Questions & Answers about Dziecko chce małą kanapkę.
Why is it małą kanapkę instead of mała kanapka?
The verb chce (wants) requires a direct object. In Polish, when a feminine noun like kanapka is the direct object, its ending changes from -a to -ę. The adjective describing it also has to match this accusative case, changing from mała to małą.
Why do the adjective and the noun get different endings (-ą vs -ę)?
Even though they are both feminine words in the accusative case, adjectives and nouns follow slightly different rules. Feminine adjectives ending in -a change to -ą, while feminine nouns ending in -a change to -ę.
Shouldn't the verb for want end in -ę?
You might be thinking of chcę, which means I want. In this sentence, the subject is dziecko (the child, which is an it), so we use the he/she/it form: chce (without the tail).
Does the word dziecko change its ending here?
No, dziecko is the subject of the sentence (the one doing the wanting), so it stays in its basic dictionary form.
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