Questions & Answers about Czy masz przy sobie klucze?
What does czy do at the beginning of the sentence?
Czy is a question particle. It often introduces a yes/no question, a bit like English do/does in questions.
So:
- Masz przy sobie klucze. = You have the keys with you.
- Czy masz przy sobie klucze? = Do you have the keys with you?
In everyday speech, Polish often drops czy and just uses intonation:
- Masz przy sobie klucze?
That is also completely natural.
What does masz mean exactly?
Masz is the 2nd person singular form of mieć = to have.
It means you have when speaking to one person informally.
Examples:
- mam = I have
- masz = you have
- ma = he/she/it has
- mamy = we have
- macie = you have (plural or formal to more than one person)
- mają = they have
So this sentence is addressed to one person in an informal way.
Why isn’t there a separate word for you, like ty?