Breakdown of Nasi szefowie są współwłaścicielami firmy.
być
to be
nasz
our
szef
boss (m)
firma
company
współwłaściciel
co-owner
Questions & Answers about Nasi szefowie są współwłaścicielami firmy.
How does the prefix współ- work in the word współwłaścicielami?
The prefix współ- means "co-" or "joint". By attaching it directly to właściciel (owner), we get współwłaściciel (co-owner). Notice that in Polish, this prefix is always written as a single word with the noun it modifies, never with a hyphen like it sometimes is in English.
Why is the word for co-owners in the Instrumental case (współwłaścicielami) instead of the Nominative case?
When you use the verb być (to be) to state someone's identity, profession, or role, the noun that follows must take the Instrumental case. Since we are talking about plural bosses, the noun takes the plural Instrumental ending -ami.
Why is the plural of szef formed as szefowie rather than just adding -y or -i?
The ending -owie is a special Nominative plural ending reserved exclusively for masculine personal nouns (groups of men or mixed groups). It is typically used for family members, titles, and high-status professions. Using szefowie instead of a regular ending denotes respect for their position.
Why is firma changed to firmy at the end of the sentence?
Firmy is in the Genitive case. In Polish, the Genitive is used to show possession or a relationship between two nouns, which perfectly translates the English "of the" in "co-owners of the company".
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