Questions & Answers about Ile masz par szortów?
Why do we use par here instead of just asking Ile masz szortów?
While szorty is a plural-only noun and Ile masz szortów? is grammatically possible, using par (pairs) is the standard, most natural way to count two-legged clothing items in Polish, exactly like saying pairs of shorts in English.
Why is the word for pairs spelled par here?
The question word ile (how many) forces the noun being counted into the genitive plural case. The base word is para (pair), and its genitive plural form is par.
Why does szortów take the -ów ending?
It is in the genitive plural case. First, szorty is a plural-only noun. Second, it follows par, and in Polish, noun-noun connections like pairs OF shorts require the second noun to be in the genitive case.
Could we use a collective numeral here for counting, like dwoje szortów?
No, collective numerals like dwoje or troje are generally not used for clothing. While they are required for some plural-only nouns like drzwi (doors), plural-only clothing items like szorty (shorts) or spodnie (pants) rely on the measure word para for counting.