Breakdown of Wszyscy chcą pokoju, nie wojny.
nie
no / not
chcieć
to want
wszyscy
everyone / all (the)
wojna
the war
pokój
peace (the opposite of war)
Questions & Answers about Wszyscy chcą pokoju, nie wojny.
Why are the words for peace and war in the genitive case (pokoju and wojny) instead of the accusative?
The verb chcieć (to want) requires its direct object to be in the genitive case, not the usual accusative case. This is a common verb exception that is very important to remember!
Does the word nie before wojny force it into the genitive case here?
While negated verbs do force the genitive case in Polish, that is not what is happening here. Both pokoju and wojny are in the genitive purely because they are the objects of chcą. The word nie is just acting as a simple contrast meaning 'not'.
I learned that pokój means 'room'. Is it the exact same word for 'peace'?
Yes! The word pokój means both 'room' and 'peace'. In both meanings, the genitive form is exactly the same: pokoju. You have to rely on context, like the contrast with wojny (war) in this sentence, to tell them apart.
Why is it wszyscy and not wszystko?
Wszyscy means 'everyone' or 'all people' (used when the group includes at least one male). Wszystko means 'everything'. We need wszyscy here because people are the ones doing the wanting, paired with the plural verb chcą (they want).
Learn Wszyscy chcą pokoju, nie wojny and more in Polish
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free