Learn Hardcore Czech: Moje babička nechce jíst oběd bez něj. - My grandmother does not want to eat lunch without him.

moje is the full‑form possessive pronoun, neutral and very common in speech:
- moje babička, moje kniha, moje auto
má is a shorter, slightly more formal or stylistic variant:
- má babička, má kniha, mé auto

In everyday conversation you will hear moje babička more often. In writing (especially literary or more formal style) má babička is also very natural.

Why is the verb nechce just one word for does not want? Where is does?

Czech does not use an auxiliary verb like English do for negation. Instead, negation is built directly into the main verb with the prefix ne‑.

chce = (he/she) wants
nechce = (he/she) does not want

So:

Moje babička chce jíst oběd. – My grandmother wants to eat lunch.
Moje babička nechce jíst oběd. – My grandmother does not want to eat lunch.

There is no extra word equivalent to does.

Why is it nechce jíst and not something like nechce jísti or another form?

The basic, modern infinitive form of the verb jíst is simply jíst.

There is an older or more archaic infinitive ending ‑ti:

jísti instead of jíst

You may still see jísti in older literature, religious texts, or elevated style, but in normal modern Czech you use jíst:

chci jíst – I want to eat
nechce jíst – she does not want to eat

So nechce jíst is the normal modern form.

Why is oběd in this form? Is that nominative or accusative?

In Moje babička nechce jíst oběd, the word oběd (lunch) is in the accusative singular.

Reason: jíst (to eat) is a transitive verb and takes a direct object in the accusative:

jím oběd – I am eating lunch
nechce jíst oběd – she does not want to eat lunch

For masculine inanimate nouns like oběd, the nominative singular and accusative singular often look the same:

Nominative: oběd je na stole – The lunch is on the table.
Accusative: mám oběd – I have lunch.

So the form happens to look like nominative, but grammatically here it is accusative.

Why is it bez něj and not bez on or bez ho?

The preposition bez (without) always takes the genitive case.

The pronoun on (he/it – masculine) has different forms in different cases. Relevant ones:

Nominative: on – he
Genitive: ho / jeho / něj
Locative: něm
etc.

After bez, you need genitive, so you must choose a genitive form:

bez něj
bez něho
bez jeho (less common/personal here; more like “without his [something]”)

In your sentence, bez něj = without him/it (depending on what he/it refers to in context).
bez on is impossible, and bez ho is colloquial and generally avoided in careful standard Czech; bez něj is the safest standard choice.

What is the difference between něj, něho, and něm?

All are forms of the pronoun on (he/it), but in different cases and with slightly different usage.

něj / něho – genitive (and also accusative in some contexts)
- bez něj / bez něho – without him/it
- bojím se ho / bojím se jeho – I am afraid of him
něm – locative
- mluvíme o něm – we are speaking about him

In your sentence:

bez něj – correct (genitive after bez)
bez něho – also grammatically correct, more emphatic/longer form
bez něm – wrong, because bez does not take locative.

Can the pronoun něj refer to something that is not a person?

Yes. něj comes from on, which is used for:

masculine animate (he) – a man, a boy, a male animal
masculine inanimate (it) – a table, a car, etc., if they are grammatically masculine

So bez něj can mean:

without him – e.g. without my grandfather
without it – e.g. without the soup, without the medicine
(as long as the noun is grammatically masculine in Czech)

The actual referent must be clear from context or a previous sentence.

Can I leave out moje and just say Babička nechce jíst oběd bez něj?

Yes, that is possible and often natural.

Czech does not need to mark possession as often as English. If context already makes it clear whose grandmother is meant, babička nechce jíst oběd bez něj is fine and common.

With moje: you are explicitly stressing that it is my grandmother.
Without moje: it’s understood from context, or you are talking about “the grandmother” previously mentioned.

Both are grammatically correct.

Can I change the word order, for example: Moje babička nechce bez něj jíst oběd?

Yes, Czech word order is more flexible than English. These are all possible:

Moje babička nechce jíst oběd bez něj.
Neutral: focus on the whole fact; bez něj feels like additional info at the end.
Moje babička nechce bez něj jíst oběd.
Slight emphasis on bez něj (the “without him/it” condition).
Moje babička bez něj nechce jíst oběd.
Stronger emphasis on bez něj: the “without him/it” is very important.
Bez něj moje babička nechce jíst oběd.
You start with bez něj, so that is what you highlight first.

All are grammatically correct; the differences are mostly in emphasis and style, not meaning.

Could I say Moje babička nechce obědvat bez něj instead of nechce jíst oběd?

Yes, that is a natural alternative:

jíst oběd – literally to eat lunch
obědvat – to have lunch / to eat lunch as a single verb

So:

Moje babička nechce obědvat bez něj. – My grandmother doesn’t want to have lunch without him/it.

Both versions are correct. obědvat is a bit more compact and common in everyday speech when specifically talking about meals (similarly: snídat = have breakfast, večeřet = have dinner).

Why is it nechce (present) even if in English I might say “won’t eat lunch without him”?

Czech present tense nechce can correspond to both:

English does not want (present)
English will not want / won’t in a future context

Which English tense you choose depends on context, not on a different Czech form. For example:

Moje babička nechce jíst oběd bez něj.
– She does not want to eat lunch without him (now / generally).
In a future context:
- Zítra moje babička nechce jíst oběd bez něj.
  – Tomorrow my grandmother won’t want to eat lunch without him.

Czech often uses the present tense where English uses will.

Is babička always feminine? What if I talk about a grandfather?

Yes, babička is feminine and means grandmother.

For grandfather, you use:

dědeček (standard, common)
colloquially also děda

So:

Moje babička nechce jíst oběd bez něj. – My grandmother does not want to eat lunch without him.
Můj dědeček nechce jíst oběd bez ní. – My grandfather does not want to eat lunch without her.

Notice:

moje babička (feminine)
můj dědeček (masculine)
and the pronouns bez něj (without him) / bez ní (without her) change accordingly.