Breakdown of Znany reżyser ma już trzy Oscary.
mieć
to have
trzy
three
znany
known
już
already / anymore (with negation)
reżyser
director (film, theater)
Oscar
the Oscar
Questions & Answers about Znany reżyser ma już trzy Oscary.
Are we supposed to spell it Oscary or Oskary?
Both are seen in Polish, but dictionaries recommend keeping the original English spelling with the letter c for the Academy Award. Because it ends in a hard consonant, we just add the standard plural -y directly to the foreign stem to get Oscary.
Since the name Oscar is masculine personal, why is the plural Oscary instead of Oscarzy?
When Oscar refers to the statuette or the prize, it loses its personhood and becomes a masculine inanimate noun. Therefore, it takes the standard masculine inanimate plural ending -y. If you were talking about actual men named Oscar, the plural would indeed be Oscarzy.
Why do we say trzy Oscary instead of trzech Oscarów?
Because the award is treated as an object, it pairs with the basic number trzy, which is used for inanimate objects, animals, and feminine or neuter nouns. You would only use trzech if you were counting masculine personal nouns, which would force the noun into the genitive case.
Reżyser is also a loanword. How does it decline in the plural?
Unlike the inanimate award, reżyser is a masculine personal noun. Professions and loanwords ending in -er typically take the -y ending in the nominative plural and change the stem to -rz, making the plural form reżyserzy.
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