Breakdown of Jest mi zimno i drętwieją mi nogi.
być
to be
i
and
ja
I
noga
leg, foot
zimno
cold (adverb)
drętwieć
to go numb
Questions & Answers about Jest mi zimno i drętwieją mi nogi.
Why do we use mi instead of saying moje nogi (my legs)?
Polish uses the dative case (here, mi) to show inalienable possession, which applies to things that are an inseparable part of you, like body parts. Instead of saying "my legs are going numb", Polish phrases it as "legs are going numb to me". Using moje nogi wouldn't be completely wrong, but drętwieją mi nogi is the standard, natural way a native speaker would say this.
Why do we say Jest mi zimno instead of Jestem zimny to mean "I am cold"?
Internal physical sensations (like feeling cold, warm, or sick) are expressed using an impersonal construction: the verb być (to be) + a dative pronoun like mi + an adverb like zimno. It literally translates to "it is cold to me". If you say Jestem zimny, you are using an adjective to describe your physical object state, which means you are literally cold to the touch, like a corpse or a snowman.
Why is the verb drętwieją in the plural form when the sentence is about how I feel?
Because the grammatical subject of the second clause is nogi (legs), which is in the nominative plural. Even though the sentence is about your personal experience, the legs are the ones doing the action of "going numb", so the verb must match them.
Could I put mi at the beginning of the sentence to emphasize that I am the one who is cold?
No, because mi is a short, unstressed pronoun and cannot be placed at the very beginning of a sentence. If you really needed to emphasize that you are the one who is cold (in contrast to someone else), you would have to swap it for the long, stressed form of the pronoun and say Mnie jest zimno.
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