Breakdown of Rozmawialiśmy z ośmioma hojnymi sponsorami o darowiźnie.
rozmawiać
to talk
z
with
osiem
eight
o
about
hojny
generous
sponsor
the sponsor
darowizna
the donation
Questions & Answers about Rozmawialiśmy z ośmioma hojnymi sponsorami o darowiźnie.
Why do we use ośmioma instead of osiem here?
The preposition z (meaning "with") requires the Instrumental case. For numbers 5 and above, the Instrumental case ending is usually -oma or -ma. Here, the base number osiem drops its fleeting e and takes this ending to become ośmioma.
I learned that numbers 5 and above make the following noun Genitive. Why isn't it z ośmioma sponsorów?
That Genitive rule only applies when the number phrase is in the Nominative or Accusative case (when it is the subject or direct object). In oblique cases like the Instrumental, Locative, or Dative, those "number rules" vanish. The number, adjective, and noun simply agree with each other. Since z demands the Instrumental, all three words take Instrumental endings: ośmioma hojnymi sponsorami.
Can I use ośmiu instead of ośmioma in the Instrumental case?
Yes. In the oblique cases (Instrumental, Locative, Dative), numbers 5 and above often have an alternative shorter form ending in -u. You could perfectly well say z ośmiu hojnymi sponsorami, though ośmioma is also very common and explicitly marks the Instrumental case.
What is the base form of darowiźnie, and why does the spelling change so much?
The base form is the feminine noun darowizna (donation). The preposition o (when meaning "about") requires the Locative case. Feminine nouns ending in -a usually take an -e in the Locative, which triggers a consonant softening at the end of the word. The consonant cluster zn softens to źn, resulting in darowiźnie.
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