Breakdown of Sprzedał samochód, który kupił rok temu.
samochód
car
rok
year
temu
ago
kupić
to buy (perfective)
który
which, who (relative)
sprzedać
to sell
rok temu
a year ago
Questions & Answers about Sprzedał samochód, który kupił rok temu.
Why does the relative pronoun który look like it's in the Nominative case here?
It is actually in the Accusative case! Który refers to samochód (car), which is the direct object of the verb kupił (he bought). Because samochód is a masculine inanimate noun, its Accusative form looks exactly the same as its Nominative form. The pronoun który simply matches this rule.
Do I always need a comma before który?
Yes! Unlike English, where you can often drop the comma or even the word "that" (saying just "the car he bought"), Polish grammar strictly requires a comma before a relative pronoun like który that introduces a new clause.
Both verbs (sprzedał and kupił) translate to "he [did something]". Why isn't the pronoun on (he) in the sentence?
Polish usually drops subject pronouns because the verb ending tells you who is doing the action. The -ł ending on sprzedał (sold) and kupił (bought) specifically tells us that the subject is a singular male. Adding on would sound unnaturally repetitive here.
How does the phrase rok temu (a year ago) work grammatically?
Temu means "ago," and just like in English, it goes after the time word. The time word itself takes the Accusative case. Since rok (year) is a masculine inanimate noun, its Accusative form is the same as its base form, giving us rok temu.
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