Breakdown of Nasz dziadek spisał wczoraj swój testament.
dziadek
the grandfather
nasz
our
wczoraj
yesterday
swój
one's own
Questions & Answers about Nasz dziadek spisał wczoraj swój testament.
Why do we use swój here instead of jego for "his"?
We use the reflexive possessive pronoun swój because the owner of the will is also the subject of the sentence (the grandfather). If we said Nasz dziadek spisał wczoraj jego testament, it would mean the grandfather wrote someone else's will (for example, another man's). Swój always refers back to the subject of the clause.
What is the difference between spisał and napisał?
Both are perfective (completed action) verbs related to writing, but spisać specifically means to "draw up", "record", or "write down" an official document, list, or formal agreement. Napisać is the general word for "wrote" (like a letter or a book). For a legal document like a will (testament), spisać is the natural choice.
Could I put wczoraj at the beginning or end of the sentence?
Yes, Polish word order is quite flexible. Wczoraj nasz dziadek spisał swój testament and Nasz dziadek spisał swój testament wczoraj are both grammatically correct. Placing wczoraj right after the verb, as in this sentence, is a very neutral, natural-sounding choice that doesn't put special emphasis on the time.
What case is testament in this sentence, and why didn't its ending change?