Questions & Answers about Oni są z Ukrainy.
Why do we use oni here instead of one?
In Polish, there are two words for 'they'. Oni is used for groups of people that include at least one male. One is used for groups of females, children, animals, or objects. Since this sentence uses oni, we know the group has at least one man in it.
I thought z meant 'with'. How do we know it means 'from' here?
The preposition z can mean either 'from' or 'with' depending on the grammar case of the word that follows it. When talking about where someone comes from, z means 'from' and requires the noun to be in the Genitive case, which is exactly what happens in this sentence.
Why is the country spelled Ukrainy instead of Ukraina?
Because of the preposition z (when it means 'from'), the noun must change its ending to match the Genitive case. For most feminine countries and nouns ending in -a, like Ukraina, the -a is dropped and replaced with -y.
Is there a specific way to pronounce z Ukrainy?
Yes! In Polish, single-letter prepositions like z are pronounced together with the word that follows them, as if they were one single word. You should say it smoothly like 'zukrainy' without any pause after the letter z.