Questions & Answers about Nie ma mniejszego pokoju.
What is the base word for mniejszego?
The base adjective is mały (small). Its comparative form (smaller) is totally irregular: mniejszy. Because this sentence uses nie ma (there is no), the adjective must change to the Genitive case, becoming mniejszego.
Why do we say mniejszego pokoju instead of mniejszy pokój?
The phrase nie ma always requires the noun and its describing words to be in the Genitive case. Since pokój (room) is a masculine noun, the basic phrase mniejszy pokój changes to the Genitive form mniejszego pokoju.
Can I just say bardziej mały for 'smaller'?
No. Just like in English where we say 'smaller' instead of 'more small', Polish uses a special word. You must use the irregular comparative mniejszy (and its case forms) instead of combining mały with bardziej.
Why does the word pokój change its vowel in pokoju?
When adding the Genitive -u ending to pokój, the vowel ó changes to a regular o. This is a very common spelling shift in Polish when adding endings to words that have an ó in their base form.
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