Learn Hardcore Czech: Moje sestra nerada uklízí, ale ví, že bez úklidu by byla kuchyně pořád špinavá. - My sister doesn’t like tidying up, but she knows that without cleaning the kitchen would always be dirty.

nerada uklízí literally means “she doesn’t like cleaning / she doesn’t like to clean” and focuses on her attitude while doing the activity.
nemá ráda uklízení uses the noun uklízení (“cleaning” as an activity in general) and sounds a bit more abstract or general.
nemá ráda uklízet is also fine and close in meaning to nerada uklízí, but rád(a) + verb (here: nerada uklízí) is extremely common and sounds very natural.

So nerada + verb is the most idiomatic way to say someone doesn’t like doing something.

Why is it nerada and not nerad or nerado?

The form of rád agrees with the grammatical gender and number of the subject:

rád – masculine singular
ráda – feminine singular
rádo – neuter singular
rádi – mixed group or group including at least one male
rády – group of only women or neuter plural

Here the subject is moje sestra (my sister), which is feminine singular, so you use ráda.
Because it’s negated, it becomes nerada (ne + ráda).

If it were můj bratr (my brother), you would say:

Můj bratr nerad uklízí.

Why is the verb uklízí (imperfective) used instead of uklidí (perfective)?

Aspect in Czech is important:

uklízet (imperfective) – to be cleaning / to clean in general, repeatedly, habitually, or as an ongoing activity.
uklidit (perfective) – to clean once, to completion, to finish cleaning.

The sentence is about a general attitude: “My sister doesn’t like cleaning.”
So we need the imperfective verb for a habitual action:

Moje sestra nerada uklízí. – She doesn’t like (the activity of) cleaning.

If you said Moje sestra nerada uklidí, it would sound odd, as uklidí refers to a single, completed act.

Why is there a comma before ale?

In Czech, when ale (“but”) connects two independent clauses (each with its own verb), you put a comma before it.

Here we have:

Moje sestra nerada uklízí, – 1st clause (verb: uklízí)
ale ví, že bez úklidu… – 2nd clause (verb: ví)

Because both parts are full clauses, you must write:

Moje sestra nerada uklízí, ale ví…

If ale only connects two words or short phrases (not whole clauses), there is usually no comma:

Je malá ale šikovná. – “She is small but clever.”

What is the role of že here, and can it be omitted like “that” in English?

že is the conjunction “that” introducing a subordinate clause:

ví, že bez úklidu by byla kuchyně pořád špinavá
→ “[she] knows that without cleaning the kitchen would always be dirty.”

In English, that is often optional:

“She knows (that) the kitchen would be dirty.”

In Czech, že is normally not optional in this kind of sentence.
Omitting že (→ …ale ví, bez úklidu by byla…) sounds wrong or at best very non‑standard.

Why is it bez úklidu and not something like bez uklízení or bez uklízet?

The preposition bez (“without”) requires the genitive case and it normally takes a noun, not a verb:

bez úklidu – literally “without (the) cleaning / without cleaning having been done”.
- úklid is a noun, genitive singular úklidu after bez.

Compare:

bez jídla – without food
bez práce – without work

You can say bez uklízení (also a noun, “without (any) cleaning as an activity”), but it’s less common and has a slightly different nuance.

You cannot say bez uklízet – a bare infinitive cannot follow bez.

Why is kuchyně in this form? Is it nominative or genitive?

In …by byla kuchyně pořád špinavá, kuchyně is nominative singular, and it is the subject of the clause:

kuchyně – subject
byla – verb (conditional, “would be”)
špinavá – predicate adjective

The genitive of kuchyně is also kuchyně (same form), so you have to rely on syntax:

Here it clearly functions as the subject of byla, so it’s nominative.
The genitive in the sentence is úklidu (after bez).

How does the conditional by byla work? Why do we need both words?

Czech conditional is formed with:

Conditional particle: by, bys, bychom, byste, etc.
Past tense form of the main verb: here byla (past of být, “to be”).

So:

(já) bych byl / byla – I would be
(ty) bys byl / byla – you would be
(ona) by byla – she would be

In the sentence:

…bez úklidu by byla kuchyně pořád špinavá.
→ by (conditional particle, 3rd person), byla (past form, agreeing with kuchyně, feminine singular).

Both elements are necessary to form a proper conditional.

Why is the word order by byla kuchyně and not kuchyně by byla?

Both are grammatically possible:

…že bez úklidu by byla kuchyně pořád špinavá.
…že bez úklidu kuchyně by byla pořád špinavá.

The key rule is that the conditional particle by tends to appear in the second position of its clause (the so‑called “second‑position clitic” behavior).

In the original sentence, the clause begins with že bez úklidu, so by naturally comes right after that phrase:

že bez úklidu | by | byla kuchyně…

Changing word order can slightly shift emphasis, but by should stay near the beginning of the clause.

What exactly does pořád mean here, and how is it different from stále, vždy, or furt?

In this context, pořád means “constantly / all the time”.

Rough differences:

pořád – very common, neutral:
- pořád špinavá – constantly dirty / always dirty.
stále – a bit more formal or neutral, often “still” or “continuously”:
- stále špinavá – still/continually dirty.
vždy – “always” in a general, timeless sense:
- vždy špinavá – always dirty (as a general rule).
furt – colloquial/slangy:
- furt špinavá – “always / all the time dirty”, but very informal.

Here pořád nicely expresses the idea of the kitchen being constantly dirty if nobody cleans it.

Why is the adjective špinavá in this form?

špinavá is the feminine singular nominative form of the adjective špinavý (“dirty”), agreeing with kuchyně:

kuchyně – feminine singular
→ predicate adjective must match: špinavá

Examples of agreement:

ten stůl je špinavý – the table (m.) is dirty
ta židle je špinavá – the chair (f.) is dirty
to okno je špinavé – the window (n.) is dirty

Why is it moje sestra and not má sestra? Are both correct?

Both are correct; they are just two forms of the same possessive adjective můj / moje / má (“my”):

moje sestra – more common in everyday modern Czech.
má sestra – somewhat more formal or stylistic, often in written or literary Czech.

In everyday speech, people overwhelmingly say moje sestra.
You could rewrite the sentence as:

Má sestra nerada uklízí, ale ví, že… – correct, but sounds a bit more formal or stylized.