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Lékař mému synovi pomůže, protože problém není velký.

Lékař mému synovi pomůže, protože problém není velký.
The doctor will help my son, because the problem is not big.

Breakdown of Lékař mému synovi pomůže, protože problém není velký.

být
to be
můj
my
velký
big
protože
because
syn
the son
lékař
the doctor
pomoci
to help
problém
the problem
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Questions & Answers about Lékař mému synovi pomůže, protože problém není velký.

What does each word in Lékař mému synovi pomůže, protože problém není velký. literally mean?

Word-by-word:

  • Lékař – doctor (physician)
  • mému – to my (dative form of můj, masculine singular)
  • synovi – son (dative form of syn = son)
  • pomůže – (he/she) will help (3rd person singular, future, perfective)
  • protože – because
  • problém – problem
  • není – is not (3rd person singular of být = to be)
  • velký – big / large (here more like not serious)

The structure is essentially:
Doctor to-my son will-help, because problem is-not big.

Why is it mému synovi and not just můj syn?

Because in Czech, pomoci (pomůže) takes the dative case for the person who receives help.

  • In English: help my son – the person helped is a direct object.
  • In Czech: pomoci (komu?) mému synovi – literally help to whom? to my son.

So we use:

  • mému – dative of můj (my) for masculine singular
  • synovi – dative of syn (son)

If you said Lékař můj syn pomůže, it would be wrong grammar.
Můj syn is nominative, but here son is not the subject; he is the indirect object (the one who is helped), so we need dative: mému synovi.

Why does syn become synovi?

Syn is a masculine animate noun. Its singular cases include:

  • Nominative: syn (who? what?) – subject
  • Genitive: syna
  • Dative: synovi (to whom?) – indirect object
  • Accusative: syna
  • etc.

The verb pomoci někomu (to help someone) requires the dative: komu? (to whom?).
Therefore we must use the dative form synovi:

  • Lékař pomůže synovi. – The doctor will help (the) son.
  • Lékař pomůže mému synovi. – The doctor will help my son.
What is the difference between pomůže, pomáhá, and bude pomáhat?

All come from the verb pomoci / pomáhat (to help) but differ in aspect and tense.

  1. pomůže

    • 3rd person singular, future, perfective
    • From pomoci = to help (as a single, complete action)
    • Meaning: will help (once / as a complete action)
    • Example: Lékař mému synovi pomůže. – The doctor will help my son.

  2. pomáhá

    • 3rd person singular, present, imperfective
    • From pomáhat = to be helping / to help repeatedly
    • Meaning: (he) helps, (he) is helping, (he) keeps helping
    • Example: Lékař mému synovi pomáhá. – The doctor is helping my son / The doctor helps my son (regularly).

  3. bude pomáhat

    • future of the imperfective verb pomáhat
    • Meaning: will be helping / will help repeatedly or for some time
    • Example: Lékař mému synovi bude pomáhat. – The doctor will be helping my son / will help him over some period.

In your sentence the speaker probably means a concrete situation with one expected helpful action, so pomůže (perfective future) is natural.

How do I know that pomůže is future tense and not present tense?

With perfective verbs in Czech, the present forms have future meaning.
There is no true present tense for perfective verbs.

  • Imperfective: pomáhat – has both present (pomáhá) and future (bude pomáhat)
  • Perfective: pomoci – forms like pomohu, pomůžeš, pomůže look like present forms but actually mean future.

So:

  • Lékař pomáhá. – The doctor helps / is helping.
  • Lékař pomůže. – The doctor will help.

Once you know pomůže comes from perfective pomoci, you automatically interpret it as future.

Can I change the word order, for example Lékař pomůže mému synovi or Mému synovi lékař pomůže?

Yes. Czech word order is flexible, and all of these are grammatically correct:

  • Lékař mému synovi pomůže.
  • Lékař pomůže mému synovi.
  • Mému synovi lékař pomůže.
  • Mému synovi pomůže lékař.

The basic neutral version is often like your original sentence or Lékař pomůže mému synovi.

Changing word order in Czech mostly affects emphasis or what is new information:

  • Mému synovi lékař pomůže. – Emphasis on mému synovi (to my son, not to someone else).
  • Mému synovi pomůže lékař. – Emphasis on lékař (it is the doctor who will help, not someone else).
Why is there a comma before protože?

In Czech, a comma is usually required before the conjunction protože (because) when it introduces a subordinate clause.

So:

  • Main clause: Lékař mému synovi pomůže
  • Subordinate clause: protože problém není velký.

They are separated by a comma:

  • Lékař mému synovi pomůže, protože problém není velký.

You would also write a comma if the order is reversed:

  • Protože problém není velký, lékař mému synovi pomůže.
Could I place the protože clause first, like in English: Because the problem is not big, the doctor will help my son?

Yes. That is perfectly normal in Czech:

  • Original: Lékař mému synovi pomůže, protože problém není velký.
  • Alternative: Protože problém není velký, lékař mému synovi pomůže.

The meaning is the same.
The version with protože at the start sometimes sounds a bit more explanatory or emphasizes the reason first, just like in English.

Why is it problém není velký and not problém není velké?

The adjective velký must agree in gender, number, and case with the noun problém.

  • problém is masculine inanimate, singular, nominative.
  • The correct form of velký for masculine inanimate, singular, nominative is also velký.

Some examples of agreement:

  • velký problém – a big problem (masc inanimate)
  • velké město – a big city (neuter)
  • velká kniha – a big book (feminine)

In your sentence, problém is the subject, so it is nominative. Therefore velký must also be nominative masculine singular: problém není velký.

Does velký problém mean physically big, or does it also mean serious (a big / serious problem)?

Velký problém most often means a serious or important problem, not something physically large.

In context:

  • Protože problém není velký. – The problem is not big / not serious / not a major problem.

If you want to be very clear that you mean serious, you can also say:

  • Protože problém není vážný. – Because the problem is not serious.
  • Protože to není velký problém. – Because it is not a big problem.

But in everyday speech velký problém is commonly understood as a serious problem.

Why is there no word for the in Lékař mému synovi pomůže? How do you know it is the doctor?

Czech has no articles like a / an / the.
Whether you translate lékař as a doctor or the doctor depends on context.

  • Lékař mému synovi pomůže.
    • could be A doctor will help my son (introducing the doctor)
    • or The doctor will help my son (if both speakers know which doctor)

If you want to point to a specific doctor more strongly, you can add a demonstrative:

  • Ten lékař mému synovi pomůže. – That / this (particular) doctor will help my son.
Is there any difference between lékař and doktor?

Yes, but it is mostly about style and context:

  • lékař

    • Neutral, standard word for a medical doctor
    • Often used in official / formal contexts (hospitals, documents, news).

  • doktor

    • Colloquial in everyday speech for medical doctor
    • Also the general term for a person with a doctorate (PhD) in any field
    • In casual talk you will hear doktor a lot: Doktor mému synovi pomůže.

Both are correct for a physician, but lékař sounds slightly more formal and specifically medical.