"They support both children."

Translation: Wspierają oboje dzieci.

[benny_ns]

Can someone explain when do you use "oba" and when "oboje"? It is very confusing.

[Jellei]

"Oba" is used for neuter (most of them, but not here) and masculine non-personal nouns. "Obaj" for masculine personal. "Obie" for feminine. And "oboje" before nouns denoting people of mixed sex, personal and animate neuter nouns (of which there are few), and non-masculine personal pluralia tanta.

Check this and this.

[benny_ns]

So we use "oboje" here, because "dzieci" is a mixed sex, personal and animate neuter noun in plural, right?

[Jellei]

Well, specifically personal neuter. They may both be of the same sex, we don't know.

[Julia604611]

When i try to click on 'this', it doesn't work.

[alik1989]

Here are the links:

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/oba#Polish

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/oboje#Polish

[Julia604611]

In the second link it says oboje is collective and oba is non-collective. What does this mean? I saw the definition for collective but I don't see how oba can be non-collective

[Jellei]

If "Collective numbers are used before nouns denoting people of mixed sex, personal and animate neuter nouns (of which there are few), and non-masculine personal pluralia tantum.", then "oba" is simply used with masculine nonpersonal nouns (oba psy, oba domy) and neuter nouns that were not mentioned above (so "oba pudełka", "oba drzewa", but "oboje dzieci").

[Soosootoo]

Thanks for this, but I've also seen 'obu' - when is that used please?

[Jellei]

You can have a look here: https://www.duolingo.com/comment/19529552$comment_id=19554885

[Soosootoo]

Oh, thanks, Jellei - so clear (and yet so difficult for me to learn!) Bardzo dziękuję!!

[tczek]

It says here oboje takes genetive, so why isn't dzieci dziecka

[DariuszKoz6]

Wspierają dwójkę dzieci?

[Jellei]

"dwójkę" doesn't mean "both", it just means "two", but maybe there are more children.

[Josseaume6]

so "oba" does not work for "both children" even if it is a neuter name? Is it because dziecko (even neuter) is animate?

[Jellei]

One of the usage of the collective numerals, like "oboje", is indeed "animate neuter nouns". Out of such nouns, you're probably only likely to use "dzieci", and "zwierzęta", other ones are mostly words for baby animals, which are rather more advanced vocabulary.