Learn Hardcore Czech: Moje babička nikdy nejí jídlo v restauraci, chce jíst doma. - My grandmother never eats food in a restaurant, she wants to eat at home.

The English idea “never eats” is expressed as never not-eats in Czech grammar, but for Czechs this is just normal negation, not “double” in the English sense.

Where does nikdy normally go in the sentence? Could I say Moje babička nejí nikdy jídlo v restauraci?

The neutral word order for adverbs of frequency (like nikdy, často, vždy) is before the finite verb:

Neutral: Moje babička nikdy nejí jídlo v restauraci.

You can move nikdy later for emphasis, but it sounds less neutral and more “highlighted”:

Moje babička jídlo v restauraci nikdy nejí.
→ Emphasis on jídlo v restauraci: “Food in restaurants, she never eats.”

Moje babička nejí nikdy jídlo v restauraci is understandable but unusual; Czech tends to avoid splitting nejí and its adverb like that in this sentence. Stick to nikdy nejí as the basic pattern.

Why do we need the word jídlo? Could we just say Moje babička nikdy nejí v restauraci?

Yes, you can drop jídlo:

Moje babička nikdy nejí v restauraci.
= “My grandmother never eats in a restaurant.”

Adding jídlo:

Moje babička nikdy nejí jídlo v restauraci.

This makes the object explicit and can sound a bit more “complete” or slightly more emphatic (it’s specifically food she never eats in restaurants, as opposed to, say, ice cream or having only drinks there). But in everyday conversation, many speakers would simply say nikdy nejí v restauraci.

Why is jídlo in this form? Which case is it, and why doesn’t it change?

jídlo is a neuter noun meaning food. In the sentence it’s the direct object of (ne)jí, so it’s in the accusative singular.

Declension of jídlo (neuter, pattern like město):

Nominative sg.: jídlo (food – subject)
Genitive sg.: jídla (of food)
Dative sg.: jídlu (to food)
Accusative sg.: jídlo (food – direct object)
Locative sg.: jídle (about food)
Instrumental sg.: jídlem (with food)

So nominative and accusative are identical: jídlo.
That’s why the form doesn’t change in this sentence, even though the case is accusative.

Why is it v restauraci, and why does restauraci end in -i?

The preposition v (in) normally requires the locative case when it means “in/inside” a place.

v restauraci = in the restaurant / in a restaurant

The noun restaurace (restaurant) is feminine, like ulice (street), and declines like this:

Nominative sg.: restaurace (a restaurant – subject)
Genitive sg.: restaurace
Dative sg.: restauraci
Accusative sg.: restauraci
Locative sg.: restauraci (after v, o etc., meaning in/about a restaurant)
Instrumental sg.: restaurací

So v restauraci uses the locative singular, which has the ending -i here. Several cases share the same form, but with v meaning “in”, you know it’s locative.

Why v restauraci and not na restauraci?

Both v and na can translate to in, at, on, but they’re used with different kinds of nouns and with different meanings:

v = literally inside or within something
- v restauraci – in/inside a restaurant
- v kině – at the cinema (literally, in the cinema)
na = on, onto; or “at” for many events/places (often “surface” or “venue” idea)
- na trhu – at the market
- na koncertě – at a concert

Na restauraci would literally suggest “on top of the restaurant” (on the roof), not eating there. So for eating in a restaurant, you say v restauraci.

Why is there a comma before chce jíst doma? In English we would often use and.

Czech punctuation works a bit differently from English.

Here we have two independent clauses:

Moje babička nikdy nejí jídlo v restauraci
(Ona) chce jíst doma

They are simply placed one after another, joined only by a comma – this is called asyndetic coordination (coordination without a conjunction). In Czech, a comma between such clauses is normal and required.

You could also say:

Moje babička nikdy nejí jídlo v restauraci a chce jíst doma.

Using a (= and) is fine; it sounds a bit smoother. Using just a comma is also correct and quite common, especially in written style.

Why is it chce jíst, not something like chce jí?

chtít (to want) is followed by an infinitive:

chce jíst = she wants to eat
chci spát = I want to sleep
chceme pracovat = we want to work

The form jí is the 3rd person singular present of jíst (he/she/it eats), not an infinitive:

(Ona) jí doma. = She eats at home.

So:

✅ chce jíst doma = she wants to eat at home
❌ chce jí doma (wrong: mixing “wants” with “eats”)

How is the verb jíst conjugated? What’s the difference between jí and jedí?

The verb jíst (to eat) is irregular. Standard present-tense forms are:

já jím – I eat
ty jíš – you eat (sg., informal)
on/ona/ono jí – he/she/it eats
my jíme – we eat
vy jíte – you eat (pl. or formal)
oni jedí – they eat

Negatives: nejím, nejíš, nejí, nejíme, nejíte, nejedí.

In everyday speech, many people say (oni) jí instead of jedí, and (oni) nejí instead of nejedí, but jedí/nejedí is considered the standard written form.

In your sentence, nejí is 3rd person singular: she does not eat.

Why is there no word for “she” in chce jíst doma?

Czech is a pro-drop language: subject pronouns (já, ty, on, ona, etc.) are often omitted, because the verb ending usually shows who the subject is.

Chce jíst doma.
→ From context, we know it’s still babička, so: She wants to eat at home.

You only add ona for emphasis or contrast:

Ona chce jíst doma, ne já.
= She wants to eat at home, not me.

In your sentence the subject is clear, so dropping ona is natural.

What is doma exactly? Why not v domě or v domu?

doma is an adverb meaning at home. It’s a fixed word, not a case form of a noun.

jíst doma – to eat at home
pracovat doma – to work at home

Compare with:

domů = (to) home, direction:
- Jde domů. – She is going home.

If you say v domě, it literally means in the building/house, which is more physical and less idiomatic for “at home.” For everyday “at home,” Czech strongly prefers doma.

Is there any difference between Moje babička and Má babička?

Both mean my grandmother, but there is a nuance:

moje babička – the most common everyday form
má babička – a bit more formal, literary, or stylistic

In ordinary speech, Moje babička nikdy nejí… is much more natural. Má babička might appear in more elevated or poetic texts, or when someone wants a certain stylistic flavor.