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Questions & Answers about Ona martwi się o psa.
Why is there a reflexive pronoun się in this sentence?
Because martwić in the sense to worry is a pronominal verb martwić się. The particle się is required for the meaning “to worry (be concerned).” Without się, martwić means to worry (someone) – e.g. Martwię cię would mean “I am worrying you,” which is not the intended sense.
Why do we use the preposition o before psa?
In Polish, martwić się o corresponds to English to worry about. The object of martwić się is always introduced by o, so you ask martwić się o kogo? / o co? (“worry about whom? / what?”).
Why is pies in the accusative form psa, not the nominative pies?
After the preposition o (in this verb construction), the object takes the accusative case. For masculine animate nouns like pies, the accusative singular form is identical to the genitive singular, so pies → psa.
Can I omit ona and just say Martwi się o psa?
Yes. Polish is a pro-drop language, so subject pronouns are often omitted when the verb ending already indicates person and number. Martwi się o psa still means “She worries about the dog,” assuming context makes clear who “she” is.
Where is the word stress in martwi się?
Polish stress almost always falls on the penultimate (second-to-last) syllable of a word. In martwi (mar-twi), the penultimate syllable is mar, so you pronounce it as MAR-twi się.
What’s the difference between martwić się and bać się?
- bać się = “to be afraid of” (expresses fear)
- martwić się = “to worry about” (expresses concern or anxiety)
Use bać się for fear of something immediate (e.g. Boję się pająków – “I’m afraid of spiders”), and martwić się for ongoing worries (e.g. Martwię się o zdrowie).
How do I say “They worry about the dog”?
The third-person plural of martwić się is martwią się. So you can say:
• Oni martwią się o psa. (mixed or all-male group)
• One martwią się o psa. (all-female group)
Can I move o psa to the beginning of the sentence? For example, O psa martwi się ona?
Yes. Polish has fairly free word order for emphasis. O psa martwi się ona puts focus on o psa (“It’s the dog she’s worried about”). The core meaning remains unchanged.
Where would I put an adverb like bardzo (“very”)?
Common options include:
• Ona bardzo martwi się o psa. (adverb before the verb)
• Ona martwi się bardzo o psa. (adverb after się)
Both are grammatical; word-order differences can convey slight shifts in emphasis but generally mean the same thing.