Breakdown of Mają w domu dwoje skrzypiec.
dom
house
mieć
to have
w
in / on (a day)
dwoje
two (collective)
skrzypce
violin
Questions & Answers about Mają w domu dwoje skrzypiec.
Why does this sentence use dwoje instead of dwa for "two"?
The word for violin, skrzypce, is a plural-only noun (pluralia tantum). Even a single violin is grammatically plural in Polish. When counting plural-only nouns, you cannot use standard numbers like dwa or trzy. Instead, you must use collective numerals like dwoje, troje, and so on.
Why is the word for violins in the form skrzypiec here instead of the basic form skrzypce?
Collective numerals like dwoje always require the noun that follows them to take the genitive case. Because skrzypce is a plural noun, it takes the genitive plural form, which is skrzypiec.
The lesson mentions using para (pair) for plural-only nouns. Could we say dwie pary skrzypiec to mean two violins?
No, because that would literally mean "two pairs of violins" (four violins). The measure word para is used as a workaround mostly for plural-only nouns that naturally consist of two symmetrical parts, like dwie pary okularów (two pairs of glasses) or spodnie (trousers). Because a violin is a single whole object, you just count them directly using collective numerals.
If dwoje skrzypiec were the subject of the sentence, how would it affect the verb?
When a collective numeral phrase is the subject, it acts grammatically as a neuter singular entity, so the verb cannot be plural. In the present tense, it takes the third-person singular, and in the past tense, it takes the neuter singular ending. For example, to say "Two violins were lying on the table," you would say Dwoje skrzypiec leżało na stole.
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