Learn Hardcore Czech: Moje babička nemá internet a nezná nové filmy. - My grandmother doesn’t have the internet and doesn’t know new films.

Frequency:
- moje babička is more common in everyday speech.
- má babička sounds a bit more formal, literary, or emphatic.
Style / emphasis:
- moje babička: neutral, normal.
- má babička can give a slightly “elevated” or emotional tone, like my (dear) grandmother in a written story.

So the sentence is perfectly normal with moje babička, and you could also hear or read má babička in certain styles of Czech.

Why is it nemá and not ne má? How do you negate verbs like mít (to have)?

Czech usually forms verb negation by adding the prefix ne- directly in front of the verb, without a space.

má = (he/she) has
nemá = (he/she) doesn’t have

There is never a space:

✅ nemá internet = she doesn’t have internet
❌ ne má internet = incorrect

This pattern applies to most verbs:

zná → nezná (knows → doesn’t know)
chápe → nechápe (understands → doesn’t understand)
čtu → nečtu (I read → I don’t read)

So nemá is simply the negative form of má.

What case is internet, and why doesn’t its form change?

In nemá internet, the word internet is in the accusative case as the direct object of mít (to have).

Who? Moje babička (subject – nominative)
Has what? internet (direct object – accusative)

Internet is a masculine inanimate noun. For this gender, the nominative singular and accusative singular often look the same:

nominative: internet (subject)
accusative: internet (object)

So the form doesn’t change, even though the case is different.

Why is there no word for the or a/an before internet and nové filmy?

Czech has no articles (the, a, an). The meanings that English expresses with articles are handled by context, word order, intonation, or other means.

nemá internet can mean
- doesn’t have internet (in general)
- doesn’t have the internet (at home)
nezná nové filmy can mean
- doesn’t know new films
- doesn’t know the new films

If you really need to specify, you use other words:

nějaký internet = some (kind of) internet
ty nové filmy = those / the new films
žádný internet = no internet at all

But usually, Czech just omits articles completely.

What exactly does nezná nové filmy mean? Is this like doesn’t know about them or hasn’t seen them?

The verb znát means to know / be familiar with (people, things, places, works of art, etc.).

nezná nové filmy = she is not familiar with new films
- She doesn’t know which new films exist.
- She probably hasn’t seen them and doesn’t follow them.

It is not the same as simply not having watched them but knowing they exist. For that nuance you might say:

neviděla nové filmy = she hasn’t seen the new films
nedívá se na nové filmy = she doesn’t watch new films

Compare:

znát – to know / be familiar with (films, cities, people: znám ten film, znám tu herečku)
vědět – to know a fact (vím, že ten film je nový – I know that the film is new)

Why is it nové filmy and not something like nových filmů?

Nové filmy is in the accusative plural, because it is the direct object of nezná (doesn’t know).

nezná co? – nové filmy (what doesn’t she know? → new films)

For masculine inanimate nouns like film:

nominative plural: filmy (films – subject)
accusative plural: filmy (films – direct object)

So again nominative and accusative look the same.

The adjective nový (new) must agree with the noun in gender, number, and case:

nominative plural masc. inanimate: nové filmy
accusative plural masc. inanimate: also nové filmy

Nových filmů would be genitive plural and would be used in different structures, e.g.:

nemá žádných nových filmů (a more complex, less common structure)
bez nových filmů = without new films

But as a simple direct object after znát, nové filmy (accusative plural) is correct.

Can I drop moje and just say Babička nemá internet?

Yes, you can. Czech often omits possessive pronouns (my, your, his, her…) when the owner is obvious from context.

Babička nemá internet a nezná nové filmy.
– Grandma doesn’t have internet and doesn’t know new films.

Whether you say moje babička or just babička depends on:

Context:
If it’s clear whose grandmother you’re talking about, babička alone is fine.
Emphasis / clarity:
If you’re contrasting different grandmothers or it’s not clear, you use moje babička.

English must say my grandmother, but Czech can often leave moje out.

Can the word order change, like Moje babička nezná nové filmy a nemá internet? Is that still correct?

Yes, Czech has fairly flexible word order. Both are grammatically correct:

Moje babička nemá internet a nezná nové filmy.
Moje babička nezná nové filmy a nemá internet.

The difference is mostly in emphasis and what you mention first:

Version 1 feels like:
- She doesn’t have internet, and as a result she doesn’t know new films.
Version 2 feels like:
- She doesn’t know new films, and also she doesn’t have internet.

You can also move objects for emphasis:

Internet moje babička nemá. (strong emphasis on internet)
Nové filmy moje babička nezná. (emphasis on new films)

The neutral, simple version is the one you gave originally.

Is babička closer to grandmother or to grandma in English?

Babička is somewhat in between, but usually feels warmer / more affectionate than formal grandmother.

babička – normal, affectionate; often translated as grandma
babi or babičko (vocative) – very informal, like gran / granny or nan, when addressing her directly
prarodiče – grandparents (formal/neutral, plural)
bába – can be pejorative or very colloquial; be careful with it

In everyday speech, babička is what most people call their grandmother when talking about her. In English translations, grandma usually fits better than the cold-sounding grandmother.

How do you pronounce the sentence Moje babička nemá internet a nezná nové filmy?

Approximate pronunciation (with English-like hints):

Moje – [MO-yeh] (stress always on first syllable)
babička – [BA-bi-chka]
- č = like ch in church
nemá – [NE-maa] (long á like a longer a in father)
internet – [IN-ter-net]
a – [ah]
nezná – [NE-znaa] (zn is pronounced together, long á)
nové – [NO-veh] (long é)
filmy – [FIL-mi]

Whole sentence (syllable stress always on the first syllable of each word):

MO-je BA-bi-čka NE-má IN-ter-net a NE-zná NO-vé FIL-my.

Is a here exactly the same as English and? Are there other options?

Yes, a is the basic Czech conjunction for and:

nemá internet a nezná nové filmy
= doesn’t have internet and doesn’t know new films

Other similar conjunctions:

i – also and, but often “as well, even”; can add emphasis:
- nemá internet i televizi = she doesn’t have internet and (even) TV
ani – nor / neither in negative contexts:
- nemá ani internet, ani televizi = she has neither internet nor TV

In your sentence, simple a is the normal, neutral choice.

If I wanted to say My grandmother never has internet and never knows new films, how would I change the sentence?

You’d add nikdy (never) to each verb phrase:

Moje babička nikdy nemá internet a nikdy nezná nové filmy.

Or you can use nikdy once, if it’s clear it applies to both parts:

Moje babička nikdy nemá internet a nezná nové filmy.

In Czech, nikdy (never) combines with the negated verb (nemá, nezná). This “double negative” structure is normal and required in Czech, unlike in standard English.