Breakdown of Moja babcia woli parter, na którym jest jej jadalnia.
być
to be
mój
my
na
on, at / to (motion toward) / for (a meal) / for (waiting for)
babcia
the grandmother
jej
her (possessive)
który
which, who (relative)
woleć
to prefer
parter
ground floor
jadalnia
dining room
Questions & Answers about Moja babcia woli parter, na którym jest jej jadalnia.
Why do we use na którym instead of w którym here?
The pronoun refers back to parter (ground floor). In Polish, when talking about floors or levels in a building, we use the preposition na (on), not w (in). Just as we say na parterze (on the ground floor), we must use na którym (on which).
Why is the relative pronoun in the form którym?
The relative pronoun must match the gender of the noun it replaces (parter, which is masculine) and take the case required by its own part of the sentence. The preposition na describing a location requires the Locative case, making the masculine form którym.
The verb woleć (to prefer) usually changes the following noun. Why does parter look like it's still in the dictionary form?
You are right that woleć needs the Accusative case for the object being preferred. However, parter is a masculine inanimate noun. For these nouns, the Accusative case form is identical to the basic Nominative (dictionary) form, so it doesn't change its spelling.
If jadalnia was in a different case, would jej change too?
No. The word jej literally means 'of her' (the Genitive case of ona). When used as a possessive pronoun meaning 'her', it is frozen in this form and never changes, no matter what case the noun it belongs to is in.
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