Republika má vlastní zákon.

Republika is the subject of the sentence, so it is in the nominative singular. The basic dictionary form of the noun is also republika.

In this sentence:

• Republika = the subject
• má = the verb
• vlastní zákon = the object

If republika had a different role in the sentence, its ending could change.

Má is the 3rd person singular present tense of the verb mít, which means to have.

So:

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

Here, Republika is grammatically singular, so Czech uses má: Republika má...

Czech does not have articles like English a and the.

So Republika má vlastní zákon could mean:

• The republic has its own law
• A republic has its own law

Which one is meant depends on the context.

Here vlastní means own.

So vlastní zákon means its own law or a law of its own.

This word is very common in Czech and often works like English own:

• mám vlastní byt = I have my own apartment
• mají vlastní dům = they have their own house

Because vlastní already gives the idea of one’s own / its own.

Czech often does not need a separate possessive word when vlastní makes the meaning clear. So má vlastní zákon naturally means has its own law.

A more explicit version is also possible:

• Republika má svůj vlastní zákon.

Here svůj is the reflexive possessive one’s own. But in many contexts, just vlastní zákon is perfectly natural.

Zákon is the direct object, so it is in the accusative singular.

But zákon is a masculine inanimate noun, and for many masculine inanimate nouns, the accusative singular looks the same as the nominative singular.

So:

• nominative: zákon
• accusative: zákon

That is why the form does not visibly change here.

Yes. Vlastní is an adjective, so it agrees with the noun it describes in gender, number, and case.

Here zákon is:

• masculine inanimate
• singular
• accusative

So vlastní must match it.

The form happens to stay vlastní, because this adjective belongs to a pattern where many forms look the same. So even though it is agreeing grammatically, you do not see a special ending change here.

Yes. This is a very normal, neutral Czech word order:

Subject + verb + object

• Republika
  • má
    • vlastní zákon

And inside the object phrase, the adjective normally comes before the noun:

• vlastní zákon

Czech word order is more flexible than English, but this version is the most straightforward and neutral.

It is capitalized here because it is the first word of the sentence.

The common noun republika is normally written with a lowercase r, unless it is part of an official name, such as:

• Česká republika

So in the middle of a sentence, a general use would normally be republika, not Republika.

A simple pronunciation guide is:

RE-pub-li-ka maa VLAST-nee ZAA-kon

A few useful points:

• Czech stress usually falls on the first syllable of each word.
• má has a long á.
• In zákon, the first á is also long.
• vlastní is pronounced roughly VLAST-nee.

So the rhythm is quite regular: REpublika MÁ VLASTní ZÁkon