Questions & Answers about Idziesz ze mną?
Why does this sentence use ze instead of the usual z for "with"?
In Polish, the preposition z (with) changes to ze to make pronunciation easier when the next word starts with certain difficult consonant combinations. Because mną starts with mn-, saying z mną would be very hard to say. Adding the -e makes it the much smoother ze mną.
Why does the word for "me" change to mną here?
The preposition z or ze (when it means "with") requires the following word to take the Instrumental case. The basic word for "I" is ja, but when you put it in the Instrumental case to say "with me", it completely changes its shape to mną.
There is no word for "you" in this sentence. How do we know it means "Are you going?"
The verb idziesz already has the "you" built into its ending (-esz). Because the verb's ending clearly shows who is doing the action, Polish usually drops the subject pronoun ty (you) unless you want to add special emphasis.
Could I use idziesz if I am asking someone to take a road trip with me?
No, you wouldn't use it for a road trip. The verb iść (which idziesz comes from) specifically means to go on foot. If you are asking someone to travel with you by car, bus, or train, you must use the verb for going by vehicle (jechać) and ask: Jedziesz ze mną?
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