Questions & Answers about Skąd masz ten telefon?
Why does the Polish sentence use masz (you have) when the English translation says "did you get"?
In Polish, it's very common to ask "From where do you have..." (Skąd masz...) to mean "Where did you get...". While you could use a past tense verb like dostałeś (you got), asking where someone currently has something from is the most natural, everyday way to express this idea in Polish.
Why use skąd instead of gdzie for "where"?
Gdzie simply means "where" for a static location, but skąd specifically means "from where" or "where from" to show origin. Since you are asking about where the phone came from, you must use skąd.
What case is ten telefon in here?
It is in the accusative case because it is the direct object of the verb masz (you have). For masculine inanimate nouns like telefon, the accusative form is exactly the same as the basic dictionary form (nominative), which is why it looks like it hasn't changed.
Could I translate ten as "this" instead of "that"?
Yes! In Polish, ten can mean either "this" or "that" depending on the context. If you want to strongly emphasize "that one over there" (further away), you would use tamten, but ten works perfectly for both in everyday speech.
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