Breakdown of To młode małżeństwo kupiło duży dom.
to
this
dom
house
duży
big
młody
young
kupić
to buy (perfective)
małżeństwo
marriage
Questions & Answers about To młode małżeństwo kupiło duży dom.
How does the suffix -stwo attach to the root word to create małżeństwo?
The root word is małżonek (spouse). To add the -stwo suffix, the noun ending -ek drops, and the consonant n softens to ń, which shifts the vowel sound to give us małżeństwo. As you learned in this lesson, -stwo can create abstract nouns (marriage) or, as in this sentence, collective nouns (a married couple).
Since a couple consists of two people, why are To, młode, and kupiło all in the singular form?
Polish grammar requires strict agreement based on grammatical gender and number, not logical meaning. Because małżeństwo is a singular neuter noun, the demonstrative pronoun (To), the adjective (młode), and the past tense verb (kupiło) must all take singular neuter endings. You cannot use plural verbs with singular collective nouns like you sometimes can in English.
Can collective nouns ending in -stwo be pluralized? How would I say 'two young couples'?
Yes, they can be pluralized if the meaning allows for it. Nouns ending in -stwo decline like standard neuter nouns, which take an -a ending in the nominative plural. Therefore, 'two young couples' would be dwa młode małżeństwa.
Why does the direct object duży dom look like it is in the nominative case?
It is actually in the accusative case because it is the target of the action kupiło. However, because dom is a masculine inanimate noun, its accusative form is identical to its nominative form. The adjective duży simply follows this same inanimate rule.
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