Breakdown of On pije gorącą kawę z żoną.
on
he / it (m)
pić
to drink
kawa
coffee
gorący
hot
z
with
żona
the wife
Questions & Answers about On pije gorącą kawę z żoną.
Why does żona change to żoną in this sentence?
The preposition z (when it means "with" as in doing something together) requires the noun that follows it to be in the Instrumental case. For feminine nouns that normally end in -a, like żona, the ending changes to -ą in the Instrumental.
The translation says "with his wife". Where is the word for "his"?
Polish often leaves out possessive words like "my", "your", or "his" when the context makes it obvious. If you say a man is doing something z żoną, native speakers naturally assume it is his own wife!
Why does "hot" end in -ą (gorącą) but "coffee" ends in -ę (kawę)?
Both words are in the Accusative case because they are the direct object (the thing being drunk). For feminine words, nouns change their -a ending to -ę (so kawa becomes kawę), but adjectives change their -a ending to -ą (so gorąca becomes gorącą). It is a common trap for beginners to think they should rhyme, but it's perfectly normal that they don't!
Does pije mean "he drinks" or "he is drinking"?
It can mean both! Polish does not have a separate "is doing" (continuous) tense like English does. Depending on the context, on pije translates perfectly to either "he drinks" or "he is drinking".
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