Breakdown of My współczujemy tej chorej dziewczynie.
ten
this (m)
my
we
chory
sick
dziewczyna
the girl / the girlfriend
Questions & Answers about My współczujemy tej chorej dziewczynie.
Why do both tej and chorej end in -ej?
The verb współczuć (to feel sorry for / to sympathize with) forces the noun that follows it into the Dative case. For feminine adjectives and demonstrative pronouns (like ta, meaning "this"), the Dative singular ending is always -ej. Therefore, ta chora changes to tej chorej.
Why does dziewczyna change to dziewczynie?
Since the sentence is in the Dative case, the feminine noun dziewczyna takes an -e ending. However, in Polish, adding this -e ending softens the consonant right before it. The hard n changes to a soft ni, giving us dziewczynie.
How does the word współczujemy literally translate?
It is built from two parts: the prefix współ- (meaning "co-" or "together") and the verb czuć (meaning "to feel"). So, it literally translates as "we feel together with" someone. This "giving of feelings to someone" is a helpful way to remember why it requires the Dative case.
Is the word my necessary at the beginning of the sentence?