Breakdown of Czy twój kolega ma szesnaście lat?
czy
[question particle]
mieć
to have
twój
your
kolega
the colleague (m) / the friend (m)
Questions & Answers about Czy twój kolega ma szesnaście lat?
Why is the masculine pronoun twój used when kolega ends in -a?
Even though kolega (colleague or male friend) ends in -a, which usually marks a feminine noun, it refers to a male person. Therefore, it is a masculine noun and must take the masculine possessive pronoun twój instead of the feminine twoja.
Why does the sentence use the verb ma (has) instead of a translation of is?
In Polish, you do not say that someone is a certain age. Instead, you say they have a certain number of years using the verb mieć (to have). Literally, this sentence asks: Does your friend have sixteen years?
Why is the word for years lat in this sentence?
The word lat is the genitive plural form of rok (year). In Polish, when you state an age of five or more, such as szesnaście (sixteen), you must follow the number with this genitive plural form.
How does the spelling of szesnaście (sixteen) connect to the number six?
It comes from sześć (six). When forming the teen numbers in Polish, you add the ending -naście, but the root word sometimes changes slightly to make it easier to pronounce. Here, sześć drops its final -ć and becomes szes-, creating szesnaście.