Breakdown of Na flecie trudno zagrać tę nutę tak dobrze jak na skrzypcach.
na
on
ta
this
dobrze
well
tak ... jak
as ... as
Questions & Answers about Na flecie trudno zagrać tę nutę tak dobrze jak na skrzypcach.
Why does Polish use na flecie and na skrzypcach for instruments?
Because with many musical instruments, Polish normally uses the pattern grać na + locative.
So:
- grać na flecie = to play the flute
- grać na skrzypcach = to play the violin
This is just the standard idiom. It does not literally mean someone is physically on the instrument.
A few more examples:
- grać na pianinie
- grać na gitarze
- grać na trąbce
So in this sentence, na flecie and na skrzypcach are exactly what you would expect.
Why is it na skrzypcach, not something singular like na skrzypcu?
Because skrzypce is a plural-only noun in Polish. The instrument violin is grammatically plural, even though it refers to one instrument.
That means its forms are plural:
- nominative: skrzypce
- locative after na: na skrzypcach
This is something you simply have to learn with the word. Polish has a few nouns like this.
Why is the word trudno used here, not trudny or trudne?