Learn Hardcore Czech: Večer posloucháme tichou hudbu a zpíváme, ale netančíme, protože moje babička chce klid a raději kreslí květiny. - In the evening we listen to quiet music and sing, but we don’t dance, because my grandmother wants peace and prefers to draw flowers.

večer = in the evening / at night (in the evening time)
Similarly: ráno (in the morning), odpoledne (in the afternoon), včera (yesterday), zítra (tomorrow)

So Večer posloucháme… literally looks like “Evening we listen…”, but idiomatically it means “In the evening we listen…”. You only use v + accusative with some time words, e.g. v pondělí (on Monday), v lednu (in January).

Why is it tichou hudbu and not tichá hudba?

Because tichou hudbu is in the accusative case, used for a direct object.

hudba (music) is feminine singular
Feminine adjective tichý (quiet) in accusative singular (for an animate use it would be tichou)
Feminine noun hudba in accusative singular is also hudbu

So:

Nom.: tichá hudba = quiet music (as a subject):
Tichá hudba je příjemná. – Quiet music is pleasant.
Acc.: tichou hudbu = quiet music (as an object):
Posloucháme tichou hudbu. – We listen to quiet music.

Here hudbu is the object of posloucháme, so you must use the accusative.

How do the verb endings in posloucháme, zpíváme, netančíme work?

All three are present tense, 1st person plural (we):

posloucháme – we listen
zpíváme – we sing
netančíme – we don’t dance

The key ending is -me, which marks “we”:

poslouchám – I listen
posloucháš – you (sg) listen
poslouchá – he/she/it listens
posloucháme – we listen
posloucháte – you (pl / polite) listen
poslouchají – they listen

The same pattern applies to zpíváme, netančíme. That’s why Czech doesn’t need the pronoun my – the -me ending already tells you we.

Why is there no we (my) in Večer posloucháme…? Is it optional?

Yes, it’s optional. In Czech, subject pronouns (já, ty, on, my, vy, oni) are usually dropped because the verb ending already shows the person and number.

Posloucháme tichou hudbu. – We listen to quiet music.
My posloucháme tichou hudbu. – Also correct, but emphasizes we.

You normally only add my for emphasis or contrast, for example:
My posloucháme tichou hudbu, ale oni poslouchají hlasitou.
We listen to quiet music, but they listen to loud (music).

How does the negation in netančíme work? Why add ne- to the verb?

Standard verbal negation in Czech is done by adding the prefix ne- to the verb:

tančíme – we dance
ne
- tančíme → netančíme – we do not dance

This works for most verbs:

mám → nemám – I have → I don’t have
chce → nechce – he/she wants → doesn’t want
rozumím → nerozumím – I understand → I don’t understand

So you usually don’t use a separate word like “not”; you build the negation into the verb.

What is the difference between ale and protože in this sentence?

They are both conjunctions, but they connect ideas in different ways:

ale = but / however – introduces contrast
- …zpíváme, ale netančíme…
  = …we sing, but we don’t dance…
protože = because – introduces a reason
- …netančíme, protože moje babička chce klid…
  = …we don’t dance, because my grandmother wants calm/quiet…

So the structure is:
We do X and Y, but we don’t do Z, because [reason].

What does chce klid mean exactly? Why is it just klid without an article?

Chce klid literally is “(she) wants calm/peace/quiet.”

chtít – to want
chce – he/she wants
klid – calm, peace, quiet (a mass noun, no article in Czech)

Czech doesn’t use articles (a, an, the). So:

chce klid can mean:
- she wants peace
- she wants some quiet
- she wants it to be quiet

In everyday speech, mít klid / chtít klid often means wanting no noise, no disturbance.

What is raději doing here? How is it different from just ráda kreslí?

raději means rather / preferably / more willingly. It’s the comparative form of rád (gladly, with pleasure).

ráda kreslí květiny – she likes drawing flowers / she gladly draws flowers.
raději kreslí květiny – she would rather draw flowers / she prefers to draw flowers.

In the sentence:

…moje babička chce klid a raději kreslí květiny.
= my grandmother wants quiet and would rather draw flowers (than dance, for example).

A very common colloquial variant is radši instead of raději; they mean the same.

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

Both moje babička and má babička are correct; the difference is style and rhythm.

For feminine singular nouns like babička:

moje babička – more neutral, very common in speech
má babička – slightly more formal or stylistically compact, often used in written style, stories, or for rhythm

Similarly:

moje sestra / má sestra – my sister
moje kniha / má kniha – my book

In ordinary conversation, moje babička is probably more common.

Can the word order change? For example, could we say Tichou hudbu večer posloucháme?

Yes, Czech word order is more flexible than English. The neutral version is:

Večer posloucháme tichou hudbu.

But you can move elements to emphasize them:

Tichou hudbu večer posloucháme.
– We (only) listen to quiet music in the evening (focus on tichou hudbu).
Posloucháme tichou hudbu večer.
– We listen to quiet music in the evening (slight focus on večer).

The main rules that stay fixed:

The finite verb usually stays in second position in main clauses.
You don’t split protože from its clause:
- … netančíme, protože moje babička chce klid… (not protože chce moje babička klid at the very start of the main sentence).

Why is it kreslí květiny and not something like nakreslí květiny? What’s the difference?

This is about aspect in Czech verbs.

kreslit (impf.) – to draw (ongoing, habitual, or repeated action)
- kreslí květiny – she draws flowers / is drawing flowers / (she) draws flowers as an activity
nakreslit (pf.) – to draw (and finish the drawing)
- nakreslí květiny – she will draw (and complete) some flowers (one finished event)

In the sentence:

…raději kreslí květiny.
suggests an activity she prefers to do in general (or right now as an ongoing quiet activity), not a single completed act. Hence the imperfective verb kreslí is appropriate.

Could you explain the present tense here? Does posloucháme / zpíváme / netančíme mean we are doing it right now or regularly?

The Czech present tense covers both:

habitual/general actions (like English simple present):
- Každý večer posloucháme tichou hudbu.
  We listen to quiet music every evening.
current, ongoing actions (like English present continuous):
- Teď posloucháme tichou hudbu.
  We are listening to quiet music now.

Your sentence Večer posloucháme tichou hudbu… most naturally suggests a typical evening routine, similar to English “In the evening we listen to quiet music and sing…”. Context decides whether it’s habitual or “right now this evening”.

Why is there a comma before ale and protože?

In Czech, you normally put a comma before ale and protože when they connect clauses:

…zpíváme, ale netančíme…
Two clauses:
- (my) zpíváme – we sing
- (my) netančíme – we don’t dance
  → comma before ale
…netančíme, protože moje babička chce klid…
Two clauses:
- (my) netančíme – we don’t dance
- moje babička chce klid – my grandmother wants quiet
  → comma before protože

So when ale or protože link whole clauses, you write a comma before them.