Question 1

Why does the sentence use ma (has) instead of "is" for the son's age?

Accepted Answer

In Polish, you don't say that someone "is" an age. Instead, you use the verb mieć (to have). So, mój syn ma rok literally translates to "my son has a year".

Question 2

Where is the word for "one" in ma rok?

Accepted Answer

You usually don't need to say jeden (one) when someone is exactly one year old. Just saying ma rok (has a year) perfectly expresses "is one year old".

Question 3

How do we know who bought the cake just from the word kupiliśmy?

Accepted Answer

The ending -śmy tells us the subject is "we". The -li- part shows it is in the past tense and that the group includes at least one male (for example, a mother and a father). If it were a group of only females, it would be kupiłyśmy.

Question 4

Why is the word for candle spelled świeczkę instead of its dictionary form świeczka?

Accepted Answer

Because it is the direct object of the verb kupiliśmy (we bought). Feminine nouns ending in -a change their ending to -ę when an action is being done to them. This grammar rule is called the accusative case.

Question 5

If the candle changes to świeczkę, why doesn't tort (cake) change its ending?

Accepted Answer

Tort is a masculine inanimate noun (a thing, not a person or animal). When masculine inanimate nouns are the direct object of a verb, they do not change their endings. They look exactly the same as they do in their dictionary form.

Mój syn ma rok. Kupiliśmy tort i świeczkę.

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