Learn Hardcore Czech: Moje kolegyně, která sedí vedle mě, má skvělý nápad na nový projekt. - My female colleague who sits next to me has a great idea for a new project.

kolegyně = female colleague
- singular: kolegyně
- plural: kolegyně (same form, context clarifies)
kolega = male colleague
- singular: kolega
- plural: kolegové

So:

Moje kolegyně = my (female) colleague
Můj kolega = my (male) colleague

In the given sentence, the speaker is clearly talking about a woman.

Why is there a comma and která? How does this relative clause work?

The part která sedí vedle mě is a relative clause, just like "who is sitting next to me" in English. It gives extra information about kolegyně.

která is the relative pronoun who/which/that.
It agrees with its antecedent kolegyně in gender and number:
- kolegyně = feminine singular → která (feminine singular).

If the noun were different, která would change:

Můj kolega, který sedí vedle mě… (masculine singular)
Moji kolegové, kteří sedí vedle mě… (masculine plural)
Moje kolegyně, které sedí vedle mě… (feminine plural)

The comma is obligatory here because it introduces a non‑restrictive (additional, descriptive) relative clause, just like the comma in English.

Why is která sedí in the simple present, when English says “is sitting”?

Czech does not have a separate continuous/progressive tense like English “is sitting”. The simple present is used for both:

sedí can mean sits or is sitting, depending on context.

So:

která sedí vedle mě = who sits next to me / who is sitting next to me

Both readings are possible from the same Czech form. Context decides whether it’s a habitual action (she usually sits there) or a current, ongoing action (she is sitting there now).

What case is mě in vedle mě, and why not já?

Mě is the genitive (or accusative) form of the 1st‑person singular pronoun já (I).

The preposition vedle (next to, beside) always takes the genitive case:

vedle koho? čeho? (next to whom? what?) → vedle mě (next to me)

You cannot use the nominative já after a preposition:

❌ vedle já
✅ vedle mě

You may also see vedle mne – that is a more formal/archaic variant of mě in genitive. In everyday speech vedle mě is normal.

What is the difference between mě, mne, and mně?

All three are forms of já (I), but they differ in case and style:

mě
- used for accusative and genitive
- neutral, ordinary spoken and written Czech
- e.g. vidí mě (sees me), bez mě (without me – usually beze mě)
mne
- also accusative and genitive
- more formal / literary
- e.g. vidí mne, beze mne
mně
- dative and locative
- e.g. ke mně (to me), o mně (about me), dej mi to / dej to mně (give it to me)

In vedle mě, the preposition vedle requires the genitive, so mě (or formal mne) is correct; mně would be wrong here.

Why does vedle take the genitive? Could I use a different preposition for “next to me”?

In Czech, each preposition governs one or more specific cases. You simply have to memorise these combinations.

vedle (next to, beside) always takes the genitive:
- vedle mě, vedle stolu, vedle domu

Other ways to say “next to me”:

u mě / u mne – literally “at me”; often “at my place” in many contexts
poblíž mě – near me, close to me
vedle mě – specifically at someone’s side, beside them

In this sentence, vedle mě is the most natural for the physical seating position.

Why is it má skvělý nápad, not something with má se?

Two different verbs/uses are involved:

mít = to have, to possess
- (ona) má skvělý nápad = she has a great idea
mít se = a reflexive form meaning to feel / to be (in terms of well‑being)
- mám se dobře = I’m doing well / I’m fine

In your sentence, we talk about having an idea, so we use mít alone:

Moje kolegyně … má skvělý nápad… = My colleague has a great idea…

Using má se skvělý nápad would be incorrect.

How do the adjective endings work in skvělý nápad and nový projekt?

Adjectives in Czech agree in gender, number, and case with the noun they describe.

Here we have:

nápad (idea) – masculine inanimate, singular
projekt (project) – masculine inanimate, singular

Both are in accusative (direct object of má and governed by na), but for masculine inanimate nouns, nominative and accusative look the same in both noun and adjective.

So:

skvělý nápad
- skvělý = masculine, singular, accusative (same form as nominative)
nový projekt
- nový = masculine, singular, accusative (same form as nominative)

Compare with other genders in nominative singular:

masculine: skvělý nápad
feminine: skvělá kniha (great book)
neuter: skvělé auto (great car)

Why do we say nápad na nový projekt and not something like nápad pro nový projekt?

In Czech, some nouns prefer particular preposition patterns that don’t always match English.

With nápad (idea), the usual pattern for “idea for something” is:

nápad na něco = an idea for something

So we say:

nápad na nový projekt = an idea for a new project
nápad na knihu = an idea for a book
nápad na výlet = an idea for a trip

Pro is more like for (the benefit of / intended for) and is less natural here:

❌ nápad pro nový projekt – sounds odd, not standard phrasing
✅ nápad na nový projekt – idiomatic

You could use o in a different meaning:

nápad o novém projektu – would sound unusual; o normally goes with mluvit o, psát o (talk/write about), not with nápad.

Can I change the word order, for example move na nový projekt earlier in the sentence?

Yes, Czech word order is more flexible than English, because case endings show grammatical roles. However, there are still preferences for natural-sounding sentences.

Your original sentence:

Moje kolegyně, která sedí vedle mě, má skvělý nápad na nový projekt.

Some acceptable variants:

Moje kolegyně, která sedí vedle mě, má na nový projekt skvělý nápad.
(puts focus slightly more on the project)
Na nový projekt má moje kolegyně, která sedí vedle mě, skvělý nápad.
(strong focus on the new project; more marked, but grammatical)

What you cannot do is separate the relative clause from kolegyně like in:

❌ Moje kolegyně má skvělý nápad na nový projekt, která sedí vedle mě.

In Czech (as in good English), the relative clause should follow its noun directly: kolegyně, která…

How would the sentence change if I talked about a male colleague instead?

You need to change the words that depend on the gender of colleague:

Moje kolegyně, která sedí vedle mě, má skvělý nápad na nový projekt.
→ My (female) colleague, who is sitting next to me, has a great idea for a new project.

For a male colleague:

Můj kolega, který sedí vedle mě, má skvělý nápad na nový projekt.

Changes:

Moje → Můj (feminine → masculine possessive)
kolegyně → kolega (female → male colleague)
která → který (relative pronoun agrees with kolega, masculine)

The rest of the sentence stays the same.