Breakdown of Moja żona jest uczulona na surowe pomidory.
być
to be
mój
my
na
on, at / to (motion toward) / for (a meal) / for (waiting for)
żona
the wife
pomidor
tomato
uczulony
allergic
surowy
raw
Questions & Answers about Moja żona jest uczulona na surowe pomidory.
Why do we use na followed by the Accusative case here instead of the Dative for "to"?
In Polish, the phrase for "allergic to" is uczulony na (or the noun phrase mieć uczulenie na), which always takes the Accusative case for the trigger of the allergy. Even though English uses "to," translating it literally with the Dative case or the preposition do is incorrect.
What case is surowe pomidory here, and why?
It is in the Accusative plural, which for non-masculine-personal (non-virile) nouns looks identical to the Nominative plural. The Accusative case is required by the preposition na in this specific context.
I've seen the word surowy used to describe people. How does the meaning change here?
When describing food, surowy means "raw" or "uncooked," as in surowe pomidory (raw tomatoes). However, when describing a person, behavior, or a rule, it means "strict" or "severe" (for example, surowy ojciec means a strict father).
Is uczulona a regular adjective?
In everyday sentences it functions exactly like one, but grammatically it is a passive participle derived from the verb uczulić (to sensitize). So literally, the sentence says "My wife is sensitized to raw tomatoes." It takes the -a ending here to agree with the feminine, singular, Nominative subject Moja żona.
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