Breakdown of Morderca jest już w więzieniu.
w
in / on (a day)
już
already / anymore (with negation)
więzienie
prison
morderca
murderer (m)
Questions & Answers about Morderca jest już w więzieniu.
Why does morderca end in -a if it refers to a male person?
Morderca is a masculine personal noun, but it belongs to a small group of masculine nouns that end in -a in the nominative case (just like mężczyzna or kierowca). Even though it looks feminine, it takes masculine adjectives and verb forms, so you would say ten morderca (this murderer) and morderca uciekł (the murderer escaped).
Why is the ending in w więzieniu an -u instead of the typical -e or -ie for the locative case?
The preposition w here requires the locative case. The base noun is więzienie, which is a neuter noun ending in -enie. Neuter nouns ending in -enie or -anie always take the ending -u in the locative case, replacing the final -e.
Could już be placed somewhere else in this sentence?
Yes, word order in Polish is flexible and depends on emphasis. You could say Morderca już jest w więzieniu, or even Już jest w więzieniu to strongly emphasize the 'already' aspect. Putting it right after the verb, as in the original sentence, is the most neutral and standard way to state the fact.
How is the word więzienie related to the word for a prisoner?
They share the exact same root. A prisoner is więzień, and the verb to imprison or hold captive is więzić. Noticing these noun-verb-person word families is a highly effective way to rapidly expand your vocabulary at the B2 level.
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