Learn Hardcore Czech: Moje babička se nedívá na seriály, ale má ráda večerní zprávy v televizi. - My grandmother doesn’t watch series, but she likes the evening news on TV.

✅ Moje babička se nedívá na seriály.
✅ Nedívá se na seriály. (if you start with the verb)
In this second sentence, nedívá is the first element, so se comes second: nedívá se.

Both se nedívá and nedívá se are possible depending on what stands at the beginning of the sentence, but se should follow the first stressed element.

Why do we say na seriály? Why the preposition na?

With the verb dívat se, Czech normally uses:

dívat se na něco / někoho = to look at / watch something or someone

So you say:

dívám se na film – I’m watching a film
díváš se na televizi – You are watching TV
nedívá se na seriály – She doesn’t watch series

na here takes the accusative case:

singular: (na) seriál
plural: (na) seriály

You cannot replace na with another preposition in this structure; dívat se na is a fixed pattern.

Why is seriály plural? Could I say nedívá se na seriál?

seriál = a (TV) series,
seriály = (TV) series in general, plural.

In your sentence, the idea is “she doesn’t watch series (as a type of program)”, so plural fits well:

nedívá se na seriály = she doesn’t watch TV series (in general).

You can say:

nedívá se na ten seriál = she doesn’t watch that (particular) series.

So singular is possible, but it would refer to one specific show.

How does má ráda express “likes”? Why not use a single verb like in English?

Czech usually expresses “to like (a thing/activity/person)” with the phrase:

mít rád (for men: rád)
mít ráda (for women: ráda)
mít rádi (for a mixed or plural group)

Literally it means “to have [something] gladly”, but idiomatically it means “to like”.

So:

Má ráda večerní zprávy. = She likes the evening news.
Mám rád seriály. (a man speaking)
Mám ráda seriály. (a woman speaking)

Czech does have verbs like líbit se (“to be pleasing to”), but their structure is different and they’re more often used for people’s impressions, first reactions, etc. For a simple, neutral “like”, mít rád / ráda is the most common.

Why is it má ráda and not má rád, when we are talking about zprávy which are feminine plural?

The form rád / ráda / rádi agrees with the subject of the sentence, not with the object.

Subject: Moje babička → feminine singular
Object: večerní zprávy → feminine plural

Because babička is feminine, we use:

Moje babička má ráda večerní zprávy.

If the subject were masculine:

Můj dědeček má rád večerní zprávy. (grandfather – masculine singular)

So the gender of rád / ráda / rádi is controlled by who is doing the liking, not by what they like.

Why is it moje babička and not můj babička?

Possessive adjectives můj / moje / moji… must agree with the noun in gender, number and case.

babička is feminine singular, nominative.
The corresponding form of můj is moje (or colloquial má).

So:

✅ Moje babička
❌ Můj babička

For comparison:

Můj dědeček (my grandfather – masculine)
Moje máma (my mom – feminine)
Moje auto (my car – neuter)

Why is it večerní zprávy, literally “evening news” in the plural? In English, news is uncountable.

In Czech, zpráva means “message, piece of news, report”.

singular: zpráva
plural: zprávy

The TV news program is normally called zprávy in the plural, because it’s understood as “(a set of) news items”.

večerní zprávy = the evening news (program)

So while English uses an uncountable noun news, Czech treats it as a countable plural zprávy in this context.

What exactly does večerní mean? Is it evening or night?

večerní is an adjective from večer (evening). It means:

evening, in the evening

So:

večerní zprávy = the evening news
večerní program = evening program/schedule
večerní škola = evening school

It refers to the part of the day after late afternoon, roughly the same “evening” as in English.

Why is it v televizi and not na televizi for “on TV”?

In this context:

v televizi literally = in the television
Idiomatic meaning: “on TV (as a medium)”

You say:

dávat něco v televizi = to show something on TV
dívat se na něco v televizi = to watch something on TV

na televizi would literally mean “on the TV set” (physically on top of it), not “on television as a medium”.

So:

✅ večerní zprávy v televizi = the evening news on TV.

How is negation formed in nedívá? Is it always with ne-?

Yes, standard verbal negation in Czech is usually formed by adding the prefix ne- to the verb:

dívá se → nedívá se
má → nemá
rozumím → nerozumím
chci → nechci

In your sentence:

se dívá na seriály → se nedívá na seriály

The ne- goes directly before the verb stem; the reflexive se does not carry the negation.

Can I change the word order and say: Moje babička má ráda večerní zprávy v televizi, ale nedívá se na seriály?

Yes. That version is also correct and natural:

Moje babička má ráda večerní zprávy v televizi, ale nedívá se na seriály.

Czech word order is relatively flexible. Both orders:

se nedívá na seriály, ale má ráda večerní zprávy v televizi
má ráda večerní zprávy v televizi, ale nedívá se na seriály

are fine; they just emphasize slightly different parts. Often, the more “important” or “new” information is placed later in the sentence.

How do you pronounce difficult sounds here, especially ř in večerní?

Key points:

Moje – o like in more (but shorter), j like y in yes: MO-ye.
babička – stress on the first syllable: BA-bi-chka; č like ch in church.
nedívá – í is long ee, á is long aa: ne-DEE-vah.
seriály – e as in pet, á long aa: se-reE-aa-lee.
večerní – stress on ve; č = ch in church; ř is a special Czech sound between r and zh. Roughly, vibrate your tongue as for r while saying zh: VE-cher-zhnee (approximation).
zprávy – zp pronounced together; á long; v like English v: ZPRAA-vee.
televizi – te-le-VI-zi (all short vowels, stress on te).

Only ř is really unique; it takes time and practice for learners.