Šéf říká sekretářce, že dnešní porada začne v půl desáté.

Because říkat takes the person you speak to in the dative case:

• říkat komu = to say/tell to someone

So:

• sekretářka = secretary (dictionary form, nominative)
• sekretářce = to the secretary (dative singular)

The ending change from -ka to -ce is a normal declension pattern for many feminine nouns.

So Šéf říká sekretářce... means The boss is telling the secretary...

Because the boss is speaking now. Czech uses the present tense here just like English can use says or is telling.

A key difference from English is that Czech does not have a separate mandatory progressive form like is saying or is telling. The simple present říká can cover both:

• says
• is saying
• is telling

The exact nuance depends on context.

Because začne comes from the perfective verb začít = to begin/start (as a completed event).

In Czech, perfective verbs do not normally have a present meaning. Their present-looking forms usually refer to the future:

• začne = will begin

By contrast:

• začíná = begins / is beginning / starts from the imperfective začínat

For a one-time future event like a meeting starting, začne is the natural choice.

Že introduces a clause meaning that:

• Šéf říká sekretářce, že... = The boss tells the secretary that...

In English, that is often optional:

• He says (that) the meeting starts at 9:30.

In Czech, že is usually not omitted in this kind of sentence. So it is much more standard to keep it.

Because Czech normally puts a comma before a subordinate clause, and že introduces one.

So:

• Šéf říká sekretářce, že dnešní porada začne v půl desáté.

This comma is standard Czech punctuation. Czech uses commas before subordinate clauses more consistently than English does.

It means at half past nine, that is, 9:30.

Literally, Czech thinks of it as half of the tenth hour. So it counts toward the next hour, not the previous one.

Examples:

• v půl deváté = 8:30
• v půl desáté = 9:30
• v půl jedenácté = 10:30

This often surprises English speakers, but it is completely normal in Czech.

Because this time expression uses the next hour in a special form.

Here desáté means something like of the tenth [hour]. So:

• půl desáté = half of the tenth hour = 9:30

You do not need to analyze it too deeply every time; it is best learned as a common time-telling pattern:

• půl + next hour

So just remember:

• půl desáté = 9:30, not 10:30

Not completely. Czech word order is more flexible than English because the cases help show what each word is doing.

The given sentence is a natural, neutral order:

• Šéf říká sekretářce, že dnešní porada začne v půl desáté.

But other orders are possible for emphasis, for example:

• Sekretářce šéf říká, že dnešní porada začne v půl desáté.
  Emphasizes to the secretary.

• Šéf říká, že dnešní porada začne v půl desáté, sekretářce.
  Grammatically possible in some contexts, but much less natural here.

So the original version is a good neutral model.

Dnešní means today’s or for today.

It is an adjective modifying porada:

• dnešní = today’s
• porada = meeting / briefing / consultation

So dnešní porada = today’s meeting

This is the normal Czech way to say it: the adjective usually comes before the noun.

A few useful points:

• š sounds like English sh

  • šéf ≈ shef

• ř has no exact English equivalent
  It is one of the hardest Czech sounds. A rough learner approximation is something between r and zh.

• Long vowels are marked with an accent:

  • říká: long í and long á
  • půl: long ů

• Czech stress is usually on the first syllable of each word:

  • ŠÉF
  • ŘÍ-ká
  • SE-kre-tář-ce
  • DNEŠ-ní
  • PO-ra-da
  • ZAČ-ne
  • PŮL
  • DE-sá-té

So even if ř is difficult, getting the first-syllable stress and vowel length right will already make your Czech sound much better.