Breakdown of Oni jedzą to danie pałeczkami.
to
this
oni
they (masculine personal)
jeść
to eat
danie
the dish (meal)
Questions & Answers about Oni jedzą to danie pałeczkami.
Why does the Polish sentence just say pałeczkami without a word for 'with'?
In Polish, when you use an object as a tool to do something (like eating with chopsticks), you use the Instrumental case. You do not need a word for 'with'. Changing the noun into the Instrumental case automatically gives it the meaning of 'by means of' or 'using'.
What is the Instrumental plural ending used in pałeczkami?
The ending is -ami. The base word is the feminine noun pałeczka (chopstick). In the Instrumental plural, almost all nouns in Polish, regardless of their gender, take the -ami ending. So, the plural pałeczki becomes pałeczkami.
Why doesn't to danie change its ending if it is the direct object being eaten?
The phrase to danie (this dish) is in the Accusative case because it receives the action of the verb. However, danie is a neuter noun. Neuter nouns and their describing words (like to) look exactly the same in the Accusative case as they do in their basic dictionary form.
I remember the verb for 'to eat' is jeść. Why does it look so different as jedzą?