Breakdown of Podobają mi się tylko te, które widziałem na zlocie.
ten
this (m)
widzieć
to see
na
on, at / to (motion toward) / for (a meal) / for (waiting for)
tylko
only
podobać się
to appeal / to like (aesthetically, first impressions)
mi
to me
który
which, who (relative)
zlot
convention
Questions & Answers about Podobają mi się tylko te, które widziałem na zlocie.
Why do we use te, które instead of ci, którzy in this sentence?
We use te, które because the speaker is referring to non-virile nouns (inanimate objects, animals, or groups of women) -- for example, cars at a car rally. If the speaker meant masculine people, they would use the virile form ci, którzy.
Do te and które share the same grammatical case here?
No, they just look identical! te is the subject of the first clause, so it is in the Nominative case (literally: those ones appeal to me). However, które is the direct object of the verb widziałem in the second clause, making it Accusative. For non-virile plurals, the Nominative and Accusative forms are exactly the same.
Why is the verb Podobają in the plural form when the English translation starts with 'I'?
The Polish verb podobać się works backwards compared to the English word 'like'. The thing being liked is the grammatical subject doing the pleasing, while the person liking it takes the Dative case (mi). Because the subject here is the plural pronoun te (those ones), the verb must take the plural form Podobają.
What is the base form of the word zlocie and why does it end in -cie?
The base word is zlot, which means a rally, gathering, or convention. Because it follows the preposition na to indicate a location, it takes the Locative case. The final consonant t softens to ci, and with the Locative -e ending, the word becomes zlocie.
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