Questions & Answers about Czy pan mieszka z żoną?
Why does the word żona change to żoną?
This is the instrumental case. The preposition z (meaning "with") requires the noun that follows it to change its ending. For feminine nouns that end in -a, like żona, the ending changes to -ą.
Where is the word for "your" in the Polish sentence?
In Polish, possessive words like "your" or "my" are often left out when the meaning is obvious from context. Since we are asking the man if he lives with his own wife, adding the Polish word for "your" is not necessary here.
If the translation says "Do you live?", why is the verb mieszka (he/she lives) instead of mieszkasz (you live)?
When you address a man formally using pan (sir), you must use the third-person singular form of the verb. The Polish sentence is literally structured as "Does the gentleman live with a wife?".
Could I ask this question without using the word Czy?
Yes! In spoken Polish, you can simply say Pan mieszka z żoną? and raise the pitch of your voice at the end to show it is a question. However, using Czy at the start is the standard way to clearly form a yes/no question.