Tento kurz je dobrý základ.

Tento means this and is the more explicit, standard form.

A few useful points:

• tento kurz = this course
• ten kurz can also be used in real Czech, but ten is less precise by itself and can mean something like that or just function as a general demonstrative depending on context.
• In everyday speech, people very often say tenhle kurz instead of tento kurz.

So tento is perfectly correct here, and it sounds a bit more careful or formal than casual spoken Czech.

Tento kurz is in the nominative singular because it is the subject of the sentence.

Breakdown:

• tento = nominative singular masculine
• kurz = nominative singular masculine inanimate

They have to match because tento agrees with the noun it goes with.

In Czech, every noun has a grammatical gender. Kurz is a masculine inanimate noun.

That matters because other words must agree with it, especially:

• demonstratives: tento kurz
• adjectives
• past-tense forms
• some numerals

This gender is something you usually have to learn with the noun. It does not mean the course is literally male; it is just a grammatical category.

Because dobrý agrees with základ, the noun it directly describes.

Here the predicate noun phrase is:

• dobrý základ

And základ is:

• masculine inanimate
• singular
• nominative in this version of the sentence

So the adjective must also be dobrý.

If the noun were different, the adjective would change too:

• dobrá škola
• dobré místo

Grammatically, dobrý belongs with základ.

The structure is:

• Tento kurz = subject
• je = is
• dobrý základ = predicate noun phrase

So the sentence is not built like this good course is a foundation. It is built like this course is a good foundation, where good describes foundation.

Because Czech has no articles.

English needs a or the, but Czech normally does not use separate words for that.

So:

• dobrý základ can correspond to a good foundation
• context tells you how definite or indefinite it is

If Czech wants to be more specific, it often uses word order, context, or demonstratives like tento.

Yes, you could. This is a very common learner question.

After být (to be), Czech can use the predicate noun in either:

• nominative: dobrý základ
• instrumental: dobrým základem

So both of these are possible:

• Tento kurz je dobrý základ.
• Tento kurz je dobrým základem.

A useful rule of thumb:

• nominative often sounds like a label, identification, or short statement
• instrumental often feels a bit more like serves as or functions as, and is very common in sentences like je dobrým základem pro...

So Tento kurz je dobrým základem is also very natural, and many speakers might prefer it in some contexts.

Normally, no.

Je is the 3rd person singular of být and means is.

In standard Czech, you normally keep it:

• Tento kurz je dobrý základ.

Unlike some other Slavic languages, Czech does not normally drop the present-tense form of to be in regular sentences.

You may see omission only in things like:

• headlines
• notes
• very compressed style

But for normal learner Czech, keep je.

Yes, but the neutral order here is:

• Tento kurz je dobrý základ.

Czech word order is fairly flexible because endings show grammatical relationships. However, changing the order changes the emphasis.

For example:

• Dobrý základ je tento kurz.
  This is possible, but it is marked and sounds contrastive or emphatic.

So for a basic, neutral sentence, the given order is the safest choice.

It can mean several related things, including:

• foundation
• basis
• base
• groundwork

In this sentence, it means something like a strong starting point or base for further learning or development.

So depending on context, English might translate it in slightly different ways, even though the Czech word stays základ.