21 Comments
Instrumental case makes so much more sense than our word 'with'.. "he is eating soup WITH a fork" taken literally, this sentence could mean he is either eating both the soup and the fork, or he is eating soup with a fork there next to him for moral support.
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There is a graffiti writing close to my house saying: “A person in a hurry is drinking time with a fork.” Just sharing a little wise thought.
SO! little grammar explanations?
why is there no preposition like "z" at use here? and i kind of get why th instrumental case is used, but what is "the rule" here? thanks!
"Z" could mean that he is eating the soup together with this guy. Basically, while English uses "with" when meaning "using", Polish doesn't use anything at all. "Z" with Instrumental will most likely be 'together with': On je obiad z żoną (He is eating soup with his wife"). Bare Instrumental is used in cases like here.
- 404
In yes or no questions like this one, yes, but it's not optional in questions with alternatives like: „Chcesz psa czy kota?”('Do you want a dog or a cat?').
- 404
Yes, which is why it can't be omitted. ;)
I just mentioned it, because some people treat things very literal, so if you tell them they can always omit „czy”, next thing they do is omit it from 'X or Y?' question and then ask why such option is not accepted… ;)
I was eating soup with a fork last night. It was homemade ramen, and the fork was very useful.
