Breakdown of W przeciwieństwie do siostry on nie lubi sportu.
on
he / it (m)
nie
no / not
siostra
sister
lubić
to like
sport
sport
w przeciwieństwie do
unlike, in contrast to (+ Genitive)
Questions & Answers about W przeciwieństwie do siostry on nie lubi sportu.
How do you use the phrase w przeciwieństwie do?
It is a set phrase meaning "unlike" or "in contrast to." It is always followed by the preposition do, which means the noun that comes after it must be in the genitive case, like siostry here.
Why does the Polish sentence just say siostry instead of jego siostry for "his sister"?
In Polish, possessive pronouns like jego (his), mój (my), or twój (your) are often skipped when the context makes it obvious whose relative or body part is being talked about.
I thought "sport" was a masculine inanimate noun. Why is it sportu here instead of just sport?
This is because of the "genitive of negation." The verb lubić (to like) usually takes the accusative case. However, whenever you negate a verb that normally takes the accusative, the object automatically switches to the genitive case. So, sport becomes sportu.
Could I change the word order and put on nie lubi sportu at the beginning?
Yes, Polish word order is quite flexible. You could absolutely say On nie lubi sportu w przeciwieństwie do siostry. Placing the contrast phrase at the start just emphasizes the comparison between him and his sister.
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