Breakdown of Mierzę ten stół i jego szerokość to centymetrów osiemdziesiąt.
i
and
stół
table
ten
this (m)
to
is (linking copula)
osiemdziesiąt
eighty
jego
his, its
centymetr
centimeter
mierzyć
to measure
szerokość
width
Questions & Answers about Mierzę ten stół i jego szerokość to centymetrów osiemdziesiąt.
Why is it centymetrów osiemdziesiąt instead of osiemdziesiąt centymetrów?
Putting the noun before the numeral is a common Polish trick for syntactic numeral approximation. By reversing the normal order, you change the meaning from exactly eighty centimeters to about eighty centimeters.
Does centymetrów change its case because it is placed before the numeral?
No, the grammar rules remain exactly the same. The numeral osiemdziesiąt governs the genitive plural, so centymetr becomes centymetrów regardless of the word order.
Why use to here instead of jest?
In Polish, to is often used as a linking word to equate two concepts, especially in spoken language for measurements, prices, or definitions. You could formally say jego szerokość wynosi... (its width amounts to...), but to is a very natural shortcut here.
Stół is masculine, so why is its accusative form just stół instead of taking an ending?
Stół is a masculine inanimate noun. For masculine inanimate nouns, the accusative case (used here for the direct object of mierzę) is always identical to the nominative case. Only masculine animate and personal nouns get a distinct accusative ending in the singular.
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