Breakdown of Państwo Zielińscy są bardzo uprzejmi i witają nas serdecznie.
być
to be
i
and
bardzo
very
państwo
ladies and gentlemen / you (formal plural)
my
we
witać
to welcome, to greet
Zieliński
Zieliński
uprzejmy
polite
serdecznie
warmly
Questions & Answers about Państwo Zielińscy są bardzo uprzejmi i witają nas serdecznie.
Why does the surname end in -scy (Zielińscy) instead of -owie like in Nowakowie?
Surnames that end in -ski or -cki (like Zieliński) act like adjectives. To make them plural for a mixed-gender couple or family, you use the masculine personal plural ending -scy or -ccy. The -owie ending is used for noun-based surnames (like Nowak becoming Nowakowie).
Does the word Państwo always take a plural verb like są and witają?
Yes. When Państwo means "Mr. and Mrs." or refers to a couple or family, it acts as a plural subject. Even though it looks like a neuter singular noun, it requires third-person plural verbs, just as if you used oni (they).
Why is the adjective for polite written as uprzejmi instead of uprzejmy or uprzejme?
Because it describes Państwo Zielińscy, a mixed-gender group, so we must use the masculine personal plural form. The singular adjective uprzejmy changes to uprzejmi for this plural. If the group consisted only of women, the non-masculine personal form uprzejme would be used.
Could I say Zielińscy są bardzo uprzejmi without the word Państwo?
Yes, you can drop Państwo and just say Zielińscy, which means "The Zielińskis." Including Państwo just makes it a bit more formal and respectful, closer to "Mr. and Mrs. Zieliński."
What case is nas in this sentence?
It is in the accusative case because "us" is the direct object being welcomed by the verb witają. For the pronoun my (we), the accusative and genitive forms are exactly the same: nas.
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