Learn Hardcore Czech: Babička je teď v nemocnici vedle našeho domu. - Grandma is now in the hospital next to our house.

Czech has no articles (the, a, an) at all.
Definiteness and indefiniteness are usually clear from context, word order, or additional words if needed.

So Babička je teď v nemocnici vedle našeho domu can mean “Grandma is in the hospital next to our house”, even though there is no word corresponding to “the”.

Why is it babička and not moje babička for “my grandmother”?

In Czech, with close family members, the possessive (my, your, our) is often omitted if it’s obvious whose relative it is from context.

Babička je teď v nemocnici.
→ Everyone understands this as “(My/Our) grandmother is in hospital now.”

If you really need to emphasize whose grandmother it is (e.g. contrasting people), you can say:

Moje babička je teď v nemocnici, ale tvoje babička je doma.
→ My grandmother is in hospital now, but your grandmother is at home.

Why is it v nemocnici and not v nemocnice?

Because of case. The preposition v (“in”) normally takes:

Locative case when it describes location (where something is).

The noun nemocnice (hospital) is feminine:

Nominative (dictionary form): nemocnice
Locative singular: nemocnici

So:

v nemocnici = in (the) hospital (correct, locative)
v nemocnice = incorrect form

What case is nemocnici, and when do we use that case?

Nemocnici is locative singular (6th case).

Locative is used mainly:

After certain prepositions to express location:
- v nemocnici – in the hospital
- na univerzitě – at the university
- o babičce – about grandma
After some prepositions to express about / regarding something:
- o městě – about the town

Why is it vedle našeho domu and not vedle náš dům?

The preposition vedle (“next to, beside”) requires the genitive case.

The noun dům (house) in genitive singular is domu, and the possessive náš must agree with it:

Masculine singular nominative: náš dům – our house
Masculine singular genitive: našeho domu – of our house, next to our house

So vedle našeho domu = next to our house (literally “beside of-our house”).

Why does našeho change form here? Why not just náš?

Czech possessive adjectives (můj, tvůj, náš, váš) decline and must agree with the noun in:

Gender
Number
Case

Here:

Noun: dům – masculine, singular, genitive (domu)
Possessive: náš in masculine singular genitive is našeho

So we get:

náš dům (nominative) – our house
bez našeho domu (genitive) – without our house
vedle našeho domu – next to our house

What’s the difference between vedle našeho domu and u našeho domu?

Both use genitive, but the nuance is slightly different:

vedle našeho domu – right next to our house, side-by-side; emphasizes adjacency.
u našeho domu – at / by / near our house; more general vicinity, not necessarily immediately beside.

In your sentence, vedle matches the English “next to” more precisely.

Can I change the word order? For example: Teď je babička v nemocnici vedle našeho domu?

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

Babička je teď v nemocnici vedle našeho domu.
Teď je babička v nemocnici vedle našeho domu.
Babička je v nemocnici teď vedle našeho domu. (sounds a bit less natural)

Differences:

Putting teď (now) at the beginning (Teď je babička…) emphasizes the time.
Starting with Babička emphasizes who we’re talking about.
The original sentence (Babička je teď…) is the most neutral and common.

Could we omit je and say Babička teď v nemocnici vedle našeho domu, like Russian sometimes does?

In standard Czech, you usually cannot omit the verb je (“is”) in the present tense the way you can in Russian.

Babička je teď v nemocnici… – correct
Babička teď v nemocnici… – sounds incomplete or ungrammatical in standard Czech

There are a few fixed expressions where je is omitted (e.g. short answers, some headlines, very colloquial speech), but in a normal sentence like this, je is required.

What’s the difference between teď, teďka, and nyní for “now”?

All mean roughly “now”, but their usage differs:

teď – the most common, neutral “now” in everyday speech.
teďka – more informal, colloquial; often used in spoken Czech, similar to “right now” / “now-ish”.
nyní – more formal or written style (announcements, news, official texts).

In your sentence, teď is perfect for neutral everyday use.

Does v nemocnici mean “in the building of the hospital” or “in hospital” as a patient?

It can mean either, depending on context:

Babička je teď v nemocnici.
→ almost always understood as “Grandma is (staying) in hospital as a patient now.”

If you specifically meant that she works there (e.g. as a nurse), you would usually clarify:

Babička pracuje v nemocnici. – Grandma works in a hospital.
Babička je teď v nemocnici v práci. – Grandma is at work in the hospital now.

How would this sentence change if house were feminine, like škola (school) instead of dům?

You would need feminine genitive forms:

škola – nominative
školy – genitive singular
naše škola – our school (nominative)
naší školy – of our school (genitive)

So the pattern would be:

vedle naší školy – next to our school

Compare:

vedle našeho domu (masculine)
vedle naší školy (feminine)