Learn Hardcore Czech: Můj pes mě miluje a já ho miluji také.

Můj pes – nominative singular (subject)
- pes is the subject of miluje.
- můj agrees with pes in gender, number, and case (masc. sg. nominative).
mě – accusative singular (direct object)
- The dog loves me → mě is the object of miluje.
já – nominative singular (subject)
- “I love him too” → já is the subject of miluji.
ho – accusative singular (direct object)
- I love him → ho is the object of miluji.

So:
subjects → nominative (můj pes, já)
direct objects → accusative (mě, ho)

Why is it mě and not já after miluje?

Because já is the subject form (nominative) and mě is the object form (accusative).

Já miluji psa. – I love the dog. (já = subject)
Pes miluje mě. – The dog loves me. (mě = object)

In Můj pes mě miluje, my dog is the one doing the loving → můj pes is the subject.
Me is being loved → mě must be in the object case (accusative).

Using já here (Můj pes já miluje) would sound as wrong as “My dog loves I” in English.

What is the difference between mě and mne? Could I say Můj pes mne miluje?

Yes, you can say Můj pes mne miluje.

mě and mne are two forms of the same pronoun (“me”) in the same case (accusative or genitive). The difference is:

mě – more common, neutral, everyday
mne – slightly more formal, emphatic, or literary

You’ll often see:

after prepositions, especially in careful or written style:
- bez mne / beze mne – without me
- pro mne – for me
for emphasis in speech or writing:
- Můj pes miluje mne, ne tebe. – My dog loves me, not you.

In your sentence, both are grammatically correct:

Můj pes mě miluje – most natural in everyday Czech
Můj pes mne miluje – a bit more formal or emphatic

Could I say Můj pes miluje mě instead of Můj pes mě miluje?

Yes, but the emphasis changes.

Můj pes mě miluje. – neutral: My dog loves me.
- The weak pronoun mě normally appears early, near the verb.
Můj pes miluje mě. – stresses mě (“me in particular”):
- Closer to: “My dog loves me (not someone else).”

Word order in Czech is flexible, but unstressed pronouns like mě prefer to stand before the main verb in neutral sentences. Moving mě to the end usually adds emphasis.

Why is it já ho miluji and not já miluji ho?

Because ho is an unstressed pronoun (clitic), and these pronouns normally go immediately after the first stressed element in the clause.

In já ho miluji:

já – first stressed word in the clause
ho – clitic that wants to stand right after it
miluji – the main verb

So the typical pattern is:
[stressed word] + [clitic pronoun] + [verb]

Saying já miluji ho is technically possible in special contexts, but:

it sounds unnatural as a neutral sentence
it would strongly emphasize ho (“I love HIM (as opposed to someone else)”)

Everyday speech almost always uses já ho miluju / miluji, not já miluji ho.

What is the difference between ho, jej, and jeho here? Why choose ho?

All three can mean “him”, but they differ in formality, stress, and position.

For 3rd person singular masculine animate (him):

ho – common unstressed form (clitic)
- used after verbs, conjunctions, etc.:
- Vidím ho. – I see him.
- Já ho miluji. – I love him.
jej – formal / literary accusative form
- more common in written or elevated style:
- Vidím jej. – I see him.
- Já jej miluji. – I love him. (sounds bookish)
jeho – can be stressed accusative (“him”) or genitive (“of him / his”)
- as an object, it adds emphasis:
  - Vidím jeho, ne tebe. – I see him, not you.
- as possessive:
  - jeho pes – his dog

In your sentence:

Já ho miluji – normal, natural spoken and neutral written Czech
Já jej miluji – correct but sounds literary
Já miluji jeho. – emphasizes him specifically

That’s why ho is the standard choice here.

Why is the subject pronoun já used? Could I say Můj pes mě miluje a miluji ho také?

Yes, you can omit já:

Můj pes mě miluje a miluji ho také.

In Czech, subject pronouns (já, ty, on, ona…) are often dropped, because the verb ending already shows the person:

miluji = “I love”,
miluješ = “you love”,
miluje = “he / she / it loves”.

Including já usually adds emphasis or contrast:

Můj pes mě miluje a já ho miluji také.
→ My dog loves me and *I love him too* (not just someone else, or not only he loves me).

So:

without já – more neutral: “My dog loves me and I love him too.”
with já – light emphasis on the “I” part.

Both are correct.

Is there a difference between miluji and miluju?

They are the same verb form (1st person singular, present tense of milovat – “to love”), just different styles:

miluji – more standard / formal / written
miluju – more colloquial / spoken

You can say:

Můj pes mě miluje a já ho miluji také. – neutral written Czech
Můj pes mě miluje a já ho miluju taky. – very natural everyday speech

Both are correct; choose by context (formal text vs casual conversation).

What is the difference between miluji and mám rád when talking about a dog?

Both can be used, but they have slightly different shades:

miluji (miluju) – “love” in a strong, emotional sense
- used for people, partners, close family, pets, etc.:
- Miluju svého psa. – I really love my dog.
mám rád / mám ráda – more like “I like / I’m fond of”
- also very common for pets and other things:
- Mám svého psa rád. (man speaking)
- Mám svého psa ráda. (woman speaking)

In practice:

Saying Miluju svého psa is perfectly natural if you feel very attached to the dog.
Mám svého psa rád is also very common and maybe sounds a bit less intense.

Your sentence with mám rád could be:

Můj pes mě miluje a já ho mám taky rád. (man)
Můj pes mě miluje a já ho mám taky ráda. (woman)

Why is také at the end? Could it go somewhere else, like Já ho také miluji?

Yes, it can move; word order is flexible with adverbs like také (“also, too”).

Common options:

Já ho miluji také. – neutral; “I love him too.”
Já ho také miluji. – still neutral; slight emphasis on “I also love him.”
Také ho miluji. – “I also love him.” (emphasizing that loving him is an addition to something previously mentioned)

All of these are grammatically fine. Putting také at the very end is a very typical place for “too” / “also” in Czech, mirroring the English “I love him too.”

What is the difference between také and taky?

Both mean “also, too” and are interchangeable in meaning.

také – more formal / neutral; typical in writing, careful speech.
taky – more colloquial / spoken; very common in everyday conversation.

So your sentence could also be:

Můj pes mě miluje a já ho miluju taky. – very natural spoken Czech.

In a formal written text you’d prefer také.

How would the sentence change if the dog were female?

You would normally change both the noun and the pronoun:

Instead of pes (“a dog” – grammatically masculine), Czechs usually use fenka or fena for a female dog (both feminine).

Example:

Moje fenka mě miluje a já ji miluji také.

Changes:

Moje fenka – moje because fenka is feminine
ji – feminine accusative of “she” (instead of ho, which is masculine)

So:

male dog: Můj pes mě miluje a já ho miluji také.
female dog: Moje fenka mě miluje a já ji miluji také.

Why is there no word for “a” or “the” before pes?

Czech has no articles like English “a / an / the.”

pes can mean “a dog” or “the dog”, depending on context.
Můj pes = “my dog” (and that already makes it definite).

If you really want to make a noun definite in a similar way to “the”, Czech often uses demonstratives:

ten pes – that dog / the dog
ten můj pes – that/my dog (very specific: “that dog of mine”)

But in your sentence, Můj pes alone is completely natural and covers both “My dog” and “My dog (the one you know about)”.