Learn Hardcore Polish: Muszę uchwycić ruch mojego psa na zdjęciu. - I have to capture my dog’s movement in the photo.

Uchwycić is specialized for capturing a fleeting moment—like freezing movement in a photograph. Złapać and chwycić both mean to catch or grab something physically, which doesn’t convey “capture on camera.”

What grammatical aspect is uchwycić, and why is the perfective aspect used here?

Uchwycić is a perfective verb, meaning it describes a completed, single action. In this sentence, you want to express the idea of succeeding in capturing the movement in one decisive shot. The imperfective equivalent, uchwytywać, would imply a repeated or ongoing process, which is not intended here.

Why is mojego used instead of mój?

In ruch mojego psa, mojego is in the masculine singular genitive case, indicating possession (“movement of my dog”). The forms change as follows:

Nominative masculine singular: mój pies
Genitive masculine singular: mojego psa

What case is ruch mojego psa in, and why does ruch not change form?

Ruch mojego psa functions as the direct object of uchwycić, so it’s in the accusative case. Since ruch is an inanimate masculine noun, its accusative form is identical to its nominative form (ruch).

Why is na followed by zdjęciu (locative), and why not w zdjęciu?

Polish uses na zdjęciu (with the locative case) as the standard expression for “in the photo.” Na + locative often indicates location on or in a medium, and this is simply the fixed collocation. W zdjęciu is not used in this idiom.

How do you pronounce the ę in muszę?

At the end of muszę, ę is pronounced as a nasalized e, roughly [ɛ̃]. So muszę sounds like “moo-sheh” with a slight nasal tone at the end.

How do you pronounce ch in uchwycić?

In Polish, ch is a voiceless velar fricative , similar to the “ch” in German Bach or Scottish “loch.” Thus uchwycić is pronounced [uˈxvɨt͡ɕ].