Breakdown of Przed hotelem stało troje sań.
stać
to stand
przed
in front of (+ Instrumental)
hotel
hotel
troje
three (collective)
Questions & Answers about Przed hotelem stało troje sań.
Why do we use troje here instead of trzy?
The word for sleigh, sanie, is a plural-only noun (plurale tantum). In Polish, you cannot use regular numbers like dwa or trzy with these nouns. To count them, you must use a collective numeral like troje (three).
Why is the verb stało in the singular neuter form when there are three sleighs?
Whenever a collective numeral like troje is the subject of a sentence, it grammatically acts as a singular neuter entity. As a result, the past tense verb must take the 3rd-person singular neuter form (stało), rather than a plural form like stały.
What case is the word sań and why?
Sań is the genitive plural of sanie. While regular numbers 2, 3, and 4 keep the noun in the nominative or accusative case, all collective numerals (including those for 2, 3, and 4) force the following noun into the genitive case.
Since the lesson mentions the measure word para, could we say trzy pary sań instead?
No, because that would literally mean "three pairs of sleighs." We only use the measure word para (pair) for plural-only nouns that naturally consist of two parts, like scissors (nożyczki), trousers (spodnie), or glasses (okulary). A sleigh is considered one complete vehicle, so we use the collective numeral directly.