Learn Hardcore Czech: Po práci mám chvíli čas na procházku s rodinou. - After work I have a little time for a walk with my family.

You cannot say po práce here, because práce is not the locative form; po with time expressions needs the locative, so po práci is required.

What exactly does po práci mean, and can I use this pattern with other words?

Po práci means “after work”.

You can use the same pattern po + [time noun in locative] with other time nouns:

po škole – after school
po obědě – after lunch
po večeři – after dinner

The key point: po + locative = “after (in time)”.

Why do we have both chvíli and čas in mám chvíli čas? Can’t I just say mám čas?

mám čas = “I have time” (in general).
mám chvíli čas = literally “I have a moment of time”, more like “I have a bit of time / a short time”.

So chvíli adds the nuance that the time is limited:

Po práci mám čas na procházku. – After work I have time for a walk. (possibly plenty of time)
Po práci mám chvíli čas na procházku. – After work I have a little time for a walk.

You can say just mám čas; adding chvíli makes it sound like it’s not a lot of time.

What case is chvíli in, and why that form?

Chvíli is the accusative singular of chvíle (a moment).

In mám chvíli čas:

mám (I have) takes a direct object in the accusative:
- mám auto – I have a car
- mám knihu – I have a book
- mám chvíli – I have a moment

Here it’s combined with čas: mám chvíli čas = “I have a moment (of) time,” where chvíli acts as a measure of how much time you have.

What does na procházku mean here, and which case is procházku?

Na procházku means “for a walk” in the sense of purpose: time for doing a walk.

Grammatically:

na here is the preposition meaning “for (the purpose of)”
It is followed by the accusative case:
- nominative: procházka (a walk)
- accusative: procházku

So na procházku literally: “for a walk” (with procházku in the accusative).

Why is it s rodinou and not s rodina? What case is rodinou?

The preposition s (“with”) is followed by the instrumental case.

The noun rodina (family) has the instrumental form rodinou.
So s rodinou = “with (the/my) family”, with rodinou in the instrumental.

You cannot say s rodina; the instrumental ending -ou is required after s in the singular feminine.

Why is there no word for “my” in s rodinou? How do we know it’s “with my family”?

Czech often omits possessive pronouns (můj, moje, etc.) when the owner is obvious from context, especially for family members and body parts.

So:

s rodinou is naturally understood as “with my family” if you’re talking about yourself.
If you needed to be explicit (e.g. to contrast with someone else’s family), you could say:
- s mojí rodinou – with my family
- s tvojí rodinou – with your family

But in a neutral sentence like this, s rodinou is enough and sounds more natural than s mojí rodinou.

Where is the subject “I” in this sentence? Why don’t we see já?

In Czech, the personal pronoun (like já = I) is usually dropped because the verb ending shows the person clearly.

mám already tells you it’s first person singular (“I have”).
So já mám chvíli čas… is grammatically correct, but in neutral statements it sounds a bit emphatic:
- Já mám chvíli čas… – I have some time… (maybe implying “but others don’t”).

In normal, neutral speech, Po práci mám chvíli čas… is preferred.

Can I change the word order, for example Mám po práci chvíli čas na procházku s rodinou?

Yes, Czech word order is quite flexible, and your version is grammatically correct:

Po práci mám chvíli čas na procházku s rodinou.
Mám po práci chvíli čas na procházku s rodinou.

Both are fine. The version in the original sentence slightly emphasizes “after work” by placing po práci at the start. Your version sounds a bit more neutral, focusing first on “I have”.

In both cases, the meaning stays the same.

Could I say Po práci mám chvíli na procházku s rodinou without čas? Does it sound natural?

Yes, you can say:

Po práci mám chvíli na procházku s rodinou.

This is also natural. The nuance is subtle:

mám chvíli čas na… – literally “I have a bit of time (time) for…”
mám chvíli na… – “I have a bit of time for…”

In practice, both mean “I have a bit of time for a walk with the family,” and both sound fine. Including čas just makes the idea of “time” slightly more explicit.

Does Po práci mám chvíli čas na procházku s rodinou describe a one‑time situation or a regular habit?

The present tense in Czech can mean both:

a general habit:
- Po práci mám chvíli čas na procházku s rodinou.
  – After work I (usually / often) have a bit of time for a walk with the family.
or a near future / specific plan, depending on context:
- (Today:) Po práci mám chvíli čas na procházku s rodinou.
  – After work (today) I’ll have a bit of time for a walk with the family.

The sentence itself is ambiguous; the intended meaning comes from context.