Pes v noci štěká.

Pes is in the nominative case, which is the case used for the subject of the sentence — the one doing the action.

Here, the dog is the one barking, so Czech uses pes.

• pes = nominative singular
• psa = usually accusative or genitive singular

So in Pes v noci štěká, pes is correct because the dog is the subject.

After the preposition v in the meaning in / at, Czech often uses the locative case.

The noun noc changes in the locative singular:

• nominative: noc
• locative: noci

So:

• v noci = at night / in the night

This is a very common pattern:

• v Praze = in Prague
• v domě = in the house
• v noci = at night

In normal English translation, v noci usually means at night.

Word-for-word, it looks more like in the night, but the natural meaning in this sentence is simply at night.

So:

• Pes v noci štěká. = The dog barks at night.

Depending on context, it can suggest either:

• a habitual action: the dog barks at night
• an action happening now / around now: the dog is barking at night

Štěká is the 3rd person singular present tense of the verb štěkat (to bark).

That means it matches:

• on / ona / ono štěká = he / she / it barks

Since pes is singular, štěká is singular too.

A few forms:

• štěkám = I bark
• štěkáš = you bark
• štěká = he/she/it barks
• štěkáme = we bark
• štěkáte = you (plural/formal) bark
• štěkají = they bark

It can mean both, depending on context.

Czech present tense with an imperfective verb like štěkat can express:

• a general/habitual action: The dog barks at night
• an action happening right now: The dog is barking

Without extra context, many learners should understand Pes v noci štěká as a general statement: the dog barks at night.

Czech has no articles like English a or the.

So pes can mean:

• a dog
• the dog

You understand which one is meant from context.

That is why Pes v noci štěká can translate as:

• A dog barks at night
• The dog barks at night

In many learning examples, it is often translated with the if a specific dog is being talked about.

Yes. Czech word order is much more flexible than English word order.

The basic sentence is:

• Pes v noci štěká.

But you can also say:

• V noci pes štěká.
• Štěká pes v noci? (as a question, depending on intonation and punctuation)

The core meaning stays similar because the cases help show the grammatical roles. However, changing the order can change emphasis:

• Pes v noci štěká. → neutral
• V noci pes štěká. → emphasizes at night
• Štěká pes v noci? → question, or unusual emphasis

A rough guide is:

• ště sounds approximately like shtye
• ká has a long á, so that syllable is longer

So štěká is roughly:

SHTYE-kaa

A few pronunciation notes:

• š = English sh
• tě is not exactly tye, but that is a helpful approximation for beginners
• á is a long a

Stress in Czech is normally on the first syllable, so:

• ŠTĚ-ká

Noc means night and it is a feminine noun.

Its singular forms include:

• nominative: noc
• genitive: noci
• dative: noci
• accusative: noc
• vocative: noci
• locative: noci
• instrumental: nocí

That is why after v, you get v noci.

In everyday Czech, pes usually means dog in general, even if the dog’s sex is not important.

If you want to specify a female dog, Czech has:

• fena = female dog, bitch

So:

• pes = dog (general/common word)
• fena = female dog

In many sentences, pes is just the normal dictionary word learners first meet for dog.

You add ne- to the verb:

• Pes v noci neštěká.

This means:

• The dog does not bark at night.

This is very common in Czech:

• štěká = barks
• neštěká = does not bark

The easiest way is usually just intonation in speech, or a question mark in writing:

• Pes v noci štěká?

This means:

• Does the dog bark at night? or
• Is the dog barking at night?

You can also change word order for emphasis:

• Štěká pes v noci?

But for beginners, simply keeping the same word order and using question intonation is perfectly fine.