Learn Hardcore Czech: Proč mi dnes nedáš odpověď na moji otázku? - Why won't you give me an answer to my question today?

Czech is using a perfective verb dát (nedáš = you will not give), and perfective verbs in the present form usually express future time.

dáš (from perfective dát) – “you will give”
nedáš – “you will not give / you won’t give”

If you wanted a progressive / repeated future, you would use the future of the imperfective verb dávat:

nebudeš dávat odpověď – “you will not be giving an answer / you won’t keep giving answers”

So Proč mi dnes nedáš…? corresponds to English “Why won’t you give me… today?”, even though the form looks like a present tense.

What is the difference between mi and mně, and why is mi used here?

Both mi and mně are dative forms of já (I), meaning “to me”.

mi – unstressed clitic form (short, weak)
mně – stressed form (long, strong)

mi is used:

in neutral, unstressed positions
typically as a clitic in “second position” in the sentence

mně is used:

when you want to emphasise me in contrast to someone else
after most prepositions: pro mně, ke mně, u mně (though colloquial forms like u mě also exist)

In your sentence, the pronoun is not especially stressed, so natural Czech uses the clitic:

Proč mi dnes nedáš odpověď…? – neutral
Proč mně dnes nedáš odpověď…? – “Why won’t you give me an answer today (and not someone else)?”

Why is there no subject pronoun ty? Could I say Proč ty mi dnes nedáš odpověď…?

Czech normally drops subject pronouns when they’re clear from the verb ending.

nedáš already shows 2nd person singular (you), so ty is redundant.
Proč mi dnes nedáš…? is the normal, neutral way to say it.

You can add ty to emphasise the subject:

Proč ty mi dnes nedáš odpověď…?
This sounds like: “Why is it you who won’t give me an answer today?” or “Why you (in particular)?”

So:

without ty – neutral
with ty – contrast or emphasis on “you”

What case is moji otázku, and why is that case used?

moji otázku is in the accusative singular feminine.

base form: otázka – nominative singular (dictionary form)
accusative singular: otázku
agreeing possessive: moji (accusative singular feminine of můj = my)

Why accusative?

The prepositional phrase na moji otázku belongs to odpověď.
The set phrase is odpověď na (co?) – answer to (what?).
The verb dát takes odpověď as its direct object, and na moji otázku further specifies that answer.

So na moji otázku is “to my question”, with otázku in the accusative because of na in this particular meaning.

How does moji relate to moje and mou? Which form is correct here?

All three are forms of the possessive můj (my), but they differ by case and gender (and sometimes style).

For a feminine noun like otázka:

moje otázka – nominative singular (subject): “my question”
moji otázku – accusative singular (object), more neutral/spoken
mou otázku – also accusative singular, more literary/formal

In your sentence, you need accusative singular feminine, so both are correct:

na moji otázku
na mou otázku

For everyday speech, moji is very common and perfectly fine. mou is also correct; it can sound a bit more formal, old‑fashioned, or stylistically “elevated.”

Why is the preposition na used in odpověď na moji otázku? In English we say “answer to my question.”

Czech and English use different prepositions with odpověď / answer:

Czech: odpověď na (co?) – answer to (what?)
English: answer to (what?)

So na is simply the standard preposition that goes with odpověď in this meaning.

Note that na can take:

accusative = direction / target / goal: odpověď na otázku, jít na koncert
locative = location: na stole, na koncertě

Here it is about the target of the answer (answer to a question), so Czech uses na + accusative → na moji otázku.

Which words are the direct and indirect objects here, and how can we tell, since odpověď doesn’t change form?

Structure of the sentence:

nedáš – verb (you will not give)
mi – indirect object, dative (to me)
odpověď – direct object, accusative (an answer)
na moji otázku – prepositional phrase specifying the content of the answer

Even though odpověď looks the same in nominative and accusative, we know it is the direct object because:

It answers “What will you (not) give?” → odpověď.
The verb dát normally takes a direct object in the accusative.
Feminine nouns of this type have identical nominative and accusative forms in the singular:
- N: odpověď
- A: odpověď

So mi (dative) is “to whom?”, odpověď (accusative) is “what?”, and na moji otázku further describes that answer.

Can the words mi and dnes move around? For example, is Proč dnes mi nedáš odpověď… or Proč mi nedáš dnes odpověď… possible?

Word order in Czech is fairly flexible, but clitics like mi are restricted: they normally appear in “second position” (after the first stressed element in the clause).

Natural options include:

Proč mi dnes nedáš odpověď na moji otázku? – very natural.
Proč mi nedáš dnes odpověď na moji otázku? – also okay; emphasises dnes more.
Proč mi dnes odpověď na moji otázku nedáš? – possible, with a different emphasis (the nedáš is shifted towards the end for stress).

But:

✗ Proč dnes mi nedáš odpověď… – sounds wrong in standard Czech; mi wants to be earlier, in the clitic slot.

So:

mi should appear very early, usually right after Proč.
dnes is a normal adverb and is much freer in its position for emphasis.

Is there a difference between Proč mi dnes nedáš odpověď na moji otázku? and Proč mi dnes neodpovíš na moji otázku?

The meaning is almost the same, but the structure differs:

dát odpověď na (co?)
- dáš mi odpověď na moji otázku – “you will give me an answer to my question”
- focuses on the thing (the answer) being given
odpovědět na (co?)
- odpovíš mi na moji otázku / odpovíš na moji otázku – “you will answer my question”
- focuses on the act of answering

In the negative:

nedáš mi odpověď na moji otázku – “you won’t give me an answer to my question”
neodpovíš mi na moji otázku – “you won’t answer my question”

Both are perfectly natural; neodpovíš na moji otázku is a bit more direct and compact (single verb), whereas nedáš odpověď sounds slightly more formal or heavy.

Why does otázku end with -u instead of -a, and how do I know it’s not genitive?

Base form: otázka – a regular feminine noun of the -a type.

Its singular forms include:

Nominative: otázka
Genitive: otázky
Dative: otázce
Accusative: otázku
Locative: otázce
Instrumental: otázkou

In your sentence, we have otázku:

that ending -u is accusative singular feminine for this type of noun.
we know it must be accusative because it follows na in the phrase odpověď na (co?) – “answer to (what?)” always uses accusative here.

If it were genitive singular, it would be otázky, not otázku.