Breakdown of Můj dědeček nikdy nepije studené mléko.
Questions & Answers about Můj dědeček nikdy nepije studené mléko.
In Czech this is normal and required.
- nikdy = never (literally “at no time”).
- nepije = does not drink (negative form of pije).
Czech uses multiple negative words together to express a single negative meaning. This is called negative concord. So:
- Můj dědeček nikdy nepije studené mléko.
= My grandfather never drinks cold milk.
If you drop the ne- and say nikdy pije, it is ungrammatical in standard Czech.
Other examples of the same pattern:
- Nikdo nic neví. – Nobody knows anything.
- Nikdy nikam nechodí. – He never goes anywhere.
The possessive pronoun must agree in gender, number, and case with the noun it modifies.
- dědeček (grandfather, grandpa) is masculine singular in the nominative case (subject of the sentence).
- The masculine singular nominative form of my is můj.
Some basic forms of můj / moje (my):
- můj – masculine singular (e.g. můj dědeček, můj bratr)
- moje (also má, more formal/poetic) – feminine singular and neuter plural (e.g. moje sestra, moje auta)
- moje – also common for neuter singular when spoken quickly, though moje mléko and mé mléko are both possible.
So můj dědeček is the correct combination: masculine singular subject.
Dědeček is a diminutive form of děd / děda and is very common and neutral.
Approximate nuances:
- dědeček – like grandpa / granddad; affectionate, but also commonly used in normal speech.
- děda – more informal, like grandpa, grandad; can also mean “old man” in some contexts.
- děd – older / literary or dialectal form.
Grammatically, here dědeček is:
- Nominative singular (subject of the sentence).
- Masculine animate noun.
If you changed the case, the ending would change, for example:
- Vidím svého dědečka. – I see my grandfather. (accusative)
- S dědečkem mluvím. – I am talking with my grandfather. (instrumental)
The infinitive is pít (to drink). The present tense forms are slightly irregular in spelling, but very common:
- já piju / piji – I drink
- ty piješ – you drink (sg.)
- on / ona / ono pije – he / she / it drinks
- my pijeme – we drink
- vy pijete – you drink (pl./formal)
- oni pijí / pijou – they drink
In your sentence, pije is 3rd person singular (he).
The negative is formed by adding ne- in front:
- nepiju, nepiješ, nepije, …
So nikdy nepije = he never drinks.
Because adjectives in Czech must agree with the noun in gender, number, and case.
- mléko (milk) is neuter singular, accusative (direct object of drinks).
- For a neuter singular noun in accusative (which is the same form as nominative for neuter), the adjective ends in -é.
So:
- studené mléko – cold milk (correct)
- studený mléko, studená mléko – wrong, because -ý is masculine and -á is feminine, but mléko is neuter.
Other examples:
- teplé mléko – warm milk
- studené pivo – cold beer (pivo is also neuter)
- studená voda – cold water (voda is feminine, so studená)
Yes, Czech word order is flexible, and Můj dědeček studené mléko nikdy nepije is grammatically correct.
All of these are possible:
- Můj dědeček nikdy nepije studené mléko.
- Můj dědeček studené mléko nikdy nepije.
- Nikdy můj dědeček nepije studené mléko. (sounds more emphatic, a bit “dramatic.”)
Main points:
- nikdy must stay with a negative verb (nepije).
- Moving nikdy changes emphasis, not basic meaning.
The most neutral, textbook-like version is your original:
Můj dědeček nikdy nepije studené mléko.
In Czech, adjectives normally go before nouns:
- studené mléko – cold milk
- dobrá kniha – a good book
- červené auto – a red car
You can put an adjective after the noun, but this is:
- either stylistic/literary,
- or used for added emphasis, or in specific set phrases.
For example:
- Mléko, studené a čerstvé, bylo na stole. – The milk, cold and fresh, was on the table.
But the standard way to say cold milk as a direct object of a verb is studené mléko, not mléko studené.
Both mean roughly cold, but there is a nuance:
- studený / studené – very commonly used for cold food and drinks, and also for water.
- chladný / chladné – more like cool / chilly; often used for air, weather, attitude (a cold response).
In this sentence:
- studené mléko is the most natural and common phrase.
- chladné mléko is understandable and correct, but sounds less natural in everyday speech; it may sound a bit technical or formal.
Dědeček is pronounced approximately like [ˈɟɛdɛtʃɛk].
Key points:
- d + ě in Czech is not pronounced like “de-ye.”
The d becomes palatalized, similar to a soft “d” before ye. - Rough approximation: “dye-de-chek”, but smoother, not two full syllables in dě.
- Syllables: dě-de-ček (three syllables, stress always on the first: DĚ-de-ček).
So:
- Můj dědeček → roughly “Mooy DYĚ-de-chek” (with ů as a long “oo” sound).
With the verb pít (imperfective), the present tense expresses habitual or general present, not a definite future:
- Můj dědeček nikdy nepije studené mléko.
= He never drinks cold milk (as a general habit).
To talk clearly about the future, you would normally say:
- Můj dědeček nikdy nebude pít studené mléko.
= He will never drink cold milk.
So your sentence is about his general habit/characteristic, not a one-time future decision.
You need the past tense of pít:
- Můj dědeček nikdy nepil studené mléko.
= My grandfather never drank cold milk.
Form:
- pil – masculine singular past of pít (he drank).
- Negative: nepil.
So the pattern is:
Můj dědeček (subject, masc. sg.) + nikdy (never) + nepil (did not drink) + studené mléko (cold milk, direct object).