Než si koupíme lístky, podíváme se na mapu, abychom věděli, kam ta loď jede.

Here než means before.

So Než si koupíme lístky... means Before we buy tickets...

Be careful: než can also mean than in comparisons, but not here. In this sentence it introduces a time clause.

The word si is a reflexive/dative pronoun that often means something like for ourselves.

• koupíme lístky = we will buy tickets
• koupíme si lístky = we will buy ourselves tickets / we will buy tickets for our own use

In everyday Czech, koupit si is very common when you buy something for yourself.

Because koupit is a perfective verb.

In Czech, the present forms of perfective verbs usually have future meaning.

So:

• koupíme literally looks like a present-tense form
• but it means we will buy

This is very normal in Czech:

• udělám = I will do
• řekneme = we will say
• koupíme = we will buy

If you wanted a true present meaning like we are buying, you would usually need the imperfective verb kupovat.

They come from different aspects:

• koupit = perfective, a completed act of buying
• kupovat = imperfective, the process or repeated activity of buying

So:

• si koupíme lístky = we will buy the tickets / we’ll get the tickets
• kupujeme lístky = we are buying tickets / we buy tickets

In this sentence, the speaker is talking about one completed future action, so koupíme is the natural choice.

Podíváme se comes from podívat se, which means to look, to have a look, or to take a look.

It is also a perfective verb, so podíváme se means we will take a look.

Compared with díváme se:

• podíváme se na mapu = we’ll take a look at the map
• díváme se na mapu = we are looking at the map

The perfective form suggests a single, complete action.

In Czech, se and si are separate words, even though they belong closely to the verb.

So you write:

• podíváme se
• koupíme si

They are not attached to the verb as endings.

These little words also tend to appear near the beginning of their clause, often in the second position, which is why Czech word order may look unusual to English speakers.

Because the verb podívat se na takes the accusative case.

So:

• mapa = dictionary form
• na mapu = accusative singular

You simply learn the pattern:

• podívat se na koho/co = to look at someone/something

Compare:

• podíváme se na mapu = we’ll look at the map
• je to na mapě = it is on the map

After na, Czech can use different cases depending on the meaning and the verb.

It means so that we know or so that we will know.

The conjunction aby introduces a purpose clause:

• abychom věděli = so that we would know / so that we know

So the whole part:

• podíváme se na mapu, abychom věděli... means
• we’ll look at the map so that we know...

This is a very common Czech structure for expressing purpose.

It looks past-like, but here it is not functioning as a normal past tense.

In the aby construction, Czech uses forms built with by plus the l-participle:

• abych věděl = so that I know / so that I would know
• abychom věděli = so that we know / so that we would know

So věděli here is part of that grammatical pattern, not a simple past meaning we knew.

This is one of those structures English speakers usually just have to get used to.

Because kam asks about direction or destination: where to.

• kam = where to
• kde = where, in what place
• odkud = where from

Since the boat is going somewhere, Czech uses kam:

• kam ta loď jede = where the boat is going / where the boat is headed

If you were asking where the boat is located, you would use kde instead.

Yes, literally ta loď means that boat.

But in real Czech, ten / ta / to is also often used where English might simply say the in a specific context. Czech has no articles, so words like ta can help point to something already known in the conversation.

So here ta loď can feel like:

• that boat
• or simply the boat we’re talking about

The exact nuance depends on context.

Jede is the present tense of jet.

In Czech, the present tense is often used for a current or planned movement, especially in sentences like:

• kam ta loď jede = where the boat is going / where the boat goes

This sounds natural in Czech.

Pojede would make the future more explicit: where the boat will go / will be going. But in this sentence, jede is the normal choice because the speaker wants to know the boat’s route/direction.

Because the sentence contains subordinate clauses.

The structure is:

• Než si koupíme lístky, = subordinate time clause
• podíváme se na mapu, = main clause
• abychom věděli, kam ta loď jede. = purpose clause, which itself contains an indirect question

Czech uses commas quite regularly to separate these clause boundaries, often more consistently than English learners expect.

It has three main parts:

1. Než si koupíme lístky
   = before we buy tickets

2. podíváme se na mapu
   = we’ll look at the map

3. abychom věděli, kam ta loď jede
   = so that we know where the boat is going

So the logic is:

• first, before buying the tickets,
• we will look at the map,
• in order to know the boat’s destination.

This is a very typical Czech sentence pattern with:

• a time clause,
• a main clause,
• and a purpose clause.