Questions & Answers about Mam prawo jazdy od dwóch lat.
Why does the Polish sentence use the present tense mam when the English translation says "have had"?
In Polish, if an action or state started in the past and is still continuing right now, you use the present tense. Because you still have your driving licence today, Polish simply expresses this as "I have it since two years ago" (Mam ... od...).
Why is od used here to mean "for"? Doesn't od mean "from" or "since"?
Yes, od literally means "from" or "since". However, when talking about an ongoing state, Polish doesn't distinguish between "for two years" and "since two years ago". You always use od to express how long something has been happening up to the present. Never use dla (which means "for" a person) or przez (which means "for" a duration of a completed action) in this context.
Why is it dwóch lat instead of dwa lata?
The preposition od always requires the genitive case. The genitive form of the number dwa (two) is dwóch. Additionally, the word for "years" (lata) has an irregular genitive plural form: lat. Together, dwa lata becomes dwóch lat.
Literally, what does prawo jazdy mean, and how do you change its endings in different sentences?
It literally translates to "the right of driving". Prawo means "right" or "law", and jazdy is already in the genitive case (from jazda, meaning a ride or driving). Because jazdy is just a descriptive add-on, only the first word changes when the grammatical case changes. For example, "I don't have a driving licence" (which requires the genitive) is Nie mam prawa jazdy.
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