Learn Hardcore Czech: Moje babička nechce zůstávat doma sama. - My grandmother does not want to stay at home alone.

moje babička – the most common, neutral, everyday form in modern Czech.
má babička – a bit shorter, more formal or stylistic; feels a little literary/poetic or “elevated” in many contexts.

If you’re unsure, use moje babička. You will never sound wrong or strange with that.

Could I just say Babička nechce zůstávat doma sama without moje? Would it still mean “my grandmother”?

Yes, you can say Babička nechce zůstávat doma sama.

Czech often drops possessive pronouns (moje, tvůj, jeho, etc.) when it’s clear whose relative you’re talking about from context.

If you’re talking about your own family, Babička… will naturally be understood as “my grandma”.
You add Moje babička… when:
- you want to contrast (e.g. Moje babička nechce…, ale tvoje chce.), or
- the context is not clear whose grandmother is meant.

Why is it nechce zůstávat and not nechce zůstat? What is the difference?

Czech has aspect:

zůstávat – imperfective (ongoing, repeated, habitual action)
zůstat – perfective (a single, complete event)

In this sentence:

nechce zůstávat doma sama = she doesn’t like staying / doesn’t want to be staying at home alone (in general, habitually, repeatedly).
nechce zůstat doma sama = she doesn’t want to stay (this time) at home alone (more about one specific situation or decision).

So the given sentence suggests a general preference, not just a one‑off situation.

How is nechce formed from chtít? What are the main forms I should know?

The infinitive is chtít = to want. It’s irregular.
Present tense (affirmative):

já chci
ty chceš
on/ona/ono chce
my chceme
vy chcete
oni chtějí

To make it negative, you normally just add ne‑:

nechci – I don’t want
nechceš – you don’t want
nechce – he/she/it doesn’t want
nechceme, nechcete, nechtějí

In the sentence, nechce is 3rd person singular, matching babička (she doesn’t want).

Could the word order be Moje babička nechce doma zůstávat sama or Moje babička nechce být doma sama? Are these correct, and is there any difference?

Both alternatives are grammatically correct:

Moje babička nechce doma zůstávat sama.
- Perfectly fine.
- Slight change of rhythm and mild emphasis: doma (“at home”) comes earlier, but the meaning is basically the same.
Moje babička nechce být doma sama.
- Uses být (to be) instead of zůstávat (to stay).
- Meaning: “My grandmother doesn’t want to be at home alone.”
- Focus is more on the state of being alone at home, not on the idea of staying behind or remaining there.

Czech word order is quite flexible; neutral basic order is Subject – Verb – (other parts), as in the original. Moving words mainly affects emphasis and flow, not basic meaning.

What exactly does doma mean, and how is it different from domů or v domě?

All three relate to “home” or “house”, but:

doma – “at home”, location, no movement.
- Moje babička je doma. – My grandmother is at home.
domů – “(to) home”, direction towards home.
- Moje babička jde domů. – My grandmother is going home.
v domě – “in the house”, more literally inside the building (not necessarily “her home”).
- Moje babička je v domě. – My grandmother is in the house.

In the sentence …zůstávat doma, doma is correct because it describes being at home, not going there.

Why is it sama and not sám? How does this word agree with the subject?

Sám / sama / samo / sami / samy mean “alone, by oneself” and must agree in gender and number with the subject:

sám – masculine singular (e.g. On je sám. – He is alone.)
sama – feminine singular (e.g. Ona je sama. – She is alone.)
samo – neuter singular
sami – masculine animate plural
samy – feminine or neuter plural

Because babička is feminine singular, we use sama:

Moje babička … sama. – My grandmother … alone.

What are the genders and cases of the words in Moje babička nechce zůstávat doma sama?

Breaking it down:

Moje – possessive pronoun, feminine singular nominative, agreeing with babička.
babička – noun, feminine singular nominative (subject).
nechce – verb, 3rd person singular present.
zůstávat – verb, infinitive.
doma – adverb (not declined; no case here).
sama – pronominal adjective form, feminine singular nominative, referring back to babička.

So, the core noun phrase Moje babička is in the nominative as the subject.

Is babička a diminutive, and is there a more “neutral” word for grandmother?

Yes, babička is originally a diminutive of bába, but in modern Czech it’s the standard, neutral word for “grandma / grandmother”.

Other options:

babička – normal, neutral, affectionate; the usual word children and adults use.
bába – very colloquial, often sounds rude or disrespectful unless clearly joking and affectionate in family.
bábi / babi – informal, like “gran / nana”; used in conversation, especially by children.

So for standard Czech, babička is exactly what you want.

How do you pronounce babička, nechce, and zůstávat?

Approximate pronunciation (for English speakers):

babička – [BA-bi-chka]
- ba like “ba” in “bar” (short),
- bi like “bi” in “bit”,
- čka: č is like English “ch” in “church”, k
  - a*; it’s one consonant cluster [t͡ʃk].
nechce – [NEH-tse]
- ch is a voiceless velar fricative (), like the ch in German “Bach” or Scottish “loch”;
- ce is like “tse”.
zůstávat – [ZOO-sta-vat]
- ů is a long “oo” sound; hold it longer: zů ~ “zoo”;
- stress is always on the first syllable in Czech: ZÚ-stá-vat, even though the long vowel is in the first syllable as well.

Czech always stresses the first syllable of each word, which helps with rhythm.