Můj dědeček je starý, ale je šťastný.

My grandfather is old, but he is happy.

Breakdown of Můj dědeček je starý, ale je šťastný.

• být: to be
• můj: my
• ale: but
• dědeček: the grandfather
• šťastný: happy
• starý: old

Questions & Answers about Můj dědeček je starý, ale je šťastný.

What does Můj mean, and does it change with gender?

Můj means my. It is the possessive pronoun used with masculine singular nouns (like dědeček – grandfather).

It changes according to the gender and number of the noun it describes:

• můj dědeček – my grandfather (masculine singular)
• můj bratr – my brother (masculine singular)
• moje sestra – my sister (feminine singular)
• moje auto – my car (neuter singular; in speech often also mé auto)
• moji dědečkové – my grandfathers (masculine animate plural)
• moje knihy – my books (feminine plural)

So you say můj here because dědeček is masculine singular.

Is dědeček formal or informal? What’s the difference between dědeček and děda?

Both are common and neutral, but they differ in tone:

• dědeček – literally little grandfather, a diminutive. It sounds a bit more affectionate / cute, but it’s also the standard dictionary form for “grandfather”.
• děda – more colloquial / casual, like grandpa in English.

Examples:

• To je můj dědeček. – This is my grandfather. (neutral, standard)
• Můj děda je starý, ale je šťastný. – My grandpa is old, but he is happy. (more informal, family talk)

In your sentence, dědeček is perfectly normal and natural.

Why is je repeated? Can I say Můj dědeček je starý, ale šťastný without the second je?

You can say it both ways:

1. Můj dědeček je starý, ale je šťastný.
2. Můj dědeček je starý, ale šťastný.

Both are grammatically correct.

• Repeating je (version 1) is a bit more explicit and slightly emphasizes the second part:
  “My grandfather is old, but he is (nevertheless) happy.”
• Omitting the second je (version 2) is a bit more compact and stylistically a bit neater in writing.

In everyday speech, both are completely normal; learners are often taught the version with the repeated verb first, because it mirrors the English structure more clearly.

Why is there a comma before ale?

In Czech, you almost always use a comma before ale when it connects two clauses or two parts with their own verb:

• Můj dědeček je starý, ale je šťastný.
  Two clauses:
  
  1. Můj dědeček je starý
  2. [Můj dědeček] je šťastný

Rule of thumb: if ale connects two things that each have their own verb, put a comma before ale.

If ale only connects two words or phrases inside one clause, the comma is often not used, e.g.:

• Je starý ale hodný dědeček. – He is an old but kind grandfather.
  (One clause, one verb je, ale connects starý and hodný.)

What gender is dědeček, and how do the adjectives starý and šťastný agree with it?

Dědeček is masculine animate (a male person).

In the sentence, dědeček is the subject, so it is in the nominative singular:

• dědeček – nominative singular, masculine animate

Adjectives in Czech must agree with the noun in gender, number, and case:

• starý dědeček – old grandfather
  
  • starý → masculine animate, singular, nominative
• šťastný dědeček – happy grandfather
  
  • šťastný → masculine animate, singular, nominative

If you change number, the adjectives change too:

• staří dědečkové – old grandfathers
• šťastní dědečkové – happy grandfathers

How do you pronounce Můj dědeček je starý, ale je šťastný?

Approximate pronunciation (using English-like spelling):

• Můj – [mooy] (like “moo” + short y)
• dědeček – [dyede-chek]
  
  • dě is like “dy-eh” but soft and blended
  • ček like “check”
• je – [yeh]
• starý – [stah-ree] (the ý is a long ee sound)
• ale – [ah-leh]
• šťastný – roughly [shtyast-nee]
  
  • š = like sh in she
  • ť is a soft t (like t in “tune” in some British accents)
  • šť together sounds like a soft “shty” cluster
  • ý again a long ee sound

The stress in Czech is always on the first syllable of each word:

• Můj
• DĚ-de-ček
• JE
• STA-rý
• A-le
• ŠŤAS-tný

How would the sentence change if I want to say: “My grandfathers are old, but they are happy”?

You need to make dědeček plural and adjust the adjectives and verb:

• Můj dědeček je starý, ale je šťastný.
  → Moji dědečkové jsou staří, ale jsou šťastní.

Changes:

• můj → moji (masculine animate plural)
• dědeček → dědečkové (plural of dědeček)
• je → jsou (3rd person plural of být – to be)
• starý → staří (masculine animate plural nominative)
• šťastný → šťastní (masculine animate plural nominative)

Can I move the adjectives in front of dědeček, like in English “My old grandfather is happy”?

Yes. You can say:

• Můj starý dědeček je šťastný. – My old grandfather is happy.

Here:

• starý is an attributive adjective placed before the noun (starý dědeček = an old grandfather).
• šťastný remains a predicative adjective after je (je šťastný = is happy).

Word order:

• Můj starý dědeček je šťastný. – very natural.
• You can also still use the contrast:
  • Můj dědeček je starý, ale šťastný.
  • Můj starý dědeček je šťastný. (no ale in this version)

Does starý mean “old” only in age, or can it also mean something like “long-time”, as in “old friend”?

Starý primarily means old in age:

• starý muž – an old man
• starý dům – an old house

But it can also have a figurative meaning, similar to “old friend” in English, especially in fixed expressions:

• starý kamarád – an old friend (often: friend for a long time)
• staré známé místo – a familiar / well-known place

Context usually tells you whether it’s about age or about long duration / familiarity.
In Můj dědeček je starý, it clearly refers to age.

Can I change the order of the two qualities and say: Můj dědeček je šťastný, ale starý?

Yes, that sentence is grammatically correct:

• Můj dědeček je šťastný, ale starý.

However, the meaning nuance changes a bit:

• Můj dědeček je starý, ale je šťastný.
  → You first state “He is old” (negative-ish), then contrast it with something positive: “but he is happy.”
• Můj dědeček je šťastný, ale starý.
  → You first say something positive: “He is happy,” and then add a limiting fact: “but (still) he is old.”

Both are fine; choose the order according to what you want to emphasize or contrast.

Why is dědeček in the form dědeček and not dědečka or something else?

Czech uses cases, and nouns change their form depending on their grammatical role.

In the sentence:

• Můj dědeček je starý, ale je šťastný.

Dědeček is the subject of the verb je (“is”). Subjects are normally in the nominative case, so you use the nominative singular form:

• nominative singular: dědeček – grandfather (as subject)
• accusative singular: dědečka – (I see) my grandfather
  
  • Vidím svého dědečka. – I see my grandfather.

So you see dědeček here because it is in the nominative.