Breakdown of Na ulicy widzę młode kobiety, małe dzieci i czarne koty.
kot
cat
i
and
kobieta
woman
dziecko
child
mały
small
młody
young
czarny
black
widzieć
to see
na
on, at / to (motion toward) / for (a meal) / for (waiting for)
ulica
street
Questions & Answers about Na ulicy widzę młode kobiety, małe dzieci i czarne koty.
Women, children, and cats are very different things. Why do they all fall into the same grammar category here?
In the Polish plural, everything is divided into just two groups: virile (groups with at least one man) and non-virile (everything else). Since there are no adult men in this list, kobiety (women), dzieci (children), and koty (cats) all belong to the non-virile group and follow its rules.
The verb widzę (I see) takes the accusative case. Why haven't the words kobiety, dzieci, or koty changed their endings?
They actually have, but it is a very easy rule! For all non-virile nouns, the accusative plural form is exactly the same as the basic nominative plural. You don't have to learn a new ending to say you see them.
Why do the adjectives młode, małe, and czarne all end in -e?
The ending -e is the standard plural ending for adjectives describing non-virile nouns in both the nominative and accusative cases. Because these nouns share that category, their adjectives all match.
Wait, isn't the word for child dziecko? Why is it dzieci here?
Yes, dziecko is the singular form. However, its plural is completely irregular: dzieci (children). Despite being irregular, it acts just like any other non-virile plural noun here.
Why is the sentence starting with Na ulicy instead of Na ulica?
When expressing a location like on the street, the preposition na requires the locative case. For feminine nouns ending in -ca like ulica, the ending changes to -y, making it ulicy.
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