it).

So:

Když je mi zima, obleču si kabát.
– When I’m cold, I put on a coat. (focus on the act of putting it on)
Když je mi zima, beru si kabát.
– When I’m cold, I take a coat (with me / for myself). Depending on context, listeners will usually understand you mean you wear it.

With s sebou, beru si kabát s sebou clearly means I take a coat with me (to go), not necessarily that you put it on immediately.