Questions & Answers about Pies śpi w pokoju.
Why does the word for room change from pokój to pokoju?
We use the Locative case here because we are expressing a location after the preposition w (in). When the noun pokój (room) is put into the Locative case, it becomes pokoju.
Why does the ó in pokój change to an o in pokoju?
This is a very common spelling change in Polish! The letter ó often changes to a regular o when you add grammatical endings to a word. You will see this happen a lot with other nouns too, like stół (table) becoming na stole (on the table).
I thought masculine nouns usually take an -e ending in the Locative case. Why does this one end in -u?
Good memory! Most masculine nouns do take the -e ending. However, if a masculine noun ends in a soft consonant like -j (as in pokój), it takes the -u ending instead. Nouns ending in -k, -g, and -ch also take -u.
Is śpi the dictionary form of the verb 'to sleep'?