Word
Lepisz ten garnek, ale on przynajmniej ma dno.
Meaning
You are molding this pot, but at least it has a bottom.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Lepisz ten garnek, ale on przynajmniej ma dno.
on
he / it (m)
mieć
to have
ten
this (m)
ale
but
Questions & Answers about Lepisz ten garnek, ale on przynajmniej ma dno.
Why do we use przynajmniej here instead of bynajmniej, and could we swap them?
We use przynajmniej because it means 'at least' (the pot isn't perfect, but at least it has a bottom). If you used bynajmniej, it would mean 'by no means' or 'not at all'. To say 'it by no means has a bottom', you would typically pair it with a negative verb: ale on bynajmniej nie ma dna. Many native speakers mistakenly use these interchangeably, but as a B2 learner, keeping them separate makes your Polish sound excellent.
The verb lepisz is used here for 'molding.' What other common things do you lepić in Polish?
The verb lepić means to mold, shape, or stick things together by hand using a soft material like clay or dough. Beyond pottery, you will most commonly hear this verb used in everyday life for making dumplings (lepić pierogi) or building a snowman (lepić bałwana).
Why does the sentence say on (he) when referring to an inanimate object like a pot?
In English we use 'it' for objects, but in Polish, pronouns must match the grammatical gender of the noun they replace. Since garnek (pot) is a masculine noun, we have to use the masculine pronoun on to refer back to it in the second half of the sentence.
Why is the direct object ten garnek rather than tego garnka?