Fighting Diseases: Przeciwko (Against)
To talk about fighting or working "against" something, Polish uses the preposition przeciwko. It always requires the noun to be in the Dative case.
| This new vaccine is against this virus. | Ta nowa szczepionka jest przeciwko temu wirusowi. |
Notice how ten wirus changes to its Dative form, temu wirusowi.
Preventing Illness: Zapobiegać
The verb zapobiegać (to prevent) also requires the Dative case for the thing being prevented.
| To prevent diseases, one needs to wash hands. | Żeby zapobiegać chorobom, trzeba myć ręce. |
Here, the plural noun choroby (diseases) becomes chorobom.
Giving Credit: Dzięki (Thanks to)
To explain that a positive outcome happened "thanks to" someone or something, use the preposition dzięki. It is also always followed by the Dative case.
| Thanks to science we know how to prevent diseases. | Dzięki nauce wiemy, jak zapobiegać chorobom. |
| Thanks to this discovery, the sick man can live. | Dzięki temu odkryciu chory może żyć. |
Watch how nauka (science) and odkrycie (discovery) change to their Dative forms (nauce, odkryciu).
Advancements in Medicine
You can combine these concepts to talk about significant medical breakthroughs. Watch how dzięki and przeciwko both trigger the Dative case in the same sentences.
| Thanks to this scientist, we created a medicine against cancer. | Dzięki temu naukowcowi stworzyliśmy lekarstwo przeciwko rakowi. |
| We have a vaccine against this bacteria thanks to science. | Mamy szczepionkę przeciwko tej bakterii dzięki nauce. |