Breakdown of Jakie są zarobki w tej firmie?
być
to be
ten
this (m)
w
in / on (a day)
firma
company
jaki
what kind of, what ... like (asks for an adjective)
zarobki
earnings (plural only)
Questions & Answers about Jakie są zarobki w tej firmie?
Why do we use Jakie (what kind) instead of Ile (how much) or Co (what) here?
In Polish, when asking for the value, size, or description of a noun like zarobki (earnings), you use a form of the adjective jaki. Since zarobki is plural, we use the plural non-masculine-personal form jakie. You couldn't use co (what) because it is a pronoun for things, not descriptions. While you could ask Ile tu płacą? (How much do they pay here?), asking Ile są zarobki? is grammatically incorrect.
Is zarobki always plural? Can I use a singular word for salary?
Zarobki is the plural of zarobek (a single earning or profit), but when talking about a company's general pay, wages, or income levels, Poles almost exclusively use the plural zarobki. If you want to use a singular noun for a specific monthly salary, it is more natural to use pensja or wynagrodzenie.
Why does firma change to firmie in this sentence?
It is in the locative case, which is required by the preposition w when talking about a static location (in the company). For feminine nouns ending in -ma like firma, the ending changes to -mie in the locative. This also softens the m sound.
Why is the word for this tej and not ta or tą?
Because the noun firmie is in the locative case, the word for this must also be in the locative case to match it. Tej is the locative feminine singular form of ta. Tą is the instrumental form, so it would be wrong to use it here after the preposition w.
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