Breakdown of Lampa leży na dywanie między szafą a łóżkiem.
a
and / whereas (contrast)
na
on, at / to (motion toward) / for (a meal) / for (waiting for)
łóżko
bed
między
between
lampa
lamp
leżeć
to lie
dywan
rug
szafa
wardrobe
Questions & Answers about Lampa leży na dywanie między szafą a łóżkiem.
Why do we use szafą and łóżkiem instead of their dictionary forms?
The preposition między (between) requires the nouns that follow it to take the Instrumental case. The dictionary form for wardrobe is szafa, which takes the feminine Instrumental ending -ą to become szafą. The neuter noun łóżko (bed) changes its ending to become łóżkiem.
Why does the sentence use a for "and" instead of the usual i?
In Polish, when you say that something is between one thing and another, you must use the set phrase między [X] a [Y]. If you used i here instead of a, it would sound incorrect to a native speaker.
Could I just say Lampa jest na dywanie instead of using leży (lies)?
You could, but Polish prefers to be specific about how an object is positioned. Since a lamp placed on the floor is usually flat, we say it lies (leży). If it were a tall floor lamp standing upright, you would use stoi (stands). Positional verbs sound much more natural here than just using jest (is).
Why is it na dywanie and not na dywan?
The preposition na (on) requires the Locative case when describing a static position, answering the question "where?". The noun dywan (rug) gets the -ie ending. You would only use na dywan (Accusative case) if you were talking about movement, like dropping the lamp onto the rug.
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