Herec má velkou roli.

Má is the 3rd person singular present tense form of the verb mít (to have).

• já mám = I have
• ty máš = you have
• on / ona / ono má = he / she / it has

Because herec is he / the actor, the correct form is má.

Czech does not have articles like English a, an, and the.

So Herec má velkou roli can mean:

• The actor has a big role
• An actor has a big role
• The actor has the big role

In real life, context tells you which meaning is intended.

Yes. Herec is the nominative singular form, which is the basic dictionary form.

It is in the nominative because it is the subject of the sentence — the person doing the having.

So:

• herec = actor
• nominative singular masculine noun

Because velkou roli is the direct object of the verb má.

After mít (to have), the thing that is had usually goes into the accusative case. So both the noun and its adjective must change form.

Compare:

• velká role = a big role → nominative
• velkou roli = a big role → accusative

So the sentence uses the accusative because the actor has the role.

Roli is accusative singular.

The noun role is feminine, and in this sentence it is the direct object of má. Czech normally uses the accusative case for a direct object.

So:

• role = nominative singular
• roli = accusative singular

Because velkou has to agree with roli.

In Czech, adjectives must match the noun they describe in:

• gender
• number
• case

Here, role is:

• feminine
• singular
• accusative

So the adjective velký (big) becomes velkou.

Pattern:

• velká role = nominative feminine singular
• velkou roli = accusative feminine singular

This is a normal noun ending change for a feminine noun in this pattern.

The dictionary form is role, but in the accusative singular it becomes roli.

So:

• role = nominative
• roli = accusative

This is something learners need to get used to in Czech: nouns often change their endings depending on their role in the sentence.

Yes, herec is grammatically and normally semantically masculine, so it usually means a male actor.

The feminine form is:

• herečka = actress / female actor

In some contexts, masculine forms can be used more generally, but if you are talking specifically about a woman, herečka is the expected word.

Yes. Czech word order is more flexible than English because case endings show the grammatical roles.

The neutral order here is:

• Herec má velkou roli.

But other orders are possible, for example:

• Velkou roli má herec.
• Herec velkou roli má.

These alternatives can change the emphasis or sound more literary, contrastive, or marked. For a basic learner, Herec má velkou roli is the safest neutral version.

In normal Czech, adjectives usually come before the noun:

• velká role
• velkou roli

Putting the adjective after the noun is generally not the normal neutral pattern. It may sound poetic, old-fashioned, or stylistically marked in some contexts.

So for ordinary speech and writing, keep the adjective before the noun.

A rough pronunciation guide is:

• Herec ≈ HEH-rets
• má ≈ maa (long á)
• velkou ≈ VEL-koh
• roli ≈ ROH-li

A few useful pronunciation notes:

• c in Czech is pronounced like ts in cats
• á is a long vowel
• ou is a diphthong, roughly like oh said as one sound sequence

A rough full pronunciation:

HEH-rets maa VEL-koh ROH-li

It can be both.

It can be literal:

• an actor has a major part in a film or play

But mít velkou roli can also be understood more figuratively in Czech, similar to English to play a big role or to have an important role.

So the phrase can refer to:

• a theatre or film role
• an important function or influence in a situation

Context decides which one is meant.