Learn Hardcore Czech: Dnes mám dobrou zprávu.

The basic dictionary form is dobrá zpráva (good news / a good piece of news) – this is nominative feminine singular.
In Dnes mám dobrou zprávu, the verb mám (I have) takes a direct object:
- Co mám? (What do I have?) → dobrou zprávu
Direct objects go into the accusative:
- feminine -a nouns: zpráva → zprávu
- matching adjective: dobrá → dobrou

So:

Nominative (dictionary form): dobrá zpráva – a good piece of news (as the subject)
Accusative (object): dobrou zprávu – a good piece of news (as something you have, get, hear, etc.)

Why is it zprávu and not zpráva? What does the -u ending mean?

Zpráva is a regular feminine noun ending in -a, and in the accusative singular this -a changes to -u:

Nominative (subject): zpráva
- Ta zpráva je dobrá. – The news is good.
Accusative (direct object): zprávu
- Mám dobrou zprávu. – I have good news.

So the -u tells you this word is being acted on by the verb (it’s the object of mám).

In English we say good news (uncountable). Why is Czech using a singular noun zpráva?

Czech treats zpráva as a normal countable noun:

zpráva – one piece of news, a report, a message
zprávy – news in general, multiple news items, or TV news

When we translate English “I have good news”, we often use the singular in Czech:

Mám dobrou zprávu. – literally I have a good piece of news.

You can use the plural:

Mám dobré zprávy. – I have good news (several pieces of news / more generally positive news).

But for the typical “I have good news (for you)!” announcement, singular (dobrou zprávu) is more natural.

Why is it dobrou and not dobrý or dobrá?

Adjectives in Czech must agree with the noun in:

gender (masculine / feminine / neuter)
number (singular / plural)
case (here: accusative)

Zpráva is:

feminine
singular
accusative (as object)

So dobrý (“good”) has to take the feminine accusative singular form:

Masculine inanimate accusative: dobrý stůl – a good table
Masculine animate accusative: dobrého psa – a good dog
Feminine accusative: dobrou zprávu – good news / a good piece of news
Neuter accusative: dobré auto – a good car

So dobrou is exactly matching zprávu in gender, number and case.

Why is there no word for “a” or “the” in Dnes mám dobrou zprávu?

Czech has no articles at all – there is no direct equivalent of “a/an” or “the”.

Dobrou zprávu can mean:

a good piece of news
the good piece of news
just good news (without specifying)

The context (and sometimes word order or stress) tells you whether you mean something definite or indefinite. So:

Dnes mám dobrou zprávu. can be translated:
- Today I have good news.
- Today I have a piece of good news.
- Today I have the good news.

English must choose an article; Czech simply doesn’t.

Can I move dnes to a different position? For example: Mám dnes dobrou zprávu?

Yes. Czech word order is relatively flexible. All of these are grammatically correct:

Dnes mám dobrou zprávu.
Mám dnes dobrou zprávu.
Mám dobrou zprávu dnes.

Differences:

Dnes mám dobrou zprávu.
Very natural, neutral. Time word dnes often comes first in everyday speech: Today, I have good news.
Mám dnes dobrou zprávu.
Also natural. Slightly more neutral in writing: I have good news today.
Mám dobrou zprávu dnes.
Possible, but sounds a bit marked. It can put extra emphasis on dnes (as if contrasting today with other days).

For a learner, Dnes mám dobrou zprávu or Mám dnes dobrou zprávu are the safest and most natural.

Why don’t we say já mám? How do we know it means “I have”?

Czech usually drops subject pronouns (já, ty, on, etc.) because the verb ending already indicates the subject.

mám = 1st person singular → I have
máš = 2nd person singular → you have
má = 3rd person singular → he/she/it has

So:

Mám dobrou zprávu. – I have good news.
Máš dobrou zprávu. – You have good news.
Má dobrou zprávu. – He/She has good news.

You only say já mám when you really want to emphasize “I”:

Já mám dobrou zprávu. – I have good news (as opposed to someone else).

How is the verb mám conjugated? How do I say you have, we have, etc.?

Mám is the 1st person singular of mít (to have). Present tense conjugation:

já mám – I have
ty máš – you have (singular, informal)
on / ona / ono má – he / she / it has
my máme – we have
vy máte – you have (plural, or formal singular)
oni mají – they have

So you can change the sentence like this:

Ty máš dobrou zprávu. – You have good news.
Ona má dobrou zprávu. – She has good news.
My máme dobrou zprávu. – We have good news.

What is the difference between dnes, dneska, and dnešek?

All relate to “today”, but they’re used differently:

dnes
- Neutral, standard, works in speech and writing.
- Dnes mám dobrou zprávu. – Today I have good news.
dneska
- More colloquial / informal version of dnes.
- Dneska mám dobrou zprávu. – Same meaning, just more casual.
dnešek
- A noun meaning “today” as a day.
- Used in phrases like:
  - Dnešek byl náročný. – Today was hard.
  - Těším se na dnešek. – I’m looking forward to today.

You cannot simply replace dnes with dnešek in this sentence; you’d have to change the structure.

How do you pronounce Dnes mám dobrou zprávu?

Key points:

Stress is always on the first syllable of each word:
DNES MÁM DO-brou ZPRÁ-vu
Long vowels (marked with an accent) are held longer:
- mám – long á
- zprávu – long á
Consonant clusters:
- dnes – pronounced roughly like d-nes, both d and n are heard, but it’s very quick.
- zprávu – zpr is a cluster: z-prá-vu, no extra vowel inserted.

Approximate phonetic guide (not strict IPA):

Dnes – dness
mám – maam (long “a” as in “father”)
dobrou – doh-broh-oo (smooth ou like in “go”)
zprávu – z-praah-voo (with a rolled or tapped r)

How would I say “Today I have very good news” or “some good news”?

You keep the same structure and just add modifiers:

Dnes mám velmi dobrou zprávu.
– Today I have very good news.
(velmi = very, more neutral/formal)
Dnes mám strašně dobrou zprávu.
– Today I have incredibly good news. (colloquial, literally “terribly good news”)
Dnes mám nějakou dobrou zprávu.
– Today I have some good news.
(nějakou = some, some kind of)
Dnes mám jednu dobrou zprávu.
– Today I have one good piece of news. / I have a certain good piece of news today.

The endings change to match zprávu (feminine accusative):

velmi dobrou zprávu
nějakou dobrou zprávu
jednu dobrou zprávu

Does this sentence show the speaker’s gender? Would it change if a woman said it?

In the present tense of mít (mám), there is no gender marking.

A man says: Dnes mám dobrou zprávu.
A woman says: Dnes mám dobrou zprávu.

Exactly the same.

Gender differences appear in the past tense:

Man: Včera jsem měl dobrou zprávu. – Yesterday I had good news.
Woman: Včera jsem měla dobrou zprávu. – Yesterday I had good news.

But in the present (mám), the form is identical for all genders.