Nasze mieszkanie ma mały ogród, w którym rośnie mięta.

Our apartment has a small garden in which mint grows.

Breakdown of Nasze mieszkanie ma mały ogród, w którym rośnie mięta.

• mieć: to have
• mały: small
• w: in
• nasz: our

Questions & Answers about Nasze mieszkanie ma mały ogród, w którym rośnie mięta.

Why is nasze used instead of nasz?

Possessive adjectives in Polish agree with the noun’s gender, number, and case.

• mieszkanie is neuter singular.
• The neuter form of nasz is nasze.
  If the noun were masculine you’d say nasz dom, if feminine nasza kawa, etc.

Why do we say ma instead of jest?

Polish expresses possession with the verb mieć (“to have”).

• Nasze mieszkanie ma ogród literally means “Our apartment has a garden.”
  Using jest would force a different construction with the instrumental case—e.g. Nasze mieszkanie jest z małym ogrodem—which is grammatical but far less idiomatic.

Why does ogród remain unchanged after ma? Shouldn’t it change case?

The verb mieć takes a direct object in the accusative case.

• For masculine inanimate nouns like ogród, the accusative form is identical to the nominative: ogród.
  Thus you keep the same form even though it’s the object of the verb.

Why is the adjective mały used, and why not małe or mała?