Breakdown of Ten zegarek jest droższy, ale pokazuje godzinę dokładniej.
być
to be
ale
but
ten
this
drogi
expensive
godzina
the time
zegarek
the watch
pokazywać
to show
dokładnie
accurately
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Questions & Answers about Ten zegarek jest droższy, ale pokazuje godzinę dokładniej.
Why is droższy used instead of drogi?
droższy is the comparative form of the adjective drogi (“expensive”). In Polish, to compare two things you transform the adjective: drogi becomes droższy, meaning “more expensive.” Here you’re comparing this watch to another.
How is dokładniej formed and why isn’t it just dokładnie?
dokładnie means “precisely” or “accurately.” To say “more precisely,” Polish turns the adverb into its comparative form, which usually ends in -ej. So dokładnie → dokładniej, meaning “more precisely” or “more accurately.”
Why is godzinę in the accusative case, and not nominative?
The verb pokazywać (“to show”) takes a direct object in the accusative. godzina (“hour” or “time” as shown on a clock) is feminine, and its accusative singular form is godzinę. That’s why you say pokazuje godzinę.
Is the word order significant in pokazuje godzinę dokładniej? Could I say dokładniej pokazuje godzinę or pokazuje dokładniej godzinę?
Polish word order is flexible. All three—pokazuje godzinę dokładniej, dokładniej pokazuje godzinę, pokazuje dokładniej godzinę—are grammatically correct and mean the same thing. Placing dokładniej at the end slightly emphasizes the manner (“…it shows the time more precisely”), but the overall meaning stays unchanged.
Why is the verb pokazuje in the imperfective aspect? Could I use pokaże instead?
pokazuje is imperfective, used for habitual or ongoing actions (“it shows” as a general function). The perfective pokaże would mean “it will show” (one-time, future action). Since you’re describing a regular feature of the watch—how it generally displays time—you use the imperfective pokazuje.
Could I replace dokładniej with lepiej here?
Yes and no. lepiej means “better” in a broad sense, so pokazuje godzinę lepiej = “it shows the time better.” That’s grammatically fine, but it’s less specific. dokładniej zeroes in on precision (“more precisely/more accurately”), which is probably what you want when talking about a watch’s time-keeping accuracy.