Breakdown of Ponieważ kłamał, gardzę jego hipokryzją.
jego
his, its
kłamać
to lie (tell an untruth)
ponieważ
because (formal)
gardzić
to despise
hipokryzja
hypocrisy
Questions & Answers about Ponieważ kłamał, gardzę jego hipokryzją.
Why is hipokryzją in the Instrumental case here instead of the Accusative?
The verb gardzić (to despise) is a verb of strong emotional attitude. In Polish, these specific verbs require the noun that follows them to be in the Instrumental case, rather than the typical Accusative you might expect for a direct object.
Since hipokryzją is Instrumental, why doesn't jego change to match its case?
The word jego (his) is a third-person possessive pronoun. Unlike first- and second-person pronouns (like mój or twój which do change to match case), the third-person possessives jego, jej (her), and ich (their) are completely indeclinable. They never change their endings to match the noun.
Could I start this sentence with bo instead of ponieważ?
It is much better to use ponieważ here. While both words mean because or since, ponieważ is the standard choice for starting a sentence to state the cause before the effect. Bo sounds unnatural at the very beginning of a sentence and belongs in the middle (for example: Gardzę jego hipokryzją, bo kłamał).
Why use the imperfective verb kłamał here instead of the perfective skłamał?
Using the imperfective kłamał focuses on his general behavior or an ongoing habit of lying. If you used the perfective skłamał, it would point to one specific, completed lie that triggered your reaction. Both are grammatically correct, but they tell a slightly different story.
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