Questions & Answers about Nasz szef ma mało czasu.
Why is the word for time czasu here instead of its dictionary form czas?
This happens because of the word mało (little). In Polish, words that express a quantity, like mało, dużo (a lot), and trochę (a little), force the noun that comes immediately after them into the Genitive case.
How do I know to add -u to make the Genitive form of czas?
Czas (time) is a masculine inanimate noun. In the Genitive case, these nouns can end in either -a or -u. While you often just have to memorize which ending a word takes, abstract concepts and uncountable things like time usually take -u.
Why does the sentence use nasz for our instead of nasza?
Possessive words like our have to match the gender of the noun they describe. Because szef (boss) is a masculine noun, we use the masculine form nasz. You would use nasza if the boss was female (szefowa).
Could I use the adjective mały (small) instead of mało here?
No, because they mean different things. Mały describes something physically small in size, whereas mało is a quantifier meaning a small amount of or few. Since you are talking about the amount of time, you must use mało.
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