Learn Hardcore Czech: Pro moji maminku je čas důležitější než peníze. - For my mom time is more important than money.

pro always takes the accusative case.
The noun maminka (mum) is feminine, and its forms are:
- Nominative (dictionary form): maminka – e.g. Moje maminka je doma. (My mum is at home.)
- Accusative (after pro): maminku – e.g. Mám dárek pro maminku. (I have a present for my mum.)

In Pro moji maminku je čas…, maminku is in the accusative because it depends on pro (“for my mum”).

Why is it moji maminku and not moje maminka or moje maminku?

Two different things are happening:

Case change:
- maminka → maminku is the accusative, required by pro.
- So moje maminka (nominative) turns into moje/moji maminku (accusative).
Declension of the possessive pronoun můj (my):
For feminine singular (like maminka), the key forms you’ll see are:
- Nominative: moje or short form má
  - Moje/má maminka je učitelka. (My mum is a teacher.)
- Accusative: moji or mou
  - Mám rád moji/mou maminku. (I love my mum.)

So in our sentence, moji maminku is accusative and grammatically correct.
moje maminku is informal and very common in speech, but many grammars still label it as non‑standard for careful writing.

Could I also say Pro mou maminku je čas důležitější než peníze? Does it sound different?

Yes, Pro mou maminku… is also correct.

moji maminku and mou maminku are both grammatically fine accusative forms.
In practice:
- moji maminku feels very neutral, everyday.
- mou maminku can sound a bit more careful, written, or slightly more formal/expressive.

Meaning-wise, they’re the same. In normal spoken Czech, you will hear pro moji maminku more often.

What is the difference between moje maminka, má maminka, and just maminka?

All three can translate to my mum, but they differ slightly in form and tone:

moje maminka – neutral, full form of můj.
- Very common in both speech and writing.
má maminka – short form, a bit more formal, bookish, or expressive.
- More likely in writing, storytelling, or when you want to sound a bit elevated.
maminka without moje – often still understood as my mum from context.
- In Czech, people frequently drop possessives with close family:
  - Maminka je doma. ≈ My mum is at home (if you’re talking about your own mum).

So moje maminka is the safest neutral choice for learners.

Why does the sentence start with Pro moji maminku? Could I say Čas je pro moji maminku důležitější než peníze?

Both word orders are correct:

Pro moji maminku je čas důležitější než peníze.
Čas je pro moji maminku důležitější než peníze.

Czech word order is relatively flexible. The main difference is what you present as the starting point (topic):

Version 1 starts from for my mum:
- Roughly: As far as my mum is concerned, time is more important than money.
Version 2 starts from time:
- Roughly: Time, for my mum, is more important than money.

In many contexts the difference is subtle; both will be understood the same way. For a learner, version 2 (Čas je pro moji maminku…) is a very clear, standard order.

What cases are čas and peníze in, and why don’t they change form?

Both čas (time) and peníze (money) are in the nominative case here.

The basic structure is:
- (Pro moji maminku) je [SUBJECT] [COMPLEMENT]
- Subject: čas
- Complement (after the comparative): důležitější než peníze

They are not governed by any preposition here, and they’re not objects of a verb, so they stay in the nominative.

For peníze, nominative plural is peníze, and accusative plural is also peníze, so in many sentences they look identical even when the case changes. Here, though, it functions as nominative.

Why is peníze plural, when English money is singular?

In Czech, peníze is grammatically plural only:

Nominative plural: peníze
There is no normal singular form used in the standard language.

This is similar to English scissors or trousers:

English: Money is important. (singular)
Czech: Peníze jsou důležité. (literally: Monies are important.)

So you must always use plural agreement:

Peníze jsou důležité. – Money is important.
Nemám peníze. – I don’t have money.

How is the comparative důležitější formed, and can I say víc důležitý instead?

důležitější is the comparative of the adjective důležitý (important).

Base form: důležitý – important
Comparative: důležitější – more important
- This is formed by adding the suffix -ější to the stem.

About víc důležitý:

Native speakers do sometimes say things like víc důležitý, but with důležitý, the single-word comparative důležitější is the standard and preferred form.
For many adjectives, you can choose:
- krásnější / víc krásný – more beautiful
- But krásnější sounds more natural and educated.

So in your sentence, důležitější is the best choice.

When do I use než and when jako in comparisons?

In this sentence, než means than:

důležitější než peníze – more important than money

Basic rules:

After a comparative (better, more important, faster, etc.) use než:
- větší než – bigger than
- lepší než – better than
- důležitější než – more important than
Use jako mainly for equality:
- stejný jako – the same as
- tak velký jako – as big as
- Je vysoký jako já. – He is as tall as I am.

So in your sentence, because you say more important, než is the correct conjunction.

Could I leave out je and say Pro moji maminku čas důležitější než peníze?

Normally, no. You should keep je:

Pro moji maminku je čas důležitější než peníze.

Czech often requires the verb být (to be) in the present tense in such sentences.
Leaving it out is usually only possible in very short headlines, notes, or special stylistic contexts, for example:

Čas důležitější než peníze – as a slogan or title.

But in a normal full sentence, especially for a learner, you should always include je.

Why is it pro moji maminku and not something like mojí mamince?

You can express for my mum in two main ways in Czech:

With pro + accusative (your sentence):
- pro moji maminku – for my mum
  This is the most straightforward equivalent of English for.
With the dative case (without pro):
- mojí mamince – to/for my mum
  This is often used when the verb itself “expects” a dative:
- Pomáhám mojí mamince. – I help my mum. (the verb pomáhat takes dative)
- Koupím to mamince. – I’ll buy it for (my) mum.

In Pro moji maminku je čas důležitější než peníze, there is no such verb needing dative, so pro + accusative is the natural choice.
A version with dative would sound odd here.

What is the nuance between maminka, máma, and matka?

All mean mother, but the tone is different:

maminka
- Diminutive, affectionate: mum, mommy, mom
- Very commonly used about your own mother, by children and adults alike, often warmer.
máma
- Neutral, everyday: mum, mom
- Slightly less “cute” than maminka.
matka
- More formal, technical, or even cold: mother (in official styles)
- Used in legal, medical, or official contexts, or when you want emotional distance:
  - Biologická matka – biological mother.

In your sentence, maminka fits a warm, personal tone: For my mum, time is more important than money.

How do I pronounce Pro moji maminku je čas důležitější než peníze?

Approximate pronunciation (stressed always on the first syllable of each word):

Pro – [proh]
moji – [MO-yi] (MO as in mop, j like English y in yes)
maminku – [MA-min-koo]
je – [ye] (like ye in yes)
čas – [chas] (Czech č = ch in church)
důležitější – [DOO-le-zhi-tyey-shee]
- dů – like doo
- le – le in less
- ži – ž like s in measure
- těj – tyey (soft ť, tongue touching further back / palate)
- ší – shee (long í)
než – [nesh] (again ž like measure, but word-final often sounds close to nezh / nesh)
peníze – [PE-nyi-zeh]
- ně is palatal, tongue high; something like nye in canyon.

Spoken smoothly:
Pro moji maminku je čas důležitější než peníze.
[PRO MO-yi MA-min-koo ye chas DOO-le-zhi-tyey-shee nesh PE-nyi-zeh]