Learn Hardcore Czech: V sobotu děláme doma velký úklid a všichni myjeme nádobí, čistíme koupelnu a uklízíme pokoje. - On Saturday we do a big cleaning at home and we all wash the dishes, clean the bathroom and tidy the rooms.

V sobotu = on Saturday
V pondělí, v úterý, ve středu, ve čtvrtek, v pátek, v neděli (also accusative forms, though many look the same as nominative)

Why is it děláme velký úklid instead of just uklízíme? Aren’t they both “we clean”?

Both are correct, but they have slightly different flavors:

děláme velký úklid literally: we do a big cleaning / we do a big clean‑up
- Emphasizes the event as a whole, something more special or thorough.
- Like English “We do a big house‑cleaning on Saturday.”
uklízíme: we are cleaning / we clean (general verb)
- Focuses more on the activity itself.

You often see combinations like in your sentence:

děláme doma velký úklid a všichni myjeme…, čistíme…, uklízíme…

The first part names the event (a big clean‑up), and the second part lists what exactly everyone does during it.

Why is it doma and not v domě or something like v domu?

doma is a special adverb meaning “at home”. You don’t add a preposition to it.

doma = at home (location)
domů = (to) home (direction)

Compare:

Jsem doma. – I am at home.
Jdu domů. – I’m going home.

v domě means “in the house / inside the building”, a bit more literal and physical.
In your sentence, děláme doma velký úklid = we do a big cleaning at home is the natural choice.

Why is the adjective order velký úklid and not úklid velký?

The neutral word order in Czech is adjective + noun:

velký úklid – a big cleaning
čistá koupelna – a clean bathroom
nový pokoj – a new room

Putting the adjective after the noun (úklid velký) is possible, but then it sounds emphatic, stylistic, or poetic, not normal everyday speech. Your sentence uses the standard, neutral order.

Who is the subject in děláme, myjeme, čistíme, uklízíme? Why is my (we) not written?

In Czech, the subject pronoun (já, ty, on, my, vy, oni) is usually dropped, because the verb ending already shows the person.

děláme → clearly 1st person plural (we do / we are doing)
myjeme, čistíme, uklízíme → also 1st person plural

So the explicit my (we) is not needed:

My děláme doma velký úklid. (correct, but a bit emphatic)
Děláme doma velký úklid. (normal)

The word všichni (all) in the sentence tells you who is doing it: we all (all of us).

What exactly does všichni do here? Why not my všichni?

všichni means “all (people)”, and with the verb in 1st person plural it effectively means “we all”.

Všichni myjeme nádobí… → We all wash the dishes…

You can say my všichni (“we all”) for extra emphasis:

My všichni myjeme nádobí. – We ALL wash the dishes.

But normally všichni + 1st person plural verb is enough, and my is left out.

Why is nádobí used without a plural form? Can I say nádobíčka or something like that?

nádobí is a mass noun in Czech. It refers collectively to dishes, plates, cups, pots, etc. It is grammatically neuter singular, and you don’t normally put it in the plural.

myjeme nádobí – we wash the dishes
nádobí je špinavé – the dishes are dirty (verb and adjective are in singular: je, špinavé)

For individual items you use specific words:

talíř – plate
hrnek – mug
sklenice – glass
pánev – pan

There is a diminutive nádobíčko, but that’s more like “little dishes / cute dishes” and quite informal. The standard word in this context is simply nádobí.

Why is it čistíme koupelnu but v koupelně? What case is koupelnu here?

koupelna = bathroom (nominative).

In your sentence:

čistíme koupelnu – we clean the bathroom

Here koupelnu is a direct object, so it’s in the accusative:

Nominative: koupelna
Accusative: koupelnu

When you talk about location “in the bathroom”, you use the preposition v + locative:

v koupelně – in the bathroom (locative case)

So:

Čistíme koupelnu. – We are cleaning the bathroom.
Jsme v koupelně. – We are in the bathroom.

Why is pokoje used, and not pokoj or pokojů? What form is this?

pokoj means “room” (also “peace” in other contexts).

In the sentence:

uklízíme pokoje – we clean (the) rooms

Here pokoje is accusative plural:

Nominative singular: pokoj – a room
Accusative singular: pokoj – (I clean) a room
Nominative plural: pokoje – rooms
Accusative plural: pokoje – (I clean) rooms

For many masculine inanimate nouns like pokoj, the nominative and accusative plural forms are the same (pokoje).

pokojů is genitive plural (“of rooms”), used in different contexts:

bez pokojů – without rooms
sto pokojů – a hundred rooms

What’s the difference between myjeme, čistíme, uklízíme and umyjeme, vyčistíme, uklidíme?

This is about aspect (imperfective vs perfective):

myjeme, čistíme, uklízíme – imperfective present
- Focus on the process or repeated/habitual action.
- “We wash / we are washing”, “we clean / we are cleaning”.
umyjeme, vyčistíme, uklidíme – perfective future
- Focus on the completion of the action (one whole event).
- “We will wash (and get it done)”, “we will clean (completely)”.

In your sentence, it describes what we do during the big cleaning (typical actions or a process), so the imperfective present (myjeme, čistíme, uklízíme) is natural.

If you want to promise a result:

V sobotu umyjeme nádobí a uklidíme pokoje.
→ On Saturday we will (properly) wash the dishes and (fully) tidy the rooms.

Can this sentence mean “This coming Saturday we will clean” even though it’s in the present tense?

Yes, context can make the present tense refer to the near future, especially if it’s a planned or scheduled activity:

V sobotu děláme doma velký úklid.

This can be understood as:

(habitual) “On Saturdays we do a big cleaning at home.”
(this time) “This Saturday we’re doing a big cleaning at home.”

Czech often uses present tense of imperfective verbs for near future plans, similar to English “We’re cleaning on Saturday.” If you want to make the future very explicit, you can say:

V sobotu budeme dělat doma velký úklid. – We will be doing a big cleaning at home on Saturday.

Why is the conjunction a used, not i? What’s the difference between a and i?

Both can translate to “and”, but they’re used differently:

a = the normal, neutral “and” that links things:
- myjeme nádobí a čistíme koupelnu – we wash the dishes and clean the bathroom.
i = “and also / as well / even”, often adds emphasis or accumulation:
- myjeme nádobí i čistíme koupelnu – we wash the dishes and also clean the bathroom (stressing that both are done, maybe more than you’d expect).

In your sentence, the simple connector a is appropriate because it is just listing actions in a neutral way.

Is the word order V sobotu děláme doma velký úklid fixed, or can it be rearranged?

Czech word order is flexible, but changes the emphasis. All of these are grammatically OK, with slightly different focus:

V sobotu děláme doma velký úklid.
→ Neutral: time (on Saturday) first.
Doma v sobotu děláme velký úklid.
→ Slightly more emphasis on at home (not somewhere else).
Velký úklid děláme v sobotu doma.
→ Emphasis on the big cleaning (as opposed to other activities).

The version in your sentence is the most neutral, natural one for a basic statement.