Breakdown of To jest drogi samochód osobowy.
to
this
być
to be
samochód
car
drogi
expensive
osobowy
passenger (adjective)
Questions & Answers about To jest drogi samochód osobowy.
Why is drogi before samochód but osobowy is after it?
This perfectly shows the Polish noun-adjective order rule! Drogi (expensive) is a descriptive adjective—it gives an opinion or a changeable quality, so it goes before the noun. Osobowy (passenger) is a classifying adjective—it tells you exactly what fixed category or type of car this is, so it must go directly after the noun.
Could I say To jest drogi osobowy samochód?
No, a native speaker wouldn't say that. Because osobowy classifies the type of car, it is tightly glued to the right side of the noun. Moving a classifying adjective to the front sounds very unnatural in Polish, just like saying "a passenger expensive car" sounds wrong in English.
Why are the adjectives and noun in the nominative case here instead of the instrumental?
When you use the pointing phrase to jest (this is) to identify what an object is, you simply use the nominative case (the dictionary form). You only need the instrumental case when using the verb być (to be) on its own to describe a subject's identity or profession, as in On jest kierowcą (He is a driver).
Does osobowy literally mean "passenger"?
Not exactly. It's an adjective formed from the noun osoba (person). So samochód osobowy literally translates closer to "person car" or "people car." It is the standard Polish term for a regular passenger car, which distinguishes it from a truck or lorry, known as a samochód ciężarowy (heavy/freight car).
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