Breakdown of Na tym monitorze lepiej widać małe litery niż na telefonie.
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Questions & Answers about Na tym monitorze lepiej widać małe litery niż na telefonie.
Why is it na tym monitorze and na telefonie, not w tym monitorze and w telefonie?
With screens and display devices, Polish often uses na where English uses on:
- na monitorze = on the monitor / on the screen
- na telefonie = on the phone
This is about what appears on the surface/display of the device, not inside it physically.
By contrast, w usually means in or inside. So w monitorze would sound like inside the monitor, which is not the intended idea here.
Why does monitor change to monitorze after na?
Because na here requires the locative case when it answers a question like where?
So:
- monitor → na monitorze
- telefon → na telefonie
The adjective/pronoun also changes:
- ten monitor → na tym monitorze
This is a normal case pattern in Polish:
- na + locative for location
So na tym monitorze means on this monitor.
Why is it tym, not ten?