Oni mają nowy samochód.

to have

Breakdown of Oni mają nowy samochód.

• oni: they
• nowy: new
• samochód: the car

Questions & Answers about Oni mają nowy samochód.

Why do we use Oni instead of One?

Oni is used for a group of people that includes at least one male (or a mixed group), whereas One is used for a group of all females or sometimes for inanimate objects in certain contexts.

How do I pronounce mają correctly?

Mają is pronounced roughly like MY-own (with the “my” sounding as in “myself,” and ą being a nasal vowel). Try to keep the nasal quality subtle at the end.

What is the grammatical person of mają here?

Mają is the third person plural form of the verb mieć (meaning “to have”). So, it’s used with oni or one (they).

Why is nowy in this form and not something else like nowa or nowe?

The adjective nowy matches the masculine singular noun samochód in gender and number. If the noun were feminine, we’d use nowa, and if it were neuter, we’d use nowe.

Does samochód change form if I talk about multiple cars?

Yes, for the plural we say samochody (e.g., Oni mają nowe samochody – “They have new cars”). The noun ending changes from -ód to -ody for the plural form.