Breakdown of Kolor dywanu, który wybierzemy, powinien pasować do kanapy.
do
to
my
we
powinien
should
dywan
the carpet
który
that
kolor
the colour
kanapa
the sofa
wybrać
to choose
pasować
to match
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Questions & Answers about Kolor dywanu, który wybierzemy, powinien pasować do kanapy.
Why is dywanu used instead of dywan?
In Polish, to express “the color of the rug,” you need the genitive case after kolor. The structure is kolor (czego?) dywanu, so dywanu is the genitive singular of dywan.
Why is kanapy in the genitive case after do?
The preposition do always takes the genitive case in Polish. When you say “match the sofa,” it’s pasować do kanapy, with kanapy being the genitive singular of kanapa.
Which word does the relative pronoun który refer to?
It refers to kolor (the head noun), not dywanu. In Polish, relative pronouns agree with the main noun they modify. Here “kolor, który wybierzemy” means “the color that we will choose.”
Why isn’t który inflected differently to match its role in the clause?
In this sentence, który acts as the direct object of wybierzemy. For masculine inanimate nouns, the nominative and accusative forms are identical (both który), so you don’t see a different ending.
Why are there commas around the clause który wybierzemy?
Commas set off a relative (subordinate) clause. In Polish, you place a comma before and after a non-restrictive or extra descriptive relative clause. It signals that this clause gives additional information about “kolor.”
Could you use jaki instead of który here?
Yes. Jaki is often interchangeable with który in relative clauses:
Kolor dywanu, jaki wybierzemy, powinien pasować do kanapy.
Both versions mean “the color that we choose.”
Can you replace the relative clause with an adjective?
Yes. A more compact version is:
Kolor wybranego dywanu powinien pasować do kanapy.
Here wybranego (“chosen”) is a past-participle adjective modifying dywanu.
What does pasować do literally mean, and how is pasować used?
Pasować means “to fit,” “to suit,” or “to match.” It’s used intransitively with do + genitive to show compatibility:
Coś pasuje do czegoś = “Something matches something.”
In the sentence, pasować appears in the third person singular present tense with powinien: “powinien pasować” = “should match.”
Why is powinien used instead of musi?
Powinien translates as “should” or “ought to,” expressing a recommendation. Musi means “must” or “has to,” which is stronger. Here, powinien softens the statement: “the color should match,” not “the color must match.”