Learn Hardcore Czech: Můj kamarád nechce číst noviny, protože novinám nerozumí. - My friend doesn't want to read newspapers, because he doesn't understand newspapers.

číst noviny – the verb číst (to read) takes a direct object in the accusative case.
- noviny is accusative plural (what is he reading? → noviny).
rozumět něčemu – the verb rozumět (to understand) always takes the dative case.
- novinám is dative plural (he doesn’t understand to what? → novinám).

So the same noun noviny appears in two different cases:

accusative: noviny (reads the newspapers)
dative: novinám (doesn’t understand the newspapers)

Why is it novinám nerozumí and not something like nerozumí noviny?

Because rozumět is grammatically more like English “to understand to something” or “to make sense to someone”. It always uses the dative case:

rozumím češtině – I understand Czech
nerozumíš tomu textu – you don’t understand that text
novinám nerozumí – he doesn’t understand the newspapers

Saying nerozumí noviny would be incorrect, because that uses the accusative, which rozumět does not allow.

Why is there no pronoun like on (“he”) in nechce číst or nerozumí?

In Czech, subject pronouns (já, ty, on, ona, my, vy, oni) are usually dropped when the verb ending already makes the subject clear.

(On) nechce číst noviny. – on is optional
(On) novinám nerozumí.

The -e ending in nechce and nerozumí already tells us it’s 3rd person singular (he/she/it), so on is not necessary unless you want to emphasize he as opposed to someone else.

Why is there a comma before protože?

Czech puts a comma before most conjunctions that introduce a full clause, including protože (because).

Můj kamarád nechce číst noviny, protože novinám nerozumí.

You have:

Main clause: Můj kamarád nechce číst noviny
Subordinate clause: protože novinám nerozumí

They are separated by a comma. This is normal punctuation in Czech, even when English might sometimes omit the comma.

Can I say protože nerozumí novinám instead of protože novinám nerozumí?

Yes, both are correct:

protože novinám nerozumí
protože nerozumí novinám

The difference is mostly about word order and emphasis, not grammar:

novinám nerozumí puts novinám (the newspapers) earlier, so it slightly emphasizes what he doesn’t understand.
nerozumí novinám is more neutral.

Czech word order is quite flexible; the endings (cases) show who does what to whom. Word order is used to highlight information rather than mark grammar.

Why is the negative on both verbs: nechce and nerozumí? Isn’t that like a double negative?

These are just two separate negatives on two separate verbs:

nechce číst – he does not want to read
nerozumí – he does not understand

In English, we would also say:
He doesn’t want to read the newspapers because he doesn’t understand them.

This is not the “double negative” that changes the meaning to positive. It’s simply:

not wanting (first verb) + not understanding (second verb).

Czech does use “logical” double negatives in other structures (e.g. nikdo nic neřekl – nobody said anything), but here that’s not the case.

Why is it nechce číst and not something like nechce čtení?

In Czech, with verbs like chtít / nechtít (to want / not want), you usually use an infinitive verb, not a noun:

chce číst – he wants to read
nechce číst – he doesn’t want to read
chci spát – I want to sleep
nechceme čekat – we don’t want to wait

Using a noun like čtení (reading) would sound unusual here and would change the structure (and often the meaning). The normal pattern is:

chtít / nechtít + infinitive

Why is the verb číst in infinitive form?

Because Czech uses the infinitive after chtít / nechtít:

chce číst – he wants to read
nechce číst – he doesn’t want to read

This is similar to English “want to read” (the to read corresponds to the Czech infinitive číst).

Why is it Můj kamarád and not Moje kamarád?

The possessive můj / moje changes with grammatical gender:

můj kamarád – my (male) friend → kamarád is masculine, so můj
moje kamarádka – my (female) friend → kamarádka is feminine, so moje

Some examples:

můj bratr – my brother (masc.)
moje sestra – my sister (fem.)
moje auto – my car (neuter)

At the beginning of the sentence, Můj is capitalized simply because it’s the first word.

What’s the difference between kamarád and přítel?

Both can mean friend, but they differ in nuance:

kamarád – a friend, buddy, mate; casual, neutral
přítel – can mean friend, but often suggests a closer relationship; also commonly means (boy)friend / partner in modern Czech

In everyday speech:

můj kamarád = my (male) friend
můj přítel = often understood as my boyfriend / close partner (depending on context)

Why doesn’t Czech say “understand them”? Why not protože jim nerozumí?

Czech can say both:

protože novinám nerozumí – because he doesn’t understand the newspapers
protože jim nerozumí – because he doesn’t understand them

jim is the dative plural pronoun (“to them”), replacing novinám. In your sentence, the noun noviny / novinám is simply used explicitly instead of a pronoun. Grammatically, both versions are fine; it’s just a style/clarity choice.

Is nerozumí present tense, even though English uses the present simple too?

Yes, nerozumí is present tense:

rozumí – he understands
nerozumí – he doesn’t understand

Czech present tense covers both:

“he doesn’t understand (right now)” and
“he doesn’t understand (in general / as a rule)”

Context tells you which one is meant, just like in English here.