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Questions & Answers about Piję szklankę wody.
Why is wody in the Genitive case here?
In Polish, when you talk about a container and its contents, the substance inside takes the Genitive case. Just like in English we say a glass of water, Polish uses the Genitive wody to show what the glass is full of.
Why do szklankę and wody use different cases if they are both part of what I am drinking?
The direct object of the verb pić (to drink) is actually the glass itself, which is why szklankę takes the Accusative case. The water is simply describing the contents of the glass, so wody stays in the Genitive case regardless of what the rest of the sentence is doing.
Why use szklankę instead of another word for glass, like kieliszek?
In Polish, words for containers are very specific based on their use. Szklanka is a typical drinking glass used for non-alcoholic beverages like water, juice, or tea. Kieliszek is strictly a stemmed glass used for alcohol, like wine or vodka.
If I wanted to say 'I will drink a glass of water', would I use a form of piję?
You would need to change the verb aspect. Piję is an imperfective verb, used here for an ongoing action (I am drinking right now). To say 'I will drink' meaning you will complete the action of drinking the whole glass, you need the perfective future tense: Wypiję szklankę wody.