Breakdown of W torbie trzyma bilet na lot o północy.
w
in
trzymać
to keep
na
for
bilet
the ticket
torba
the bag
lot
the flight
o północy
at midnight
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Questions & Answers about W torbie trzyma bilet na lot o północy.
Why is w torbie using the locative case?
The preposition w meaning in requires the locative to indicate where something is. The noun torba (bag) changes to torbie in the locative singular.
Why is bilet not marked differently in the accusative?
Bilet is the direct object of trzyma (to hold), so it’s in the accusative. However, for inanimate masculine nouns like bilet, the accusative singular is identical to the nominative, which is why you don’t see a visible change.
Who is holding the ticket? There’s no subject pronoun—how do we know?
In Polish you often omit subject pronouns because verb endings carry that information. Trzyma is third-person singular, but it doesn’t distinguish gender (it could be on, ona or ono). Context would tell you who.
Why is na used in bilet na lot? Couldn’t you say bilet do lotu or something else?
To express “ticket for a flight,” Polish uses bilet na plus the accusative. Bilet do lotu is grammatical but less idiomatic; you’d usually hear bilet na lot or simply bilet lotniczy for “airline ticket.”
Why is o północy used for “at midnight” instead of w północy or na północ?
When specifying a clock time (o której godzinie), Polish uses o plus the locative: o szóstej, o północy. W nocy would mean “during the night,” not exactly at midnight.
Could I rearrange the word order, for example put trzyma first?
Yes. Polish word order is quite flexible thanks to cases. You could say Trzyma w torbie bilet na lot o północy, Bilet na lot o północy trzyma w torbie, etc. The original order is neutral and clear.
Why aren’t there any words for “a” or “the” before bilet or lot?
Polish doesn’t use articles. Definiteness (a vs. the) is understood from context or additional words (like demonstratives ten, jakiś).
Could I use ma instead of trzyma—like ma bilet w torbie?
Yes, ma means “has” or “owns” and is very common. Trzyma (“holds, keeps”) emphasizes the physical act of holding. So ma bilet w torbie focuses on possession, while trzyma bilet w torbie highlights that it’s literally being held or kept there.