Breakdown of Potrzebuję pojedynczej kopii tego dokumentu.
ten
this (m)
dokument
document
potrzebować
to need
kopia
copy
pojedynczy
single
Questions & Answers about Potrzebuję pojedynczej kopii tego dokumentu.
Why use pojedynczej here instead of just saying jednej (one)?
While jednej kopii simply means "one copy" (as opposed to two or three), pojedynczej kopii translates strictly to a "single copy." In Polish, the multiplicative adjective pojedynczy emphasizes the singleness, isolation, or individuality of the item, just like "single" does in English.
Does pojedynczy follow the same word-building pattern as podwójny (double) and potrójny (triple)?
Not quite. While podwójny and potrójny share the -ójny suffix attached to a number root, pojedynczy (single) has a slightly irregular root and ends in -ynczy. However, despite the unique suffix, it still declines exactly like any standard adjective ending in -y.
Why is the entire phrase pojedynczej kopii tego dokumentu in the Genitive case?
This is required by the verb potrzebować (to need). In Polish, the object of "needing" almost always takes the Genitive case, unlike most common transitive verbs which take the Accusative. Because of this rule, the basic phrase pojedyncza kopia changes to pojedynczej kopii.
Why does the word kopii end with a double "i"?
Nouns ending in -ia where the "i" is pronounced clearly as a separate vowel (which happens a lot in foreign borrowings like kopia, linia, or kategoria) take a double -ii in the Genitive, Dative, and Locative cases. If it were a native Polish word where the "i" merely softens the previous consonant (like ziemia), it would only take a single "i" (ziemi).
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