Breakdown of Nasz zespół jest najgorszy, ale mamy najlepszego mistrza.
być
to be
mieć
to have
dobry
good
zły
bad
Questions & Answers about Nasz zespół jest najgorszy, ale mamy najlepszego mistrza.
Why are the words for 'the worst' and 'the best' so different from 'zły' (bad) and 'dobry' (good)?
Just like in English (good/better/best, bad/worse/worst), these adjectives are irregular. The word dobry (good) becomes lepszy (better) and then najlepszy (the best). The word zły (bad) becomes gorszy (worse) and then najgorszy (the worst).
I see both superlatives start with naj-. Is that the standard rule in Polish?
Yes! To make a superlative (meaning 'the most' or adding '-est') in Polish, you simply take the comparative form of the word (like gorszy or lepszy) and attach the prefix naj- to the front of it.
Why does the ending change from najgorszy in the first half to najlepszego in the second half?
They are in different cases. In the first half, zespół (team) is the subject, so najgorszy is in the basic Nominative case. In the second half, the verb mamy (we have) requires the Accusative case for the object, so the adjective must change to najlepszego to match.
Why does mistrz (champion) change to mistrza after the verb mamy?