Learn Hardcore Polish: Aparat robi dziesięć zdjęć na sekundę, więc łatwo uchwycić ruch. - The camera takes ten photos per second, so it’s easy to capture motion.

In Polish, when you count five or more items (5, 6, 7… up to 21, 22… etc.), the counted noun takes the genitive plural form. The numeral dziesięć (ten) therefore requires zdjęć (genitive plural of zdjęcie), not zdjęcia (nominative/accusative plural).

What case is used in na sekundę, and why?

The phrase na sekundę (“per second”) uses the preposition na plus the accusative case to express a rate or frequency. Here sekundę is accusative singular of sekunda.

What does więc mean, and how is it used?

więc means “so,” “therefore,” or “thus.” It links two clauses by indicating a result or conclusion. In this sentence it follows a comma and introduces the consequence of the camera’s speed.

What part of speech is łatwo, and why is it placed before uchwycić?

łatwo is an adverb meaning “easily.” Adverbs modifying verbs or verb phrases typically precede the verb (or infinitive) they describe, so łatwo comes right before the infinitive uchwycić (“to capture”).

Why is uchwycić in the infinitive form, and what does it mean?

uchwycić is the perfective infinitive of the verb meaning “to capture,” “to seize,” or “to catch” (e.g. motion or a moment on camera). The perfective aspect indicates a single, completed action—here, successfully capturing movement in a shot.

Why is ruch not changing its ending (still ruch) even though it’s the object of uchwycić?

ruch is an inanimate masculine noun whose accusative form is identical to its nominative form. Since ruch is the direct object of uchwycić, it appears in the accusative, which for this noun looks just like the base form ruch.

How do we say “to take a picture” in Polish, and why do we use robi + zdjęcia?

In Polish, the usual expression for “to take pictures” is robić zdjęcia. Here robi is the third-person singular present tense of robić (“to do/make”), and zdjęcia is the accusative plural of zdjęcie. So aparat robi zdjęcia literally means “the camera makes pictures.”

What is the subject of the sentence, and what case does it take?

The subject is aparat (“the camera”). It stands in the nominative case because subjects of finite verbs in Polish are in the nominative. That’s why it remains as aparat, without any special ending.

Could you break down the sentence structure piece by piece?

Sure:

Aparat (subject, nominative)
robi (verb, 3rd person singular present of robić)
dziesięć zdjęć na sekundę (object: numeral phrase “ten pictures per second”; dziesięć
- genitive zdjęć
  - na
    - accusative sekundę)
, więc (comma + conjunction “so/therefore”)
łatwo (adverb “easily”)
uchwycić (infinitive perfective “to capture”)
ruch (direct object, accusative/inanimate masculine “motion”)

Altogether: “The camera takes ten pictures per second, so it’s easy to capture movement.”