Questions & Answers about Z powodu deszczu nie idziemy dziś na spacer.
What does Z powodu mean, and how is it used?
Z powodu means because of/due to. It takes a noun in the genitive case: pattern z powodu + GEN. Examples:
- z powodu choroby (because of illness)
- z powodu korków (because of traffic jams) You cannot say just z deszczu for because of rain; you need z powodu deszczu. A slightly more formal alternative is ze względu na + ACC (e.g., ze względu na deszcz).
Why is it deszczu and not deszcz?
Because z powodu requires the genitive case. Deszcz (rain) in the genitive singular is deszczu. Many masculine inanimate nouns take -u in the genitive singular (e.g., śnieg → śniegu, hałas → hałasu). Masculine animate nouns typically take -a (e.g., pies → psa, brat → brata).
How do you pronounce deszczu and dziś?
- deszczu: roughly DESH-chu. sz = sh, cz = ch (as in church), and the cluster szcz sounds like shch.
- dziś: roughly jeesh. The dzi is a soft J-like sound, and ś is a soft sh. Tip: z powodu is pronounced with the initial z like an s (voicing assimilation): s po-VOH-doo.