Breakdown of Widzę tu pięcioro młodych zwierząt.
tu
here
młody
young
widzieć
to see
zwierzę
animal
pięcioro
five (collective)
Questions & Answers about Widzę tu pięcioro młodych zwierząt.
Why do we use pięcioro instead of the regular number pięć?
Pięcioro is a collective numeral. In Polish, collective numerals are used for mixed-gender groups, children, and neuter nouns ending in -ę (which historically and currently represent young animals, including the general word zwierzę). This is why we use pięcioro here instead of pięć.
What case are młodych zwierząt in, and what causes this?
They are in the genitive plural. Just like regular numbers from five upwards, collective numerals like pięcioro force the following adjective and noun to take the genitive plural case.
The base noun is zwierzę. How does it become zwierząt in the genitive plural?
Neuter nouns ending in -ę have a special pattern in the plural. The stem changes to include a -t- (making the nominative plural zwierzęta). For the genitive plural specifically, the -ę- vowel shifts to -ą-, resulting in the form zwierząt with no extra ending.
The verb widzę (I see) usually requires the accusative case. Is pięcioro accusative here?
Yes! The verb widzieć requires an accusative object. For collective numerals like pięcioro, the accusative form is identical to the nominative form, so it looks exactly the same.
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