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Mam większy apetyt niż wczoraj.

Mam większy apetyt niż wczoraj.
I have a greater appetite than yesterday.
FromLesson 50inHardcore Polish

Questions & Answers about Mam większy apetyt niż wczoraj.

Why is there no ja in this sentence?
Because mam already means I have. In Polish, the verb ending usually tells you who the subject is, so the pronoun ja is often omitted. You would add ja only for emphasis or contrast, for example: Ja mam większy apetyt, a on nie.
What does większy mean here?
Większy means bigger or greater. It is the comparative form used here to say that the appetite is greater than it was yesterday. In Polish, this is the normal way to express this idea.
Is większy the comparative of duży or wielki?
Yes. Większy is the comparative form associated with both duży and wielki. In this sentence, you do not need to worry too much about which basic adjective it comes from; the important point is that większy apetyt means a bigger / greater appetite.
Why is it większy, not większa or większe?
Because większy has to agree with apetyt. The noun apetyt is masculine singular, so the adjective also takes the masculine singular form: większy.
Why doesn’t apetyt change after mam?

Grammatically, mieć takes the accusative case. But apetyt is a masculine inanimate noun, and in the singular its accusative form looks exactly the same as its nominative form. So:

  • nominative: apetyt
  • accusative: apetyt

So the case is accusative here, even though the word does not visibly change.

Why is it większy apetyt and not lepszy apetyt?

If you mean more appetite / a bigger appetite, the normal Polish expression is większy apetyt.
Lepszy apetyt is not the usual choice here. It would sound odd in most contexts, because lepszy means better, not greater.

What does niż mean?
Niż means than in comparisons. So większy niż wczoraj means greater than yesterday.
Why not use od instead of niż?

With wczoraj, niż is the natural choice.
If you say od wczoraj, that usually means since yesterday, not than yesterday.

So:

  • niż wczoraj = than yesterday
  • od wczoraj = since yesterday

That is why Mam większy apetyt niż wczoraj is correct for this meaning.

Why does wczoraj not change its form?
Because wczoraj is an adverb, not a noun. It means yesterday, and adverbs usually do not change for case, gender, or number.
Is something omitted after niż wczoraj?

Yes, you can think of the full idea as:

Mam większy apetyt niż miałem wczoraj.

In English, that would be I have a bigger appetite than I had yesterday. Polish often leaves out repeated words when the meaning is already clear.

Is the word order fixed?

Not completely. Polish word order is fairly flexible, but Mam większy apetyt niż wczoraj is the most neutral and natural order.

You can move words around for emphasis, but then the sentence may sound more marked. For example:

  • Dziś mam większy apetyt niż wczoraj = very natural if you want to stress today
  • Większy apetyt mam niż wczoraj = possible, but more emphatic or stylistically marked
Why is there no article, like a or the?
Because Polish has no articles. There is no direct equivalent of a, an, or the in ordinary Polish grammar. The meaning is understood from context.
Can apetyt be figurative, or is it only about food?
It can be figurative, but in this sentence the most natural reading is the literal one: hunger or desire to eat. In other contexts, apetyt can also mean something like desire or appetite for something, especially in phrases like mieć apetyt na coś.
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