Verbs taking "o" for Goals and Requests
In Polish, when you fight, strive, or ask for an objective, you often use the preposition o followed by the target of your request in the Accusative case.
Remember how the Accusative case forms these objects:
- Feminine nouns ending in -a change to -ę, and their adjectives take -ą (e.g., a "larger salary" becomes większą pensję).
- Plural inanimate nouns and adjectives (like "better conditions") usually match their dictionary forms.
Here are two common verbs for pursuing a goal:
- walczyć o (to fight for)
- starać się o (to strive for)
| Is the trade union fighting for a pay rise, or for a larger salary? | Czy związek zawodowy walczy o podwyżkę, czy o większą pensję? |
| Are we striving for a pay rise, or for better conditions? | Czy staramy się o podwyżkę, czy o lepsze warunki? |
Demanding and Appealing
When advocating for rights or better conditions, you will frequently use verbs of demanding and requesting:
- upominać się o (to demand what is rightfully yours)
- apelować o (to appeal for)
| Working women are demanding fair rights. | Pracujące kobiety upominają się o sprawiedliwe prawa. |
| Working citizens are appealing for an improvement in safety. | Pracujący obywatele apelują o poprawę bezpieczeństwa. |
Combining with Impersonal Verbs
You can pair these "verbs + o" with impersonal expressions like trzeba (one must) or nie wolno (one must not). The verb taking o stays in the infinitive.
| One must strive for an improvement in conditions. | Trzeba starać się o poprawę warunków. |
| One must not forget that working people are fighting for their rights. | Nie wolno zapominać, że pracujący ludzie walczą o swoje prawa. |
Stating Your Demands
Labor unions often officially list their objectives. Such an objective or demand is called a postulat.
| We are fighting for a fair salary because this is our main demand. | Walczymy o sprawiedliwą pensję, bo to jest nasz główny postulat. |
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