Škoda je velká.

Škoda is a noun. Depending on context, it can mean damage / loss or pity.

So this sentence can be understood as something like the damage is great or the loss is great, and in some contexts it is a great pity is related to the same word family. Czech uses škoda in several connected ways, so context matters a lot.

Probably not.

Learners often notice the capital Š and think of the Czech car brand Škoda. But here it is capitalized simply because it is the first word of the sentence. If the word appeared in the middle of a sentence with the meaning damage / pity, it would normally be written škoda with a lowercase š.

So:

• Škoda je velká. = capitalized because it starts the sentence
• Ta škoda je velká. = lowercase, because now it is not sentence-initial
• Škoda = uppercase as a proper name, the company/brand

Approximately:

• Škoda → SHKO-da
• je → ye
• velká → VEL-kaa

A few useful notes:

• š sounds like English sh
• j in Czech sounds like English y
• á is a long vowel, so velká ends with a long aa sound
• Czech stress is usually on the first syllable of the word:
  • ŠKO-da
  • ye
  • VEL-ká

Je is the 3rd person singular present tense of být = to be.

So:

• je = is

In this sentence, it links the subject and the description:

• Škoda = the damage / loss
• je = is
• velká = big / great

Unlike some languages where the present-tense to be can be omitted, in normal Czech it is usually expressed here. So Škoda je velká is the standard full sentence.

Because it agrees with škoda, which is a feminine singular noun.

Czech adjectives change their endings to match the noun in:

• gender
• number
• case

The dictionary form of the adjective is velký = big / great.

Here it becomes:

• masculine singular: velký
• feminine singular: velká
• neuter singular: velké

Since škoda is feminine singular, the correct form is velká.

It is in the nominative singular.

In Škoda je velká, škoda is the subject of the sentence, and subjects are normally in the nominative case.

Also, velká is in nominative singular feminine because it matches the subject after je.

Yes, the structure is different.

In Škoda je velká, velká comes after je because it is a predicate adjective. It is not directly attached to the noun inside a noun phrase; it is part of the statement about the noun.

Compare:

• velká škoda = big damage / a great pity
  This is a noun phrase.
• Škoda je velká = the damage is big / the loss is great
  This is a full sentence.

So the adjective is not really after the noun in the same way as in English adjective order; it is after the verb je.

Yes, Czech word order is flexible, but the neutral order here is Škoda je velká.

Other orders are possible for emphasis, for example:

• Velká je škoda.
• Velká škoda to je.
• Je velká škoda.

These can sound more marked, literary, contrastive, or context-dependent. A learner should usually stick with Škoda je velká unless there is a special reason to change it.

Because Czech has no articles.

English needs words like a, an, and the, but Czech normally does not use anything equivalent. The meaning is understood from context.

So Škoda je velká can correspond to English expressions like:

• The damage is great
• The loss is great
• sometimes more loosely It is a great pity, depending on context

Czech leaves definiteness unstated unless something else in the sentence makes it clear.

The dictionary form is velký.

Czech adjectives are usually listed in dictionaries in the masculine singular nominative form. So if you look up velká, you should search for velký.

From velký, you get forms like:

• velký = masculine
• velká = feminine
• velké = neuter

Yes.

Škoda! by itself very often means What a pity! or That’s a shame!

That is a very common everyday use of the word. But Škoda je velká is a fuller sentence with a different structure. It sounds more like an actual statement describing the extent of the damage/loss/pity.

So:

• Škoda! = What a pity!
• Škoda je velká. = The damage/loss is great or contextually something close to It is a great pity

Only if the context already makes the subject completely clear.

Czech often drops pronouns like he, she, or it, but dropping an actual noun like škoda only works when everyone already knows what is being talked about.

So:

• Škoda je velká. = clear on its own
• Je velká. = It is big / great, but only if the listener already knows what it refers to

For a standalone sentence, Škoda je velká is the safer and more natural form.