Breakdown of Znalazłem telefon, który wczoraj zgubiłem.
telefon
phone
znaleźć
to find
wczoraj
yesterday
który
which, who (relative)
Questions & Answers about Znalazłem telefon, który wczoraj zgubiłem.
Why does the relative pronoun który look like the Nominative (subject) form here if it is the direct object of the verb?
Because it refers to telefon, which is a masculine inanimate noun. It is indeed in the Accusative case since it is the object you lost. However, for masculine inanimate nouns, the Accusative form looks exactly the same as the Nominative form. If you had lost an animal (a masculine animate noun), you would see the form change to którego, for example: pies, którego zgubiłem.
Do I always have to put a comma before który?
Yes. Unlike in English, where we sometimes do not use a comma before the word 'that', Polish strict punctuation rules require a comma before a relative pronoun when it introduces a new part of the sentence with its own verb.
If a woman is speaking, does który change to która?
No, który takes its gender from the noun it describes, which is the masculine word telefon, not from the speaker! However, a female speaker would change the verbs to their feminine past tense forms, making the sentence: Znalazłam telefon, który wczoraj zgubiłam.
In English I can say 'I found the phone I lost' without the word 'that'. Can I drop który in Polish?
No, you can never drop the relative pronoun in Polish. While English allows you to skip it, Polish grammar requires you to explicitly link the two parts of the sentence with który.