Questions & Answers about Gdybym miał mięso, karmiłbym to kocisko.
How does kot turn into the augmentative kocisko?
We use the suffix -isko to create this augmentative. Because kot ends in the hard consonant t, a consonant mutation happens where the t softens to a c before the suffix, resulting in kocisko. This suffix adds an emotional tone that can be affectionately clumsy (like 'big old cat') or slightly pejorative.
Why does the sentence use the neuter pronoun to for a cat, instead of the masculine ten?
When you add the suffix -isko or -sko to create an augmentative, the new word becomes grammatically neuter, regardless of the original noun's gender. So even though kot is a masculine noun, the augmentative kocisko is neuter and requires the neuter pronoun to.
What case is to kocisko in, and how does it compare to using the regular word for cat?
It is in the accusative case because it is the direct object of the verb karmić (to feed). Since kocisko is neuter, its accusative form is exactly the same as its nominative form. If you used the base word instead, you would need the masculine animate accusative form: karmiłbym tego kota.
Why is the conditional ending -bym attached to gdy in the first clause, but to the verb karmił in the second?