Breakdown of W porównaniu z naszymi dziadkami jesteśmy jednak powierzchowni i mało konserwatywni.
być
to be
i
and
dziadek
the grandfather
nasz
our
Questions & Answers about W porównaniu z naszymi dziadkami jesteśmy jednak powierzchowni i mało konserwatywni.
Why is naszymi dziadkami in the instrumental case?
The compound preposition w porównaniu z ends with the preposition z (with). In Polish, when z means 'with' (or in this case, 'compared with'), it always forces the following noun phrase into the instrumental case, just as it does when used alone.
Why do the adjectives powierzchowni and konserwatywni end in -i here?
These are masculine personal (virile) plural endings. The speaker is saying 'we are' (jesteśmy), and in Polish grammar, any mixed group containing at least one male takes this form. If a group of only women were speaking, they would use the non-masculine personal forms powierzchowne and konserwatywne.
Why is jednak placed after the verb rather than at the beginning of its clause?
In Polish, jednak (however) is very flexible. Placing it after the verb (jesteśmy jednak) is extremely common and often sounds more natural than starting the clause with it. It acts as a stylistic pivot, smoothly emphasizing the contrast without disrupting the sentence's flow.
Why is mało used to mean 'not very' instead of something like nie bardzo?