Word
Ona daje jej stary przepis na zupę dyniową.
Meaning
She gives her an old recipe for pumpkin soup.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
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Questions & Answers about Ona daje jej stary przepis na zupę dyniową.
Why is ona included in this sentence? Aren’t subject pronouns optional in Polish?
In Polish, verb endings already indicate person and number, so subject pronouns are often dropped. Ona is included here for emphasis, contrast, or clarity (for example, to stress that she, and not someone else, is doing the giving). Without it, daje jej stary przepis na zupę dyniową still means “She gives her an old pumpkin soup recipe,” but sounds less explicit.
What case is jej, and why is it used here?
jej is the dative form of the pronoun ona, meaning to her. Polish uses the dative for the indirect object (the person receiving something). The verb dawać (imperfective “to give”) requires a dative for the recipient and an accusative for the thing given.
Why doesn’t stary przepis change in the accusative? Shouldn’t there be an ending like starego przepisu?
przepis is a masculine inanimate noun. In Polish, masculine inanimate nouns have identical forms in nominative and accusative. Their adjectives also keep the nominative ending. That’s why stary przepis remains stary przepis in the accusative.
Why is zupa in the accusative form zupę in na zupę dyniową?