Breakdown of Czy pani widzi tę lampę między szafą a fotelem?
czy
[question particle]
pani
madam / Mrs.
ta
this (f)
a
and / whereas (contrast)
widzieć
to see
fotel
armchair
między
between
lampa
lamp
szafa
wardrobe
Questions & Answers about Czy pani widzi tę lampę między szafą a fotelem?
Why do szafą and fotelem have those endings?
They are in the Instrumental case. The preposition między (between) requires the Instrumental case for the things you are describing the location of. The base words are szafa (wardrobe), which becomes szafą, and fotel (armchair), which becomes fotelem.
Why does the sentence use a for "and" instead of i?
When saying "between X and Y" in Polish, the standard phrase is always między X a Y. You cannot use i here, as między... a... is a fixed pairing.
Why is the word for "this" tę instead of ta or tą?
The phrase tę lampę is the direct object of the verb widzi (sees), so it needs the Accusative case. For feminine words, the Accusative form of ta (this) is tę. You might hear native speakers say tą lampę in casual speech, but tę is the correct form for the Accusative case.
Why is the verb widzi (he/she sees) used to mean "do you see"?
In Polish, when you address a woman formally using pani (Madam), you must use the third-person singular form of the verb, just as if you were talking about "her." So literally, the sentence is asking "Does Madam see this lamp?"
Learn Czy pani widzi tę lampę między szafą a fotelem and more in Polish
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free