Rodina má čtyři členy.

A quick breakdown:

• Rodina = family

  • nominative singular
  • the subject of the sentence

• má = has

  • 3rd person singular present tense of mít = to have

• čtyři = four

• členy = members

  • accusative plural of člen = member
  • the direct object

So structurally, it is:

[subject] + [verb] + [number + object]
= The family has four members.

Because rodina is grammatically singular in Czech.

Even though a family contains several people, the word rodina itself is one singular noun, so the verb must also be singular:

• Rodina má... = The family has...

English can sometimes treat collective nouns differently, especially in British English, where people may say the family have. Czech normally does not do that here. If the subject were the individual members, then you would use plural:

• Členové rodiny mají... = The members of the family have...

There are two main cases in this sentence:

• Rodina = nominative
  because it is the subject

• členy = accusative
  because it is the direct object of má

So Czech is showing who does the action and what receives it through case endings, not just word order.

Because členy is the correct accusative plural form here.

The noun člen is a masculine animate noun, and masculine animate nouns change form in the accusative plural.

• členové = nominative plural
  used when members are the subject

• členy = accusative plural
  used when members are the direct object

In this sentence, the family has the members, so members is the object, not the subject.

Compare:

• Členové jsou doma. = The members are at home.
• Rodina má čtyři členy. = The family has four members.

Because čtyři belongs to the 2–4 group of Czech numerals.

With Czech numbers, the noun changes differently depending on the number:

• jeden člen / jednoho člena
• dva členy
• tři členy
• čtyři členy
• pět členů
• šest členů

So after 2, 3, 4, you use the plural form seen here: členy.
After 5 and higher, you typically use genitive plural: členů.

That is why:

• Rodina má čtyři členy. = correct
• Rodina má pět členů. = correct

Because Czech has no articles.

Unlike English, Czech does not normally use separate words like a, an, or the. The meaning is understood from context.

So rodina can mean:

• a family
• the family

And členy can mean:

• members
• the members

In this sentence, English usually translates it as The family has four members or A family has four members, depending on context.

Not completely.

Rodina má čtyři členy is the most neutral, standard word order. It is a good default pattern for learners.

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

For example:

• Rodina má čtyři členy.
  neutral statement

• Čtyři členy má rodina.
  emphasizes four members

• Má rodina čtyři členy?
  can be a question: Does the family have four members?

So the basic meaning can stay the same, but the emphasis can change.

The dictionary form is mít = to have.

Its present tense forms are:

• mám = I have
• máš = you have
• má = he/she/it has
• máme = we have
• máte = you have
• mají = they have

So má is just the 3rd person singular form of mít.

Yes, rodina is a feminine noun.

You can tell partly from the ending -a, which is very often feminine in Czech.

In this particular sentence, the most important thing is that rodina is:

• singular
• nominative
• the subject

Its feminine gender does not change the verb form here in any special way beyond normal agreement, but it will matter in other sentences, especially with adjectives and past tense forms.

For example:

• velká rodina = a big family
• Rodina byla velká. = The family was big.

This is a very common question, because čtyři contains the famous Czech sound ř.

A rough guide:

• č sounds like ch in church
• ty is short, with a Czech y/i sound
• ř is a special Czech sound, often approximated as something like rzh, but there is no exact English equivalent

A rough English-style approximation of čtyři is:

CHTI-rzhi

That approximation is not perfect, but it helps at first.

Also remember that Czech stress is normally on the first syllable, so:

ČTYři

If ř is difficult, that is completely normal for English speakers. It usually takes practice.