Learn Hardcore Czech: Nejvíc mám rád večer doma s rodinou. - I like the evening at home with my family the most.

mám rád + accusative = I like (thing/activity/person)
- Mám rád kávu. – I like coffee.
- Mám rád večer doma s rodinou. – I like the evening at home with my family.

The word „rád“ on its own is an adverb meaning gladly / with pleasure:

Rád pomáhám. – I like helping / I gladly help.

In your sentence, you need the verb „mám“; you can’t just say „Nejvíc rád večer doma…“ – that’s ungrammatical. For liking nouns, use mít rád; for liking activities, both mít rád + accusative and rád + verb are possible:

Mám rád plavání. – I like swimming.
Rád plavu. – I like to swim / I enjoy swimming.

Why is it „rád“ and not „ráda“ or „rádo“?

The word „rád“ agrees with the gender and number of the subject (the person who likes something), even though it looks like an adverb.

rád – masculine singular (speaker is a man or boy)
ráda – feminine singular (speaker is a woman or girl)
rádo – neuter singular (rare; about a neuter subject, e.g. a child referred to as „dítě“)
rádi – plural for a group including at least one male
rády – plural for an all-female group

So:

A man: Nejvíc mám rád večer doma s rodinou.
A woman: Nejvíc mám ráda večer doma s rodinou.
A couple: Nejvíc máme rádi večer doma s rodinou.

The sentence you gave assumes the speaker is male.

What is the function of „nejvíc“ here, and how is it different from „nejradši / nejraději“?

„Nejvíc“ literally means „the most“ and is the superlative of „moc / hodně“ (much, a lot). It’s often used to express a strongest preference:

Nejvíc mám rád… – I like … the most.

„Nejradši / nejraději“ is the superlative of „rád“ and can express a similar idea, often slightly more natural in spoken Czech when talking about preferences:

Nejradši mám večer doma s rodinou.
Nejraději mám večer doma s rodinou.

In everyday speech:

Nejvíc mám rád X. – very common and natural.
Nejradši mám X. – also common; directly ties to liking.

You can use both here; the difference is subtle and stylistic, not grammatical.

Why is there no word for „the“ in „večer“ – how do I know it’s „the evening“ and not just „evening“?

Czech has no articles (no „the“, no „a/an“). Whether you translate „večer“ as „evening“ or „the evening“ depends on context and what sounds natural in English.

Mám rád večer.
Can be: I like evening (evenings in general) or I like the evening (as a part of the day).

In your sentence:

Nejvíc mám rád večer doma s rodinou.

Natural English:

I like *evenings at home with my family the most.* (general habit), or
I like *the evening at home with my family the most.* (a typical, recurring situation).

The Czech form „večer“ doesn’t mark definiteness; you decide „the“ vs no article when translating.

What case is „večer“ in, and why is there no preposition before it?

Here „večer“ is in the accusative singular as the object of the verb phrase „mám rád“:

mít rád + accusative
- Mám rád večer. – I like (the) evening.
- Mám rád kávu. – I like coffee.

Many time expressions can appear without a preposition in Czech, especially when you state when something happens:

Včera večer – yesterday evening
V pátek večer – Friday evening
Půjdu tam večer. – I’ll go there in the evening.

In your sentence, we’re liking the evening itself, so it’s the object of mít rád, not just an adverbial of time. That’s why no preposition is needed.

What does „doma“ mean exactly, and how is it different from „v domě“?

„Doma“ is an adverb meaning „at home“. It does not change for case or gender.

Jsem doma. – I am at home.
Nejradši jsem večer doma. – I like to be at home in the evening the most.

„v domě“ literally means „in the house“:

Bydlím v domě. – I live in a house. (location inside a building)
Jsem v domě. – I am in the house. (not necessarily my home)

So:

doma – the place where you live / your home
v domě – physically inside some house (home or not)

Your sentence uses „doma“ because it’s about being at home, not just in some building.

Why is it „s rodinou“ and not „s rodina“? What case is this?

After the preposition „s“ (with), Czech normally uses the instrumental case.

s + instrumental

„Rodina“ (family) in the instrumental singular becomes „rodinou“:

Nominative: rodina – the family (subject)
Instrumental: rodinou – with/by the family

So:

s rodinou – with (my/the) family
s kamarádem – with a (male) friend
s kamarádkou – with a (female) friend

That’s why „s rodina“ would be wrong; the preposition „s“ requires „rodinou“ here.

Can I change the word order, for example to „Večer mám nejvíc rád doma s rodinou“? How flexible is word order here?

Czech word order is more flexible than English, but not completely free. Your original:

Nejvíc mám rád večer doma s rodinou.

Main focus: what you like the most is „večer doma s rodinou“.

Some acceptable variations (with slightly different emphasis) are:

Mám nejvíc rád večer doma s rodinou.
Večer doma s rodinou mám nejvíc rád. (strong emphasis on that phrase as the most-loved thing)

Less natural or awkward:

Nejvíc mám rád doma večer s rodinou. – unusual order; „doma večer“ isn’t wrong but feels less smooth.
Večer mám rád nejvíc doma s rodinou. – sounds like „In the evening I like being most at home with my family“, a bit confusing.

General rule: keep „mám rád“ together and keep „nejvíc“ close to what it modifies. The given word order is very natural.

Could I say „Miluju večer doma s rodinou“ instead of „Mám rád“? What’s the difference?

You can say „Miluju večer doma s rodinou“ and it’s grammatically correct. The difference is strength and style:

mít rád – to like, be fond of; neutral, common, can be warm but not overly strong.
- Mám rád večer doma s rodinou. – I like / I really enjoy evenings at home with my family.
milovat – to love; stronger and more emotional.
- Miluju večer doma s rodinou. – I love evenings at home with my family.

In everyday speech „miluju“ is used a lot (like English „I love coffee“), but „mám rád“ is slightly softer and often safer for learners, especially about people, to avoid sounding too intense or romantic in the wrong context.

How is „mám rád“ different from „líbí se mi“?

Both can be translated as „I like“, but they’re used differently.

mít rád + accusative
- More about emotional liking / affection, often for people, animals, favourite things, activities.
- Mám rád svou rodinu. – I like / love my family.
- Mám rád večer doma s rodinou. – I (really) like evenings at home with my family.
líbí se mi + nominative
- Literally: „It pleases itself to me“; more about finding something pleasant/attractive (appearance, impression, experience).
- Líbí se mi ten film. – I like that movie / I enjoy that movie.
- Líbí se mi ten večer. – I like this evening (I find it nice).

You could say:

Líbí se mi večer doma s rodinou.

That would focus more on the pleasure you get from that situation, while „mám rád“ sounds more like a stable preference or affection.

Could I use „večery“ (plural) instead of „večer“? What would change?

Yes, you can say „večery“ (evenings, plural):

Nejvíc mám rád večery doma s rodinou.

Meaning/natural translations:

I like evenings at home with my family the most. (clearly habitual, multiple evenings)

Subtle nuance:

večer (singular) – often used generically for „evening as a part of the day“, can still refer to a usual habit.
večery (plural) – makes the „repeated habit“ idea more explicit: many evenings.

Both are correct. In English, we’d almost always say „evenings“ in this context; in Czech, both forms are common, with the plural sounding a bit more clearly habitual.

Where is the subject „I“ in the sentence? Why is „já“ missing?

In Czech, personal pronouns (já, ty, on, ona, etc.) are often dropped because the verb ending already shows the person:

mám – 1st person singular (I have)
máš – 2nd person singular (you have)
má – 3rd person singular (he/she/it has)

So:

Mám rád večer doma s rodinou. – I like evenings at home with my family.
Já mám rád… – I like… (here „já“ adds emphasis: I in particular).

In „Nejvíc mám rád…“ the subject „já“ is understood from „mám“, so it’s normally omitted unless you want to stress „I“.