To, że tata nie lubi takich koncertów, nie przeszkadza mamie śpiewać w chórze.

Breakdown of To, że tata nie lubi takich koncertów, nie przeszkadza mamie śpiewać w chórze.

lubić
to like
w
in
nie
not
taki
such
śpiewać
to sing
koncert
the concert
mama
the mom
tata
the dad
chór
the choir
to, że
the fact that
przeszkadzać
to stop

Questions & Answers about To, że tata nie lubi takich koncertów, nie przeszkadza mamie śpiewać w chórze.

What does To, że mean at the beginning of the sentence?

To, że is a very common Polish way to introduce a whole clause as one idea. In this sentence, it means something like the fact that.

So:

To, że tata nie lubi takich koncertów
= The fact that dad doesn’t like such concerts

Here to is not really a concrete this. It works more like a formal placeholder that helps turn the że... clause into the subject of the sentence.


Why is the main verb przeszkadza singular, not plural?

Because the subject of the main clause is not koncertów. The subject is the entire idea:

To, że tata nie lubi takich koncertów

That whole clause is treated as one thing, so the verb is singular:

nie przeszkadza

You can think of it as:

That dad doesn’t like such concerts → one fact, one idea
so → doesn’t prevent / doesn’t bother


Why is it tata if it refers to a man? Doesn’t -a usually look feminine?

Yes, tata ends in -a, which looks feminine, but it is a masculine noun meaning dad.

Polish has a small group of masculine nouns that decline somewhat like feminine nouns in some forms. For example:

Even though the ending looks feminine, grammatical agreement is masculine:

  • mój tata
  • tata był zmęczony

So tata is completely normal here.


Why is it takich koncertów instead of takie koncerty?

Because lubić normally takes the accusative, but under negation Polish very often uses the genitive.

Compare:

  • Tata lubi takie koncerty.
    = Dad likes such concerts.

  • Tata nie lubi takich koncertów.
    = Dad doesn’t like such concerts.

So:

The adjective has to match the noun, so takich agrees with koncertów.

This genitive after negation is very standard and natural here.


Why is mamie in the dative case?

Because przeszkadzać usually takes the person affected in the dative:

przeszkadzać komuś = to hinder / bother / interfere with someone

So:

  • mamie = to mom
  • literally: doesn’t hinder mom...

This is the same kind of pattern as:

  • pomagać komuś — to help someone
  • szkodzić komuś — to harm someone
  • przeszkadzać komuś — to bother / hinder someone

So mamie is there because the verb requires it.


Why do we have the infinitive śpiewać?

Because Polish can use przeszkadzać komuś + infinitive to mean prevent someone from doing something.

So:

nie przeszkadza mamie śpiewać w chórze
means roughly
doesn’t prevent mom from singing in a choir

The infinitive names the action that is supposedly being hindered.

A similar alternative structure is also possible:

nie przeszkadza mamie w śpiewaniu w chórze

That version uses a verbal noun instead of an infinitive, but the meaning is very close.


Why is it w chórze?

Because w meaning in takes the locative when it refers to location or being inside/within something.

So:

Here it means in a choir / in the choir, depending on context.

If you were talking about movement into a choir, Polish would usually use a different structure, for example:

  • do chóru
    as in
  • wstąpić do chóru = to join a choir

But here it is about the activity and situation of singing as a member of one, so w chórze is correct.


Why are there commas around the że... clause?

Because Polish punctuation normally separates subordinate clauses with commas, and że introduces a subordinate clause.

So in:

To, że tata nie lubi takich koncertów, nie przeszkadza mamie śpiewać w chórze.

you get:

  • a comma before że
  • another comma after the whole że... clause, before the main clause continues

This is more regular in Polish than in English. Even if English might feel looser here, Polish definitely wants the commas.


Can I leave out to and just say Że tata nie lubi takich koncertów...?

You sometimes can, but for a learner, to, że is the safer and more natural pattern.

So this is very natural:

To, że tata nie lubi takich koncertów, nie przeszkadza mamie śpiewać w chórze.

Without to, the sentence can sound more literary, marked, or less smooth:

Że tata nie lubi takich koncertów, nie przeszkadza mamie śpiewać w chórze.

Polish much more often uses to, że or another noun like fakt, że:

Fakt, że tata nie lubi takich koncertów, nie przeszkadza mamie śpiewać w chórze.

So yes, omission is possible in some contexts, but to, że is the most useful version to learn.


Is the word order fixed here?

Not completely. Polish word order is fairly flexible because case endings show the grammatical roles.

Still, the given version is natural because it presents the whole fact first, then says what effect it has:

To, że tata nie lubi takich koncertów, nie przeszkadza mamie śpiewać w chórze.

You can move some elements for emphasis, especially mamie, but the sentence may sound more marked or stylistically different.

So the main advice is:

  • the current word order is natural and neutral enough
  • other orders are possible
  • but beginners should usually keep this structure until they get used to Polish emphasis patterns
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