Breakdown of Mężczyzna czyta gazetę w pokoju.
czytać
to read
mężczyzna
man
gazeta
newspaper
w
in / on (a day)
pokój
room
Questions & Answers about Mężczyzna czyta gazetę w pokoju.
Why do we say w pokoju instead of just w pokój?
We use the Locative case after the preposition w (in) to show where something is. For many masculine nouns, this means adding a -u ending. So, the base word pokój takes the ending -u to show location.
Why did the ó in pokój change to a regular o in pokoju?
This is a very common spelling rule in Polish. When a word has an ó in its final syllable, that ó often shifts to a regular o as soon as you add a grammatical ending to the word.
Why is the word for newspaper written as gazetę instead of gazeta here?
The newspaper is the direct object of the sentence (it is the thing being read), so it must be in the Accusative case. For feminine nouns ending in -a like gazeta, the ending changes to -ę in the Accusative.
Doesn't the -a ending on mężczyzna mean it is a feminine word?
Usually, yes! Most Polish nouns ending in -a are feminine. However, mężczyzna (man) is a very important exception. It is grammatically a masculine noun because it refers to a male person, even though its ending looks feminine.
Learn Mężczyzna czyta gazetę w pokoju and more in Polish
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free