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Questions & Answers about Nawet dzieci lubią herbatę.
What does nawet mean in this context, and how does it affect the sentence?
nawet is an adverb meaning even. It highlights the word it directly precedes (here dzieci), so the sentence reads “Even children like tea,” implying that it’s somewhat surprising that children, of all people, like tea.
Why is dzieci in this form, and not something like dzieciom or dziecko?
dzieci is the plural nominative of dziecko (“child”). Since dzieci is the subject of lubią (“they like”), it must be in the nominative. dzieciom would be dative (“to/for the children”), and dziecko is the singular form.
Why is herbatę used instead of herbata?
herbatę is the singular accusative of herbata (“tea”). The verb lubić (“to like”) requires a direct object in the accusative case. Feminine nouns like herbata typically take -ę in the accusative singular.
Where do you put the stress in herbata and nawet?
Polish words are generally stressed on the penultimate (second-to-last) syllable. So it’s her-BA-ta and NA-wet.
How do you pronounce the ending ą in lubią?
The letter ą is a nasal vowel similar to French on. In lubią, it comes after i, so you get a slight /j/ glide before the nasal sound. Phonetically it’s [lʊˈbjɔ̃], roughly “loo-BYAW̃.”
Why isn’t there an explicit pronoun like oni (“they”) before lubią?
Polish often drops subject pronouns because the verb ending indicates person and number. lubią is unmistakably 3rd person plural (“they like”), so adding oni would be redundant unless you want extra emphasis.
Is the word order flexible? Could I say Dzieci nawet lubią herbatę or Herbatę lubią nawet dzieci?
Yes. Polish has relatively flexible word order. You can shift nawet or the noun to change the focus:
- Dzieci nawet lubią herbatę (Children even like tea – stressing that liking tea is unexpected).
- Herbatę lubią nawet dzieci (Even children like tea – focusing on tea as the item that even children enjoy).
The basic Nawet dzieci lubią herbatę remains the most neutral.
How does moving nawet change what you emphasize?
nawet always emphasizes the word it stands next to:
- Nawet dzieci lubią herbatę. → “Even children like tea.” (surprised that children like it)
- Dzieci nawet lubią herbatę. → “Children even like tea.” (in addition to other things, they like tea too)
- Dzieci lubią nawet herbatę. → “Children like even tea.” (among various drinks, they even like tea)