Expert: Mara Date: 5/15/2007 Subject: Polish nouns + adjectives
Question In English we have no gender for nouns/adjectives but in Polish there has to be agreement. What adjective is used if 1 sentence contains all 3 genders eg 'the arm(ręka), ear(ucho) and nose(nos) are large (duży/duża/duże)' - which one and why ?
Also which adjective is used if you say a sentence like 'Its cold' without refering to a noun ?
Answer Hello,
When there are two items or more, the sentence should be in plural. In plural there are two genders. That's one of the most tricky parts in the language. The first gender is used when there's a male person in the group (i doesn't matter what are all the other items or persons). The second gender covers all other cases. So, in your example it's
ręka, ucho i nos są duże (in this case the form is equal to singular neutrum form)
Other options:
chłopcy są duzi (the boys are old/high)
chłopcy i dziewczynki są duzi
Hope that helps
Mara
PS. The three genders in singular do not mean that there are only three forms possible. Example:
Widzę nowego chłopca - I see a new boy
Widzę nowy kapelusz - I see a new hat (kapelusz uses maskuline form)
