Learn Hardcore Czech: Dívám se večer na zprávy v televizi.

dívat se na něco
Neutral, common, can be both casual and fairly standard.
- Dívám se na zprávy. = I watch the news.
koukat (se) na něco
More colloquial, informal, often used in speech.
- Koukám na zprávy. ≈ “I’m watching the news” (more casual).
sledovat něco
Literally “to follow”; often more deliberate, continuous, or focused watching (also “to follow” a series, an event, a trend).
- Sleduju zprávy. = I keep up with the news / I follow the news.

In your sentence, dívám se is neutral and perfectly standard.

Why is there no já (I) in Dívám se večer na zprávy v televizi?

Czech usually omits subject pronouns (já, ty, on, ona, etc.) because the verb ending already shows the person:

dívám se → the ending -ám tells you it is 1st person singular (“I”).

You can say Já se dívám večer na zprávy v televizi, but:

It sounds more emphatic: “I watch the news in the evening (not someone else)”.
In a neutral sentence, Czech speakers simply say Dívám se…

Why is večer in the middle? Could I say Večer se dívám na zprávy v televizi instead?

Yes, you can. Both are correct:

Dívám se večer na zprávy v televizi.
Večer se dívám na zprávy v televizi.

Word order in Czech is quite flexible. Some main points:

Placing Večer at the beginning slightly emphasizes when it happens.
Leaving večer after the verb is more neutral, common in simple statements.

The core meaning doesn’t change; you’re just shifting the focus a little.

Why is it na zprávy and not just zprávy or o zprávách?

The verb dívat se normally takes the preposition na with the accusative:

dívat se na něco = “to look at / watch something”

So:

dívat se na zprávy = to watch the news
dívat se na film = to watch a movie
dívat se na televizi = to watch TV

Other options would change the meaning:

zprávy alone (no preposition) after dívat se is ungrammatical in this sense.
o zprávách uses o + locative = “about the news”; that would be used with other verbs, e.g. mluvit o zprávách = to talk about the news.

What case is zprávy, and why is it plural?

Zprávy here is:

accusative plural of the noun zpráva (a piece of news, a message).
In this context, zprávy means “the news” as a TV program or as news items in general.

In English, news is a mass noun, grammatically singular: the news is…
In Czech, zprávy is grammatically plural, like “the news items”:

Dívám se na zprávy. = I watch the news.
Ty zprávy jsou důležité. = The news (items) are important.

Why is it v televizi and not na televizi or do televize?

The preposition changes the meaning:

v televizi (locative)
Literally “in the television”, but idiomatically “on TV” as a medium.
- Dívám se na zprávy v televizi. = I watch the news on TV.
na televizi (on + locative/accusative, depending on context)
Tends to mean physically on top of the TV set or “at/onto the TV (set)” in a spatial sense.
- Kočka sedí na televizi. = The cat is sitting on the TV.
do televize (to/into + genitive)
“Into the TV / to television (as an institution)” – used for movement or participation:
- Jdu do televize. = I’m going to the TV station.
- Pracuje v televizi. = He/she works in television.

So for “on TV” as a medium of broadcasting, v televizi is standard.

Why is the verb in the present tense if this is a regular habit, not something happening right now?

Czech present tense covers both:

Something happening right now
- Teď se dívám na zprávy. = I’m watching the news now.
Habits and routines, like English simple present
- Dívám se večer na zprávy. = I watch the news in the evening. (regularly)

So the present tense dívám se is correct for a habitual action, just like English “I watch” (not “I am watching”) when talking about routines.

What is the difference between dívám se and podívám se?

This is an aspect difference:

dívat se = imperfective
Focus on the process or repeated action:
- Dívám se večer na zprávy. = I (usually) watch the news in the evening.
podívat se = perfective
Focus on a single, completed act, and in the present form it usually refers to the future:
- Podívám se na zprávy večer. = I’ll (have a) look at / watch the news in the evening (once, at that time).

So for a general, habitual statement, dívám se is the right choice.

How can I tell that dívám se means “I watch” (1st person singular)?

From the verb ending:

Infinitive: dívat se
já dívám se → dívám se (I watch)
ty díváš se → díváš se (you watch, singular informal)
on/ona/ono dívá se → dívá se (he/she/it watches)

The ending -ám is typical for 1st person singular in verbs like:

dělám (I do)
hledám (I search)
čekám (I wait)

So dívám clearly signals “I” even without já.

Could we drop v televizi and just say Dívám se večer na zprávy?

Yes, that is perfectly correct:

Dívám se večer na zprávy. = I watch the news in the evening.

Often na zprávy already implies TV news, especially in everyday context. Adding v televizi just makes it explicit that you mean on television (not, for example, reading news on the internet).

So both are fine; v televizi adds clarity or emphasis on the medium.

How is večer used? Does it need a preposition like “in the evening”?

Czech often uses bare time expressions without a preposition:

večer = in the evening
ráno = in the morning
odpoledne = in the afternoon
v noci = at night (here a preposition is used)

So:

Dívám se večer na zprávy. = I watch the news in the evening.
You could also say Každý večer se dívám na zprávy. = I watch the news every evening.

You don’t say v večer; just večer by itself is the standard way.