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Questions & Answers about Mam nowy telefon, ale twój telefon jest większy.
Why is there a comma before ale?
In Polish you separate two independent clauses with a comma when they’re joined by ale (but). Here Mam nowy telefon and twój telefon jest większy are both full clauses, so you write:
Mam nowy telefon, ale twój telefon jest większy.
Why doesn’t Polish use an article like a or the in Mam nowy telefon?
Polish has no articles. Whether something is indefinite or definite comes from context or additional words.
- Mam nowy telefon can mean “I have a new phone.”
- If you need “the new phone,” you’d say Mam ten nowy telefon (“I have this new phone”).
What case is telefon in after mam, and why does its form stay telefon?
After mam (1 sg. of mieć, “to have”), telefon is in the accusative case (direct object). Because telefon is a masculine inanimate noun, its accusative form is identical to the nominative, so it remains telefon.
Why is mam not accompanied by ja for “I”?