Question 1

In English we say "twenty-sixth", only making the last word an ordinal number. Is it different in Polish?

Accepted Answer

Yes! In Polish, both parts of a two-word ordinal number must take the ordinal form. So "twenty-sixth" is literally "the twentieth the sixth" (dwudziesty szósty). Both words also have to agree in gender and case with the noun they describe, which is why they both have the masculine nominative -y ending to match odcinek (episode).

Question 2

I always mix up the verbs for "to know". Why do we use znam here instead of wiem?

Accepted Answer

You use znać (here as znam) when you are familiar with a noun, like a person, place, or a thing—in this case, ten serial (this series). You use wiedzieć (wiem) when you know a fact, which is usually followed by a connecting word like "that", "where", or "why" (for example: "I know that this is the 26th episode").

Question 3

The verb znać requires the accusative case. Why didn't ten serial change its ending?

Accepted Answer

Serial (TV series) is a masculine inanimate noun. For masculine inanimate nouns, the accusative case looks exactly the same as the basic dictionary form (nominative). Because a TV show isn't a living person or animal, ten serial doesn't change its spelling here.

Question 4

Could I just say to dwudziesty szósty odcinek and skip the word jest?

Accepted Answer

Yes, you absolutely can! In Polish, especially in everyday speech, it is very common to drop jest when pointing something out or identifying it. To dwudziesty szósty odcinek means the exact same thing and sounds very natural.

Znam ten serial, to jest dwudziesty szósty odcinek.

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