Emphatic fronting (to właśnie)

Emphasizing with to właśnie

To emphasize a specific person or thing in Polish (like saying "It is the jury that..." or "It was him who..."), bring the emphasized word to the front of the sentence and place the emphatic particle to before it.

For even stronger emphasis—translating to "It is precisely..." or "It is exactly..."—use to właśnie.

It is precisely this laureate who deserved this distinction.
To właśnie ten laureat zasłużył na to wyróżnienie.

The phrase to właśnie does not change the grammatical case of the noun or pronoun it emphasizes. It simply acts as a spotlight.

It was precisely the jury that presented him with the statuette.
To właśnie jury wręczyło mu statuetkę.
It was precisely her nomination that was a great triumph.
To właśnie jej nominacja była wielkim triumfem.

You can emphasize anything with this structure, including objects and personal pronouns.

It is precisely he who deserved this honor.
To właśnie on zasłużył na ten zaszczyt.
It is precisely this distinction that is a true honor.
To właśnie to wyróżnienie jest prawdziwym zaszczytem.

While to właśnie generally sits at the front of the core sentence, you can still precede it with introductory adverbs like podobno (apparently).

Apparently, it was precisely this laureate who won in his category.
Podobno to właśnie ten laureat wygrał w swojej kategorii.
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