Breakdown of Cena lodówki była niższa w ofercie, którą wczoraj znalazłem.
ja
I
być
to be
w
in
wczoraj
yesterday
znaleźć
to find
który
that
lodówka
the fridge
cena
the price
niższy
lower
oferta
the offer
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Questions & Answers about Cena lodówki była niższa w ofercie, którą wczoraj znalazłem.
Why is lodówki in the genitive case rather than the nominative?
Because in Polish you say cena czego? (“the price of what?”). The noun that follows cena takes the genitive to show possession or relation. So lodówka becomes lodówki in the genitive singular.
Why is the adjective niższa in the feminine singular nominative form?
Adjectives in Polish agree in gender, number, and case with the noun they describe. Cena is a feminine singular noun in the nominative, so the comparative of niski (“low”) becomes niższa to match cena.
Which case does the phrase w ofercie use and why?
The preposition w (“in”) requires the locative case when indicating location or context. Oferta is a feminine noun; its locative singular form is ofercie, hence w ofercie means “in the offer.”
What is którą doing in this sentence, and why is it in the accusative feminine singular?
Którą is a relative pronoun referring back to oferta (which is feminine). It functions as the direct object of znalazłem (“I found”), so it takes the accusative feminine singular form.
Why is the verb znalazłem in the perfective past tense instead of an imperfective form?
Znalazłem comes from the perfective verb znaleźć (“to find” in a completed sense). Because the speaker completed the action of finding the offer yesterday, the perfective past conveys that completion.
Why do we use była (“was”) instead of jest (“is”)?
The sentence refers to how the price stood at the moment the speaker discovered the offer (in the past). Therefore, the past tense of być is needed: była rather than the present jest.
Could wczoraj be placed elsewhere in the relative clause, and would that change the meaning?
Yes. Polish word order is flexible. You could say którą znalazłem wczoraj or even wczoraj, którą znalazłem, without changing the core meaning. Shifting wczoraj only tweaks emphasis or style.
There’s no niż (“than”) clause after niższa. Is that normal?
Yes. In Polish you can omit the explicit niż-phrase if the context makes the comparison clear. Here it’s understood that the price was lower than other prices or lower than usual, so an explicit niż clause isn’t necessary.