Breakdown of Walczymy o to, co chroni naszą prywatność.
to
this
co
what
nasz
our
o
for (asking for something)
chronić
to protect
walczyć
to fight (walczyć z + Instrumental: against)
prywatność
privacy
Questions & Answers about Walczymy o to, co chroni naszą prywatność.
The lesson is about verbs of defense taking the Genitive. Why does chronić take the Accusative (naszą prywatność) here?
While many verbs of defense like bronić (to defend) or pilnować (to watch over) require the Genitive, chronić (to protect) is a notable exception. It acts like a standard transitive verb and takes the Accusative case. That is why we use the Accusative naszą prywatność instead of the Genitive naszej prywatności.
Why do we say o to, co instead of just translating 'for what' as o co?
In Polish grammar, a preposition like o cannot attach directly to the relative pronoun co to mean 'for what' in a statement. You must use the demonstrative pronoun to as an anchor for the preposition. Walczymy o to literally means 'we fight for this', and co... then explains what 'this' is.
What case is to in the phrase o to?
It is in the Accusative case. The verb phrase walczyć o (to fight for) always forces its object into the Accusative.
Prywatność looks like a Nominative noun. How can we tell it is in the Accusative case here?
Feminine nouns ending in -ść do not change their spelling in the Accusative case; their Nominative and Accusative forms are identical. However, any adjectives attached to them do change, which is why we see the clear Accusative ending on the modifier naszą.
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