Parkovací automat je vedle auta.

It means a parking meter or parking ticket machine.

• parkovací = parking
• automat = machine / automatic machine

So the whole phrase is literally something like parking machine.

In everyday Czech, you may also hear parkomat, which is a common shorter word for the same thing.

Parkovací is an adjective formed from the verb parkovat = to park.

It works like an English descriptive adjective:

• parkovací automat = parking machine
• parkovací místo = parking space
• parkovací karta = parking card

Here it agrees with automat, which is masculine singular, so parkovací is the correct form.

Je means is.

It is the 3rd person singular form of být = to be.

So:

• Parkovací automat je vedle auta.
• literally: The parking meter is next to the car.

Unlike in some Slavic languages, Czech normally keeps je in present-tense sentences like this.

Because vedle requires the genitive case.

The basic form is:

• auto = car

But after vedle = next to / beside, it changes to:

• vedle auta = next to the car

So:

• auto = nominative
• auta = genitive singular

This is one of the most important things to notice in the sentence.

Yes, when vedle means next to / beside, it is followed by the genitive.

Examples:

• vedle domu = next to the house
• vedle školy = next to the school
• vedle auta = next to the car

So if you learn vedle, it is very useful to remember it together with the genitive.

It is genitive singular.

The noun auto is:

• neuter
• singular
• basic form: auto

Its singular cases include:

• nominative: auto
• genitive: auta

Since vedle takes the genitive, we get vedle auta.

Yes. In Czech, grammatical gender does not always match natural meaning.

Automat is a masculine inanimate noun.

That is why:

• parkovací automat
• ten automat = that machine
• automat je nový = the machine is new

So even though it is an object, it still belongs to the masculine grammatical class.

Because Czech has no articles.

English says:

• a parking meter
• the parking meter
• a car
• the car

Czech simply says:

• parkovací automat
• auto

Whether it means a or the depends on context.

So Parkovací automat je vedle auta could mean:

• The parking meter is next to the car or
• A parking meter is next to a/the car

In practice, context tells you which is meant.

No, Czech word order is fairly flexible.

The neutral order here is:

• Parkovací automat je vedle auta.

But you could also say:

• Vedle auta je parkovací automat.

Both are grammatical. The difference is mainly in emphasis:

• Parkovací automat je vedle auta. = focuses first on the parking meter
• Vedle auta je parkovací automat. = starts with the location, next to the car

So the sentence can move around more than in English.

Yes, you could.

• je vedle auta = is next to the car
• stojí vedle auta = stands/is standing next to the car

Both are natural.
Using je is a simple location statement.
Using stojí makes the image a bit more physical or concrete.

A rough pronunciation guide is:

par-koh-vah-tsee ow-toh-maht yeh ved-leh ow-tah

A few helpful points:

• ř does not appear here, so that is nice for learners.
• v in vedle is pronounced normally.
• au in auta sounds like the English ow in cow.
• Stress in Czech is usually on the first syllable of each word:
  • PARKovací
  • AUtomat
  • VEDle
  • AUta

Yes.

Auto is neuter, which is very common for nouns ending in -o.

For example:

• to auto = that car
• nové auto = a new car

In this sentence, though, you see the genitive form auta, because of vedle.

Yes. It often means next to / beside, but in some contexts it can also suggest in addition to or alongside.

For this sentence, though, the physical meaning is the important one:

• vedle auta = next to the car

So for a beginner, it is best to learn vedle + genitive = next to / beside.

In everyday speech, many people would probably use parkomat because it is shorter and very common.

So you may hear:

• Parkomat je vedle auta.

But parkovací automat is perfectly correct and very understandable. It can sound a bit more formal or explicit.

Not here.

With the preposition vedle, auta is understood as genitive singular of auto:

• vedle auta = next to the car

The plural genitive of auto is:

• aut

So:

• vedle auta = next to the car
• vedle aut = next to the cars

That helps remove ambiguity in this sentence.