Breakdown of To jest ta wiertarka, co ją dostałem od brata.
to
this
być
to be
ten
this (m)
brat
brother
ją
her
dostać
to get
od
from
co
that, which (relative)
wiertarka
drill
Questions & Answers about To jest ta wiertarka, co ją dostałem od brata.
Why does this sentence use co ją instead of którą?
This is a very common feature of colloquial spoken Polish. Instead of matching the formal relative pronoun który to the feminine accusative noun wiertarka (which would give you którą), everyday speech often uses the unchanging word co paired with a regular personal pronoun.
Doesn't co ją dostałem literally translate to 'what it I got'? Is the ją strictly necessary?
Yes, it literally translates to 'what it I got', and the ją is required. Because co never changes its shape, it can't show whether the drill is the subject or the object. The pronoun ją (feminine accusative) does that job, showing that the drill is the direct object you received.
Can I change the word order and put ją later, like co dostałem od brata ją?
It is much more natural to keep ją right after co. Short pronouns like ją are unstressed and naturally gravitate to the second position in a clause. In these informal constructions, they almost always attach directly to the word co.
Why is the word ta used before wiertarka if Polish doesn't have a word for 'the'?
While Polish lacks definite articles, demonstrative pronouns like ten, ta, and to are frequently used to do the same job when a noun is followed by a relative clause. It points out exactly which drill you mean right before you describe it.
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